Purchasing with Knowledge

In order to purchase good quality essential oils it is important to understand what good quality oil is and the characteristics that identify it as such. Before purchasing, one should ask the vendors a few questions in order to understand the process by which these oils were created. Once they arrive in your hands, there are a few protocols for keeping their healing properties intact.

This article was written with the help of aromaweb.com and includes quotes from their site. Aromacures.com was also used as a source in this article. Read on to learn a little bit more of their wisdom of essential oils. Thank you Aromaweb and Aromacures for your knowledge!

What to look for:
Although it can be assured that there are many qualities and signs to look for to determine the quality of an essential oil and its distributor, here are a few tips to get started with:

Look for oils that have the botanical name on the label rather than a simple "essential oil" label. Phrases such as this, including: "fragrance oil", "nature identical oil", or "perfume oil" usually indicate that it is not pure. Many of these oils are usually a combination of essential oils with chemicals, or just plain chemicals so be careful!

It is best that the catalog or website you purchase from lists the country of origin and method of extraction. Knowing how the oils were extracted will help you to determine the quality.

Most good quality oils come with instructions, and/or a users' guide.
When buying online look at a few different stores before purchasing for price comparisons and wholesale prices.

Questions to Ask:
Before purchasing from either a vendor or site, ask whether any chemicals or additives were added to the oil. Essential oils must have all natural ingredients.

It is also extremely important to inquire about the method of extraction, for this will determine the quality.

A good tip to keep in mind: You get what you pay for:
"A cheap essential oil may be inexpensive because the whole plant was used when extracting the oil, when only a portion of the plant should be used for the best results. When the whole plant is used, more oil is able to be produced; cutting down the price, but it may not have the therapeutic benefits of a more expensive oil. If you find essential oils that seem very inexpensive, it is worth asking how the oil was obtained" (aromacures.com).

How to Preserve:
It is important to keep essential oils in dark glass containers, as mentioned by aromaweb:
"When receiving oils shipped in plastic or clear glass, be sure to immediately transfer the essential oils to dark colored glass bottles, unless you plan to use the essential oil up within a few days. You can find bottle suppliers listed within AromaWeb's Global Business Plaza. It's a savvy idea to keep empty bottles on hand. If you purchase from a supplier that ships in plastic, ask them how long the oil has been stored in the plastic bottles prior to shipment. Ideally, you want to work with suppliers that transfer to plastic just prior to shipment."

Watch this video to see where Lavaculture is going next:

The "How" of Essential Oils

Having just explored the use and healing properties of essential oils, Lavaculture wants to know what exactly essential oils are in order to understand the different grades of quality before making any purchases. The following article is mainly based on the information presented by two very good sites: edenbotanicals.com and aromaweb.com. Although there are many processes for making essential oils, the processes described in this article focus on what is provided by Eden Botanicals.

Each extraction method has benefits over others which are important to understand according to what the entrepreneur will be creating. The first thing to understand is that there is a difference between "Fragrance Oils" and "Essential Oils."

Fragrance Oils are usually synthetically made scents that mimic real natural scents while Essential Oils are made from leaves, stems, roots, flowers, or fruits, without artificial ingredients. Here is an overview of the different types of extractions and processes:

 Absolute Oils:
Absolute oils are concentrated aromatic oils extracted from plants. They are usually used more for perfumery rather than aromatherapy due to their intensity and the traces of chemical solvents from the extraction process. The process for extracting absolute oils involves the use of chemicals and alcohol which remain in the formula. The difference between an absolute and an essential oil, is that in the making of an absolute oil, the entire plant is used rather than only the essential oil portion of the plant.

Distilled and Expressed Essential Oils:
This process of distilling essential oils involves the extraction of concentrated oils from the plant's glands through steam distillation, water distillation, or a combination of both. There is also such a thing as dry vacuum distillation or expression such as for citrus peels.

CO2 Extracted Oils:

This form of extraction comes about with the pressure of carbon dioxide at a certain temperature. The result is either "select" or a "total" extract. A select extract means only the essential oil part of the plant is used, and a total extract contains more parts of the plant, and resembling the plant as a whole. This method is primarily used by the food and body care herbal industries as well as aromatherapy. The most important benefit is that this form of extraction does not involve chemical solvents.

Organically Extracted Oils:
This method provides a more "lively" essence. The "bio-available" essence from the plant is extracted only with natural solvents such as oils and alcohol and without added heat. As Eden Botanicals mentions, this form of technology: "is similar to the ancient method of extracting an enfleurage from precious flower petals."   

10% dilutions:
10% dilutions are pure essential absolutes diluted in fractionated coconut oil. The resulting formula contains 10% of the essential oil and 90% of the coconut oil. It is interesting to note that fractionated coconut oil is used because of its long shelf life and clear odorless nature.

This was a brief introduction to the different processes and methods of essential oil extractions. Please read the next post to learn about what to look for before purchasing, what questions to ask, what and how to preserve their healing properties. If you have any further comments or useful information, please make comments to this post!

Thank you!

Scentilicious

Going back to the history of perfume, the reason perfume and good scents are so important is because they have their own effects on the human body. For the most part, scents are associated with moods, emotions, and past experiences and while they inspire different feelings within each person, the fact that they can create physical reactions and increase the body's ability to heal, relax, or become energized (according to the scent) shows the power of the subtle plane. 

Experiments have shown that just the thought of a scent influences physical reactions:

"In one experiment, researchers found that just telling subjects that a pleasant or unpleasant odour was being administered, which they might not be able to smell, altered their self-reports of mood and well-being. The mere mention of a positive odour reduced reports of symptoms related to poor health and increased reports of positive mood!" (http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html)

Pleasant fragrances are found to have a positive effect on overall mood and bring a sense of well-being. It is also interesting to note that these sweet fragrances can also effect our perception of beauty: 

"The positive emotional effects of pleasant fragrances also affect our perceptions of other people. In experiments, subjects exposed to pleasant fragrances tend to give higher ‘attractiveness ratings’ to people in photographs...if the person is just ‘average’, a pleasant fragrance will tip the balance of our evaluation in his or her favour...Beauty is in the nose of the beholder" (http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html). 

So for those of you reading Karina's blog, (which I invite you to do) smelling good is part of your romantic connection and can also help balance emotional, mental, and physical disparities. There are also many benefits that can be applied cosmetically.

Although it depends on the person, here are a few scents and their aromatherapeutic, and healing effects. The following information was shared by one of Lavaculture's favorite sites:

http://www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/index.htm. For a more complete description of these oils, please visit the website, as only a selected summary has been added into this post.

Rose-

"There are many different types of roses. They all have some differences in healing properties. Rose is known for its soothing and calming abilities. Damask rose oil soothes and harmonizes the mind and helps with depression, anger, grief, fear, nervous tension and stress and at the same time addresses sexuality, self-nurturing, self esteem and dealing with emotional problems."

Bergamont-

"When you are looking for an oil to help with depression, SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) or generally feeling just a bit off, lacking in self-confidence or feeling shy, then consider bergamot oil."

Jasmine-

"It is a valuable remedy in cases of severe depression and soothes the nerves, producing a feeling of confidence, optimism and euphoria, while revitalizing and restoring energy. Jasmine oil facilitates delivery in childbirth: it hastens the birth by strengthening the contractions and at the same time relieves pain. It is effective in post-natal depression and promotes the flow of breast milk. Because of its deeply soothing and calming nature, jasmine oil helps with sexual problems such as impotence, premature ejaculation and frigidity."

Vetivere-

"Vetiver oil calms and soothes the mind and helps to dispel anger, hysteria and irritability and neurotic behavior can also be reduced, as stress and tension is reduced. It revitalizes the body and helps with mental and physical exhaustion and is also used for general aches and pains, especially for rheumatism, arthritis and muscular pain, while relieving insomnia."

Ylang Ylang-

"Ylang-ylang oil has a euphoric and sedative effect on the nervous system and helps with anxiety, tension, shock, fear and panic while the aphrodisiac qualities is useful for impotence and frigidity. Ylang-ylang oil assist with problems such as high blood pressure, rapid breathing and heartbeat, nervous conditions, as well as impotence and frigidity."

Lavender-

"Lavender oil has a soothing and calming effect on the nerves, relieving tension, depression, panic, hysteria and nervous exhaustion in general and is effective for headaches, migraines and insomnia."

Mandarin-

"Tangerine oil is soothing to the nervous system and has a tonic effect on the digestive system, while helping flatulence, diarrhea and constipation. It is also useful for the skin and is used to help with stretch marks, increasing circulation and reducing fluid retention."

Palma Rosa-

"Palmarosa oil calms the mind, yet has an uplifting effect, while clearing muddled thinking. It is used to counter physical and nervous exhaustion, stress-related problems and nervousness. Palmarosa oil moisturizes the skin, while balancing the hydration levels and stimulating cell regeneration. It balances production of sebum, to keep the skin supple and elastic and is valuable for use with acne, dermatitis, preventing scarring, rejuvenating and regenerating the skin, as well as fighting minor skin infections, sore tired feet and athlete's foot."

Rose Geranium-

"Rose geranium oil has a balancing effect on the nervous system and relieves depression and anxiety, while lifting the spirits and making the world an easier place to live in. It has a balancing effect on the adrenal cortex and is great for relieving stress."

Cinnamon-

"The therapeutic properties of cinnamon oil are analgesic, antiseptic, antibiotic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, astringent, cardiac, carminative, emmenagogue, insecticide, stimulant, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge."

Ginger-

"Ginger oil is used in the treatment of fractures, rheumatism, arthritis, bruising, carbuncles, nausea, hangovers, travel and sea sickness, colds and flu, catarrh, congestion, coughs, sinusitis, sores on the skin, sore throat, diarrhea, colic, cramps, chills and fever. Its warming qualities are good to use for feelings of loneliness and winter depression, and its energizing properties make it a good aphrodisiac."

Vanilla-

"Aromatherapy benefits of vanilla include heightened mental clarity, increased circulation, decreased fever temperatures, clearing respiratory airways and as a weight-loss aid. Medicinal benefits of the vanilla also have been thought to calm stomach pains, reduce hunger pangs and relieve stress. Europeans believed in vanilla's abilities to ease joint pain and aid in digestion. Natives to the South Pacific islands used vanilla to calm the stomachs of pregnant women with severe morning sickness. More modern research has claimed that vanilla can cure male impotency."

The information for Vanilla was shared by the following site:

Aromatherapy Benefits of Vanilla

(Aromatherapy Benefits of Vanilla | eHow.co.uk http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6026939_aromatherapy-benefits-vanilla.html#ixzz1HAyLcqQf)

Tell Us What You want.

As Lavaculture becomes more acquainted with the world of business and online marketing—although by far not yet an active expert and still in the process of developing its concept and products, there are some new realizations. 

First and foremost, what business is really all about is pleasing your customers, your community and providing quality goods, and services. Yes, business is meant to generate some sort of income for your abilities, goods, and/or services, but success comes from how much the people like you or your brand. 

For this reason, any business expert will tell you just how important it is to understand what they want, what they need and making that process an enjoyable one.  The first step towards this very important consideration is to ask them! 

So, this week Lavaculture wants to know a few things about your needs:

What products do you buy or treat yourself with in the world of natural and organic goods? 

What do you like about these products?  What don't you like?

Which stores do you buy from?

What products would you personally like to have Lavaculture carry? 

What products do you wish Lavaculure could import from India that you can't necessarily buy yourself? Would you buy them if Lavaculture carried them and shipped them to you?

And, what sort of content would you like to see on this blog in relation to Lavaculture and your needs?

Answer all or any of these questions and we will be happy to interact with you! :) We need your help!