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Essential oils and organic compounds are at the foundation of all aromatherapy treatments. Since aromatherapy oils are ingested or used topically it is important to pay close attention to several quality factors, such as the manufacturing methods, when purchasing them.
There are two main classifications for essentials oils, food grade and therapeutic grade. Food grade or a lower quality oil and not good for inhalation. Therapeutic grade oils are of a better quality and higher purity and are preferred for most aromatherapy uses. It is important to learn about the different types and classifications of organic oils to know which type you might need.
The location that a plant is grown in can have a big influence on its price. Certain plants can only be grown in specific geographic locations, the subsequent scarcity of these plants will often drive up the price. Temporary factors such as annual harvests or shifting demand can also have an impact on quality alter price.
Apart from the environment in which a plant is cultivated the oil extraction method is the other major factor in its quality. Extraction is how the valuable oils and compounds contained in plants are removed and separated from unwanted chemicals or impurities. The two types of extraction are physical extraction and chemical extraction. Physical methods include steam extraction and a process called enfleurage. Supercritical extraction is a type of chemical extraction technique and can be used for obtained extremely pure and unadulterated compounds.
Harvested oils can either be food grade or therapeutic grade. A compounds content is detailed in its Food Chemical Codex or FCC. This is a listing of the compound ratios of diverse oils.
Though all compounds should be extracted naturally from source plants several manufacturers use synthetic additives. Food grade natural herbal compounds should be avoided for this reason, in spite of the name which makes them sound suitable for aromatherapy.
Therapeutic grade is the classification used for natural herbal compounds that are manufactured from organic sources and appropriate for aromatherapy. It can be hard to know the value of organic oils and their constituent parts only by physical inspection so it is important to make purchases only from reputable shops.
The author has authored many of pieces on the uses of aromatherapy and various organic oils and oil diffuser
Tags: Alternative Medicine, aromatherapy, essential oils, Health Issues, medicine, natural healing, oil diffusers
Posted in Health Issues · November 17th, 2009 · Comments (0)