Aromatherapy is an increasingly accepted form of healing the body and mind through pure essential oils. Scoffed on as recently as a decade ago, aromatherapy is now used in many parts of the globe. The essential oils used in aromatherapy are products of volatile plant essences and their derivative aromatic molecules. The most common method that aromatherapy uses to capture these essential oils is steam distillation.



Essential oils, in contrast to the more common cooking oils such as vegetable oil, are very concentrated. If someone were to apply an essential oil to their skin she or he would have to first dilute it.

Aromatherapy uses these pure essential oils to affect the body's parasympathetic nervous system through its limbic system. Another positive side effect of this aromatherapy essential oil procedure is to fight bacteria.

Because essential oil distillation using steam, other methods are hydrodistillation, cold press, carbon dioxide conversion and through the use of phytols or florasols.

Hydrodistillation, similar to steam distillation of essential oils, simply uses water instead of steam for its aromatherapy production. The steam, once distilled, is chilled in a dispenser especially made for this aromatherapy process. Essential oils rise to the top of the mixture during this distillation process. The first form of aromatherapy essential oil processing, hydrodistillation requires a watchful eye all through its production. The still must not run dry and the contents must not overheat. The result of either mistake would be useless essential oils.

In the third aromatherapy production method carbon dioxide gets converted to liquid from its initial gaseous state. This is accomplished by subjecting it to high pressure. The resulting liquid solvent is inert and very safe. Aroma molecules of essential oils are extracted when the carbon dioxide is liquefied. The most advantageous form of aromatherapy processing, the carbon dioxide method uses all the solvent, leaving no residue behind. The remaining carbon dioxide simply evaporates once it is returned to normal pressure and temperatures. Rose Hip, Calendula and several other aromatics can only be created through the aromatherapy carbon dioxide method. These are among the strongest and richest of aromas developed for aromatherapy.

The aromatherapy cold press method produces essential oils that are more vibrant that those given off during steam distillation. Orange oil spray is one of the well known byproducts of cold press aromatherapy production. Orange oil is released by scoring or zesting the skin of the fruit.

The latest essential oil processing method is the use of a benign gas solvent in phytols and florasols. In 1986 Dr. Peter Wilde found that these plant materials gave off solvents that could extract aromatic essential oils. The method he founded was the lowering of the temperatures of florasols. The result was a clear and free flowing oil that was free of any wax.