Essential oil is manufactured from the oil Contained within a plant or flower, the essence of the entity. In order for it to be used by the aromatherapist, it must first be extracted from its host. There are numerous ways to accomplish this. Some of these methods are preferred for the quality of the yield. Because of the need to employ costly and complicated equipment in certain methods of extraction, they are resigned to the laboratories of commercial enterprises. Other methods are more conducive to kitchen chemistry. One caution on entering into a decision as to which process would be best suited to an individual’s needs and abilities would be to develop an awareness of the quality level of the end product. In certain instances, it may be nearly impossible to manufacture an essential oil at home that could even begin to approach the same quality standards of what may be purchased from a commercial concern.
For example, it is nearly impossible to get a quality product through home manufacturing methods with many woods and resins. The final selection of oils that is employed in practice may actually include some representatives of both commercial and home manufacture. Depending on the method of extraction used, there may be a lesser or greater percentage of actual plant essence in the finished product. While many companies label their products as essential oils, in truth, they contain essential oils in varying amounts. A distillation process, for instance, may result in a pure oil extract, while a heating process extracts the essence into a non-scented or low-scented carrier oil, diluting the end product. The system employed to obtain the essence from its natural state may be a factor in determining how potent an oil is and how aromatic it is for application. Some varieties of plants contain essence in only very tiny amounts. One of these is a French variety of lily of the valley known as muguet. Large quantities of the host plant must be harvested in order to extract enough essential oil with which to work. In consideration of cost, time, and labor as well as the preservation of the natural environment, there are many synthetic oils that are produced to replace the natural essential product.
These are made from substituted raw materials designed to emulate the fragrance of the natural essential oil. The original civet oil, for example, was first produced from the musk glands of cats in ancient Egypt. It is now offered as a synthetic blend in a humanitarian gesture to its feline hosts.