Transformational Studies Aroma Gram

Aromatherapy Carrier Oil: Sweet Almond

December 19th, 2009

Because Almond trees are easily propagated from seed, they have been planted and used for thousands of years in the Middle East, their place of origin. From the Middle East, the seeds were carried to India, Northern Africa, and imported, to California. Today, most almond oil comes from Spain, Syria and the USA.

Almond carrier oil, used in massage and aromatherapy has a slightly sweet, nutty aroma. Although it absorbs fairly quickly into the skin, almond oil’s texture is slightly oily, and it leaves a slightly oily feeling after absorption. It’s color is clear with a tinge of yellow, and it is a good all purpose oil, and moderately priced. Almond oil is thought to be non-sensitizing and non-irritating. It is composed of 78% mono-unsaturated oleic acid (omega 9), and 17% linoleic essential fatty acids (omega 6). Almond oil is also high in Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, D and E, and contains Magnesium and Calcium, as well.

Almond carrier oil is known for it’s emollient properties, that will leave the skin smooth and soft. It’s great moisturizing abilities help remove fine lines and wrinkles, and it has also been used to help soften cuticles, and improve hair luster. A few drops to the scalp can also help your hair grow in strong, thick and smooth.

For use in aromatherapy, you should always use oil that has been cold pressed. Cold pressing is done by placing the almond seeds in a horizontal press, with a rotating screw, known as an expeller. The oil is squeezed from the kernel and filtered. Due to friction, the oil is heated to 70 degrees Celcius. Less suitable oils for aromatherapy are Solvent Extracted, or extracted with heat. In Hot Extraction, tremendous pressure is applied, taking the temperature up to 200 degrees Celcius. At this temperature, all the important vitamins and fatty acids are destroyed. The left over “cake” is then solvent extracted, re-heated, refined, deodorized, and bleached. Artificial color, preservatives and vitamins are then added.

Tell us about your experiences with Sweet Almond Oil!

Tags: aromatherapy, carrier oil, cold pressed, massage, moisturizer, sweet almond oil
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Aromatherapy Carrier Oil: Grapeseed

December 10th, 2009

Grapeseed Oil is a relatively new carrier oil in aromatherapy, as it was first introduced in the 1800’s during Napoleon’s reign in France. At this time it was used as food and fuel for lighting. Because only a small quantity of oil can be squeezed from a grape seed, this oil was not usually produced until modern times. And today, it is usually solvent extracted. It is grown primarily in Italy, but also grown in France, Spain and Argentina.

Grapeseed oil is high in Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 fatty acid) and is a good anti-inflammatory, moisturizer, and can reduce acne and stretch marks. It has also been known to regenerate and restructure damaged, stressed epithelium cells and remove foot odor. Therefore, grapeseed carrier oil is often found in massage oils, sunburn repair oils, hair products, lip balms, hand creams and body hygiene products.

Grapeseed oil is also non-toxic. Because it is slightly astringent, it penetrates the skin easily. Many massage therapists have long valued these properties, along with grapeseed oil’s light, greaseless texture, and non existent scent.

Tags: anti-inflammatory, aromatherapy, carrier oil, grapseed oil, linoleic acid, massage oils, moisturizer, Omega 6 fatty acid
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Aromatherapy Carrier Oils: An Experiencial Overview

December 2nd, 2009

Over the years I have worked with a number of aromatherapy carrier oils. In the beginning, I used the “old faithfuls” like sweet almond and grapeseed oils, and later on branched out and experimented with others.

I think the main thing I was looking for was a carrier oil that had healing properties of it’s own, yet penetrated the skin quickly. Mentally, I had difficulties with grapeseed oil, because I was always circumspect of the amount of pesticides it had. In those days, organic carrier oils were pretty much nonexistent, or ungodly expensive. Then, I found out that grapeseed oil also went rancid very quickly. And without grapeseed, sweet almond oil is really too heavy to use. So enter Macadamia Nut oil. I used this carrier for quite a while for everyday aromatherapy blends. It is lighter and penetrates the skin faster than sweet almond, however, I found that it separated and got heavier than the former in the refrigerator . Plus, it was more difficult to find on a consistent basis.

When I decided to sell my essential oil blends to the public, I needed to do more aromatherapy carrier oil research. Now I needed a carrier that not only penetrated the skin easily, but one that would have a longer shelf life. I certainly didn’t want my products going rancid before or after they were purchased. Then I found out about Golden Jojoba. This carrier is not really an oil, but rather a wax, and because of this, it has the added advantage of not staining fabric. It is cold pressed from the Jojoba bean. It’s Ph is very similar to our skin’s, it penetrates quickly and feels smooth and silky when applied. And yes, it will stay fresh a long time; up to two years. Organic Golden Jojoba, is also easily obtained at a reasonable price. I buy from The Jojoba Company. They now sell organic and a pesticide free Golden Jojoba. Unlike most of the books out there that insist that you mix jojoba with other aromatherapy carrier oils, I use it on it’s own for all of my everyday blends.

I’ve also experimented with many expensive carrier oils that are good for facial products. Rose hip seed oil, borage oil, tamanu, centella, argan to name a few. And I’m always curious about new ones as they become available. I always love experimenting on myself before deciding whether or not to use it in my retail facial blend.

So in this next leg along our aromatic journey, I’ll be talking about the diverse selection of carrier oils that are available for you to play with. I trust you will have as much fun reading, as I will have writing!

Let us know what your favorite carrier oil is!

Tags: aromatherapy, Carrier Oils, essential oils, Golden Jojoba, grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil
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Essential Oils: Why is Quality Important?

November 20th, 2009

Essential oils (EO’s) are extremely complex in nature. They have between 200-500 different chemical components. And it is because of this diffuse chemical structure, that essential oils have a wide range of healing properties. However, only high quality (EO’s) will be extremely complex. When you use lower quality essential oils, many of the nuances associated with that oil, will no longer be there. For instance, both high and low quality essential oils may work well topically, but when applied subtlety (energetically), only the higher quality EO will actually work.

Adulteration is another reason to buy high quality essential oils and to know your supplier. What are their essential oils standards? Where are they getting their essential oils? Are the essential oils processed at a low temperature? All of these questions are relevant when looking for high quality oils.

It is also important to buy organic and/or wildcrafted essential oils whenever possible. Any pesticides used when the plant were grown, will become concentrated during processing.

Tags: essential oils, quality
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Essential Oils: Should We Use Them Undiluted on Our Skin?

November 12th, 2009

This is a rather controversial topic. In one camp we have the followers of essential oil guru Gary Young, who developed the now famous RainDrop Therapy. And in the other one, are the clinical aromatherapists, who are dead set against using undiluted oils on your skin. So what’s going on?

I think the first thing we must ascertain is, what are the risks? As I have said before, essential oils (EO’s) do not stay in your body very long (4-6 hours). So putting undiluted essential oils on the body, runs the risk of liver damage. Essential oils are also highly concentrated liquids from plants, and many of them are what you would term “hot”. This means that when put on the skin undiluted, you run the risk of burning your client. Even if the EO is not “hot”, there is still the risk of irritation. And last, but certainly not least, is the risk of sensitization. This means that by getting a huge blast of EO’s, some people may develop an allergic reaction to all EO’s.

What responsibilities do we have as practitioners? Because our clients put their trust in us, we need to be well informed about many facets of the essential oils we are using. This usually takes years of study and/or training. I would also hope that all practitioners keep their client’s best interests at heart and not take risks with their health.

In the 20 years I’ve been working with essential oils, my experience has been that less is more. In the end, this is your decision to make. But unlike ingesting EO’s, this decision includes someone else. So choose wisely.

Please tell us your opinions about this controversial topic!

Tags: controversial, essential oils, Raindrop Therapy, undiluted
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Essential Oils: Should We Ingest Them?

November 4th, 2009

There is a lot of conflicting information out there concerning this topic. Old school people will tell you absolutely not! Yet, I see over and over again on reputable sights, such as the AIA (Association for International Aromatherapists) newsletter, recipes on how to cook with them. Then, there are those who put essential oils in water or capsules and ingest them for one reason or another. What’s a person to do?

In the end, you will have to decide for yourself. However, in the meantime, here’s the scoop on essential oils. Essential oils are highly concentrated liquids from plants, and many of them are what you would term “hot”. This means that if you were to ingest them, chances are they would burn your throat and other body parts as they went down to your stomach. Essential oils also do not mix with water. So, if you used this medium you would still be getting the essential oil’s full strength in your body.

Essential oils also do not stay in your body very long. They are there only 4-6 hours. And because of this, ingesting them would probably stress or possibly damage your liver. Taking them in a capsule, will help your throat, but it will not help your liver. Our bodies deal with so many environmental and food toxins everyday as it is. Is is wise to feed it something else that may also harm it? Liver damage is also hard to detect.

So if you are tempted, you need to ask yourself some serious questions. Why do I want to do this? And is it important enough to risk bodily harm? My answer to this dilemma is to side with caution, and not ingest essential oils.

Please share your opinions about this!

Tags: essential oils, liver
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Essential Oils: Did the Ancients Use Them?

October 27th, 2009

Although ancient people did use plants for their rituals, incense, medicines, and embalming practices, they were not using essential oils as we know them today. Instead, they worked with macerates or infused oils. These are made by placing plant leaves, petals and sometimes stalks in a vegetable oil, letting it sit in a warm place for 2-3 weeks. As the plant material turned brown, during this process, it was replaced with fresh plant parts. This action continued until the desired infused strength was reached.

The Persians and people from India also used Attars. Although the extraction method is classified as steam distillation, the end product is very different from our western essential oils. During or directly after the extraction of the plant essence, it was mixed with Sandalwood or another fixative. This expanded the bouquet and enabled it to be long-lasting. This method was usually used to make perfumes. Historical records show that this method began during the 10th century AD and the Persians are given credit for it’s invention.

The ancients also used resins from trees such as pine, frankincense and myrrh to make incense and medicinal goods.

Essential oils as we know them today in the west, are relatively new. They were first brought into use by European scientists and doctors around 1907. Then in 1937, the Father of today’s aromatherapy movement, French chemist, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, popularized the word aromatherapy. Since then, essential oils have been made and used all over the world.

Do you have anything to add to the history of essential oils?

Tags: ancient, essential oils, infused oils, macerates
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Expeller Pressing

October 20th, 2009

Last, but certainly not least is the extraction method of expeller pressing. This is really good for squeezing the essence out of rind fruits such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, etc. It is a tried and true method and has been used for thousands of years. One way that this was done by hand, was to peal the fruit. The rind was then squeezed to render a small amount of essence and juice. After a while, the essence floats to the top and then it’s skimmed off. Obviously, this is quite a laborious task. It is amazing citrus essential oils are not more expensive than they are! Today there are machine methods of doing this, however, the highest quality oils are still hand-made.

You can do the hand-made version in your own kitchen if you like. Simply buy a new garlic press and place citrus rinds of one type of fruit in there and press. You must make sure that the fruit is organic and not been sprayed with pesticides, dyed or coated.

Let me know your results with your home-made expressed essential oils!

Tags: Cold Pressing
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Co2 Extraction: “The New Kid on the Block”

October 14th, 2009

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction is the newest from of essential oil extraction. So how does it work?

When carbon dioxide is put under extreme pressure, it turns into a liquid. This liquid acts like a solvent and extracts the plant’s essence. When the pressure is released, the carbon dioxide returns back into a gaseous state, leaving no residue behind. Although the yields of this process are high, and it is extremely clean, these products may not be used because of their extremely high cost.

Because plants utilize CO2 in their living state, this process is very compatible with plant material and won’t damage it. At lower temperatures, the end result resembles a product of steam distillation. It is light and delicate. The higher the temperature, the more waxes, plant particles and oils are extracted and it becomes more like an absolute.

CO2 extractions are very potent and have high therapeutic properties. They make it easier to handle resins and gums, and give us essences from plants that cannot be steam distilled.

Tell us about your experiences with CO2 extractions!

Tags: carbon dioxide, CO2 extraction, essential oils
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Solvent Extracted Absolutes

October 8th, 2009

Today, most of the absolutes that aromatherapists use are made through solvent extraction. Chemicals such as hexane, acetone, or ethanol are use to extract the flower’s essence. A concrete made from fats, waxes, essential oils and other plant parts are treated with one of these chemicals to make an absolute.

Absolutes are very concentrated and should only be used in small quantities. The three main absolutes used in aromatherapy are Rose, Jasmine and Neroli. Although many other flower absolutes are worked with in the art of perfumery. Absolutes are generally more viscous than essential oils and sometimes will harden at room temperature.

Because absolutes may contain residues of the chemicals used during the extraction process, they should not be used by people who have chemical sensitivities, or others wanting to only use pure products.

Tags: absolutes
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