Essential oils are organic compounds extracted from the leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, bark, roots, or other parts of plants.
The principal uses of essential oils are in aromatherapy and medical applications or as flavouring agents.
The oils are complex chemical compounds and not technically oils at all! They are extracted using a variety of methods including:-.
Distillation
Many essential oils like basil, camomile, peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus are refined. The raw plant material used contains leaves, seeds, wood and flowers which are placed above water in a container on. As the water heats up, steam passes through the plant material and hot vapours produced which are channeled into a condenser which cools and converts them into a liquid.
Expression
Most citrus peel oils are expressed or cold-pressed (historically the original method of extraction). As a result of the large quantities of oil in citrus peel and the relatively low cost to grow and harvest these raw materials, citrus-fruit oils are cheaper than most other essential oils. Lemon or sweet orange oils are obtained as by-products of the citrus industry and are even cheaper.
Solvent Extraction
Some of the flowers used to create essential oils produce subtle volatile oils that are harmed by the extreme heat utilised in steam distillation. Solvent like supercritical carbon dioxide or hexane are used instead to extract the oils.

The resulting extraction is termed “essential oil”, most of these are clear but they can have a colour such as yellow, orange or amber. A few essential oils, such as lavender are safe to apply directly to the skin, but most are very concentrated and they must be diluted with 'carrier oils' which are blended with the essential oil to produce massage oils, or room fragrancers.
The term essential is slightly confusing, it actually indicates that the oil carries a distinctive scent (essence) of the plant, not that it is an especially fundamental, important or a prerequisite.
It is recommended that essential oils be kept in dark glass bottles and stored in a cool dry away from direct sunlight.

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