March 30, 2009
When you drop by natural health and aromatherapy stores, you are faced with choosing among the many ingredients you may employ to achieve a holistic treatment. Some of the items you may encounter include aromatherapy bath oil, aromatherapy beads, essential oils, carrier oils, fragrance oils and infused oils. Is this all confusing? Read on to differentiate one from the other, and get to know each one’s uses.
What Are Essential Oils
You might be surprised, but the so-called aromatherapy essential oils are not oily to the touch at all. Most of them are clear, but some come in amber or yellowish color, such as orange and lemon grass essential oils.
Essential oils are distilled, usually by steam or water, from various parts of the source plant such as leaves, stems, petals, roots and other parts. They are highly concentrated and contain no artificial fragrances. You can derive many physical and psychological benefits from these oils.
They are often sold in small bottles and can greatly vary in price, depending on the rarity of the plant, the amount of oil produced by the plant and other standards. Because they are in pure form, essential oils are often diluted with carrier oils prior to usage.
Carrier Oils
Since essential oils are very much concentrated and may cause severe irritations and other reactions in some people, carrier oils are used to dilute them. Carrier oils are made from the seeds, nuts and kernels, which are the parts that contain the most fat. Sometimes called vegetable oils, each one of them carries different therapeutic benefits, depending on what is being sought.
Carrier oils got scents of their own, although they may not be as strong as those from essential oils. Some of the natural lotions, body creams, massage oils, bath oils and other skin care products are made from carrier or vegetable oils. When essential oils are added to carrier oils, you will get differences in color, scent and shelf life of the final product.
Fragrance Oils
While essential oils are natural because they are made of the distilled essences of the plants where they came from, fragrance oils, on the other hand, are artificial scents – they contain artificial substances and are diluted with carrier oils. You might have also encountered items like perfume oils or potpourri oils, but they are basically just the same as fragrance oils, considering how they were made.
Unfortunately, fragrance oils do not carry the same therapeutic benefits offered by essential oils. Many scented cosmetics, candles, skin-care products like lotions and soaps, and others only contain fragrance oils or other synthetically-made fragrances. You have to read the labels carefully if you intend to use only natural ingredients in achieving relaxation and holistic caring.
Infused Oils
Infused oils are made by infusing carrier oils with herbs. These are usually intended for those plants that contain very small amounts of essential oils.
The good thing about using infused oils in aromatherapy than just plain carrier oils is that the combined therapeutic benefits of the carrier oils and the herbs infused into them are achieved. Infused oils may or may not feel oily, depending on which carrier oil is used with it.
Unlike essential oils, infused oils can go rancid over time, just like carrier oils.