6. The ABCs of aromatherapy oils:
The ABCs of aromatherapy oils: what’s the difference between an essential oil, a hydrosol, and a fragrance oil? - Ask the experts: answers to your questions from the leaders in natural medicine - Brief Article
LAUREL VUKOVIC REPLIES: All three use the aromas of plants, but essential oils, hydrosols, and fragrance oils differ in the way they’re produced and the purposes they serve. When you need to treat an ailment, you should use essential oils rather than hydrosols or fragrance oils. Essential oils are also excellent for bodycare and home care products.
Essential oils are the aromatic oils of fruit, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, resin, barks, or wood. To capture the oils, manufacturers usually heat the plant part in water and collect the steam. As the steam condenses, the essential oil is distilled from the water. This fragrant concentrated oil is at least 50 times more potent than the original plant.
The essential oil’s distillation process also produces hydrosols. Also known as floral waters, they are highly diluted and offer gentler healing and a more subtle fragrance than essential oils. They make excellent skin toners, body mists, and hair rinses.
Fragrance oils are synthetic. At first whiff they smell similar to essential oils, but they don’t contain the compounds that lend essential oils their healing properties. Also, I find that they generally exude a cloying artificial scent. Be aware that certain fragrances like peach or strawberry can only be created synthetically.
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