Understanding Essential Oil Chemistry

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Understanding Essential Oil Chemistry

Essential oils are nature's volatile aromatic compounds generated within shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds.  They are usually ex5tracted through steam distillation, hydro distillation, or cold-pressed extraction.

The power of an essential oil lies in its constituents and their synergy.  Essential oils are composed of 200-500 different bio constituents, which makes them very diverse in their effects.  No two oils are alike.

Lavender oil, for example, contains approximately 200 different constituents of which linalyl acetate, linalool, cis-geta-ocimene, trans-beta-ocimene, and terpene-4-ol are the major components.  Lavender oil has been used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress, and hair growth.  Because essential oils are composites of hundreds of different constituents, each oil can exe4rt many different effects on the body.

Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and travel throughout the blood and tissues.  The unique lipid-soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to the makeup of our cell membranes, and the molecules of essential oils are also relatively small, which enhances their ability to penetrate into the cells.  When topically applied to the feet or soft tissue, essential oils can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes.*





*  Essential Oils pocket reference seventh edition Life Science