In the aromatherapy world, you may have come across a few terms used to describe Essential Oils. Hopefully this will help you to understand their definitions;
- Organic – an organic essential oil is produced from plants grown without the use of chemicals like fertilizers or sprays.
- Certified Organic – same description as above but is authorized by an organization like Ecocert Canada which provides organic and environmental certification in Canada.
- Chemotypes – plants of the same species that are chemically different but otherwise indistinguishable resulting in different therapeutic properties.
- Wild Crafted – essential oils that have been extracted from wild grown plants.
- Selected Farming – only specific plants are grown on a particular farm.
- Fractionated – essential oils that have had part of their undesirable chemical composition removed like terpenes which can make it photo-toxic and non-volatile, an example would be bergamot FCF.
- Quenching – is a process of adding a chemical to a whole oil to help prevent unwanted side-effects like a skin irritation, for example adding d-limonene to lemongrass. This process is mainly used in the perfume industry.
In the aromatherapy industry using whole oils is very important because each essential oil has a unique chemical combination that affects the body’s chemistry.
Please visit our website for more information on essential oils and to have a look at our product listing.