What Are Aromatherapy-Grade Essential Oils?

Plants use essential oils for various functions, for example, immunity, nourishment, regeneration, reproduction, protection, and transpiration. They take advantage of the lipophilic, volatile quality of essential oils for communicating with others: fending off enemies (an immune function of the local community of that species) and inviting allies (for pollination). The ancient art of distillation frees most of these substances for human use. For more information on distillation, read Aromatherapy: Nature is Nurture.

Aromatherapy offers many healing and therapeutic benefits. As in cooking, the sensory experience is dependent on the quality of the ingredients. The power of an aromatherapy experience is dependent upon authentic, unaltered essential oils. This is because aromatherapy fundamentally offers the distilled chemical language of plant wisdom. Embedded in high quality essential oils is the unique product of eons of natural selection. These ethereal aromatic molecules communicate to our bodies, minds, and energy systems how to live well. Essential oils, used for thousands of years to enhance health and human potential, bring us an elegant opportunity to return to natural balance. In an organic biological language, essential oils teach us to live well with artistry and mastery.

This is a fancy way of saying invest in high quality essential oils. Historically the suppliers of essential oil catered to the flavor and perfume industries. They altered the product of distillation to meet industry standards. For aromatherapy purposes, this conventional practice just will not do. Chemically altering the natural essential oil destroys the fine balance provided by nature and sought after by aromatherapy users. Studies have identified a “quenching” effect in many essential oils meaning that the various constituents of the complete oil act to quench the harmful effects of some of the main constituents (cinnamic aldehyde in cinnamon for example).

Given these lofty goals and truly intimate exchanges, you want to make sure you are using aromatherapy-grade essential oils. Speaking of intimacy, the tiny carbon-based molecules of essential oils will travel through your pores when applied topically. They will take any substances that have been added to the essential oil into your tissue with them. This includes the carrier or base you use with the essential oil. Please make sure that any oils, creams or lotions you use with essential oils have not gone rancid. The uniquely effective ability of essential oils to penetrate cell membranes contributes to their anti-bacterial action. All essential oils are at least somewhat bactericidal.

How do you find aromatherapy-grade essential oils? The short answer is find a supplier you trust. Making essential oils is no less complicated than making fine wines. Growing, harvesting, and distilling plant materials poses environmental, political, and other challenges to aromatherapy suppliers. Another important factor in procuring high quality essential oils is the fact that the plant material, and hopefully the distilleries, are found across the globe. Local processing of essential oils affords greater value for local growers. This in turn supports a healthier global economy. Serious suppliers cultivate and maintain connections all over the world. Aroma-Massage (formerly Plant Dreaming) works with up to five wholesalers who maintain such relationships. In addition, Aroma-Massage offers essential oils that are among the finest aromatherapy-grade quality available. Most of them are either organic, pesticide-free or wild-crafted and distilled by skilled craftsmen. Nothing has been added or extracted so that you have the complete experience engineered by nature herself.