What is essential oil?
A concentrated, botanical and hydrophobic liquid which contains such chemical compounds which are easily evaporated (at even least critical conditions) is called essential oil. The other terms which are used for essential oils are aetheroleum, ethereal oil or it is also named on the basis of plant from which it is extracted.
For instance LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL, EUCALYPTUS ESSENTIAL OIL.
LETIME LT3000 distiller (the most usable kit for making essential oil) is shown here:
These oils contain aroma of plants. That’s why essential oils from different plants possess different scents or flavors on the basis of unique aromatic compounds.
For detailed information, visit the mentioned site
The process of making:
The raw material which is basically used to make essential oil may include leaves, wood, bark, peel, seeds, roots or flowers as it is totally a botanical solution. These raw material is passed through distillation process through distiller (alembic). Plant’s raw is put over water in a distiller.
When water gets heat up and steam passes through that material, it vaporizes all the volatile compounds present over there. There is a recieving vessel in the distiller which collects all the essential oil, after condensation of vapors into liquid.
Besides distillation process, these oils are also made through cold pressing but this method is not so common.
Usage of essential oil:
As mentioned above, essential oils possess unique aroma. So, it’s basic usage is for aromatherapy for well-being of a person. The extracted oil is not used directly rather it is combined with a carrier oil first for it’s proper application.
For it’s better absorption to skin, the oil is applied in the presence of heat. The essential oil directly interacts with your body. When you inhale the aroma or scent of such oil, it works for the betterment of limbic system that is a part of our brain. This helps for long-term memory, better behaviors and good sense of smell.
There exist almost 90 known essential oils each with it’s own unique benefits. Some popular types are mentioned here:
- Lavender: It is basically used to relieve stress.
- Rose: This works to improve the mood.
- Tea tree: It provides it’s services for boosting up immunity system.
- Chamomile: This oil is used for relaxation and peace of mind.
- Lemon: Aids in headache relief and digestion.
- Peppermint: It also helps in digestion and provides energy.
- Sandalwood: This improves ability of concentration and soothes nerves.
In this article, we’ll mainly discuss about lavender essential oildistiller
Lavender essential oil:
Lavender is a really useful plant. This type of essential oil is considered to be the most sought after product of lavender. We can also made lavender essential oildistiller at home after some toil.
Here is an illustration of making essential oil at home
How to make lavender essential oil:
This essential oil is also made through the same distillation process as described above.
In the case of lavender oil distillation, tightly pack the lavender in the still. When the container is fully covered, we put it at the place of raw material. This will aid for the prevention of dropping down in water. Then condensation and collection steps are performed. After this procedure, we get the water as a material called hydrosol (water and soluble materials mixture).
Lavender hydrosol is used at home for cleaning purposes and is really useful. On the top of this hydrosol, lavender essential oil is floating being an insoluble material in distiller kit.
You can go to the following YouTube video to get to know about the detailed making process of lavender essential oil.
