| Essential Oils - Background |
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Aromatherapy uses very concentrated essential oils that are highly aromatic extractions from plants. Constituents of the oils not only confer the characteristic perfume or odour of the particular part of the plant from which they were extracted, but also contain dozens of complex chemicals that seem to do everything from beautifying skin or speeding healing to putting you to sleep.
Scientifically, essential oils are mixtures of complex organic compounds such as ketones, alcohols and esters together with hundreds of other chemicals. Aromatherapists and enthusiasts consider the oils to be the 'life force' of the plant - a natural living substance. Each oil has a distinct chemical composition which determines its fragrance, colour, volatility and the ways in which it affects the system, giving each oil its unique set of beneficial properties.
Only the purest essences are used in aromatherapy so that the therapeutic properties are maximised and the effects predictable. Essential oils are very different from the heavy oils used for cooking: they are concentrated essences, much lighter than water and highly flammable, and not oily at all. They do not dissolve in water and evaporate quickly, so they are usually mixed with other ingredients to trap there effectiveness. Because they are so concentrated, essential oils are measured in drops, as such a small amount is usually sufficient.
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