Absolutes and Essential Oils (Sorta Longish)

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Hi y'all,

 

Some additional information to the good explanation Chris provided. The

questions she answered have been asked many times on this list and other

lists. Below is a reply I sent to the list back in 2004 .. I have

updated it a bit.

 

Somebody asked:

> Can some one tell me what is the difference between an essential

> oil and an absolute?

>

> I've seen several different sites offer both products but there is

> never a definition of the difference.

 

There are definitions out and about .. but generally one has to search

for them. Before I'm through with this explanation you might be sorry

you even asked. ;-)

 

Lemme start by saying that this post is protected by Copyright!

 

Most of the explanations we do find are too short because they're either

briefs written by folks who might not have all the facts .. or they are

technical to a point that some folks don't understand them .. and in

both cases they can create more questions. I'll try to avoid that by

answering questions afore they are asked .. so I hope this explanation

is clear enough. I'm not known for brevity. ;-)

 

ALL Essential Oils are produced by one of the three following methods:

 

1. Steam Distillation: The plant material is suspended over the water

and as the water heats .. steam passes through the plant material, etc.

 

2. Hydro-Diffusion: Similar to Steam Distillation except the steam is

forced downward from the top rather than passing through the aromatic

material from the bottom. Folks believe that some aromatic oils are

better when Hydro-Diffused .. and I agree with them .. that's why I

offer a number of Hydro-Diffused EO.

 

3. Hydro-Distillation: The aromatic material is in direct contact with

the water .. similar to clothing in a washing machine in contact with

the wash water. Rose Otto must be distilled in this manner because

steam will not pass through the Rose Blossoms after they become heated

and compacted. When using this method there is normally a 3 or 4 to 1

ratio of water to plant material, i.e., in Turkey most of the stills

have a 2 metric ton capacity .. in that still they place 500 kilos of

Rose Blossoms and 1,500 kilos of spring water. This ratio is important,

as is constant monitoring of heat control .. in order to avoid having

the aromatic materials overheat .. or caramelize.

 

These are the only three ways I know of to produce Essential Oils.

 

Absolutes are not Essential Oils. They are Absolutes.

 

Cold Pressed Oils are not (in my opinion) Essential Oils. Some folks

consider certain CP Oils (like Citrus) to be Essential Oils - but I

don't. The rationale they use is that those Citrus oils are Volatile

Oils. My rationale for not accepting this is that we should adhere to a

universal definition in any industry .. or risk losing whatever

credibility we have. Do we have credibility now in AT? ;-)

 

Volatility is not (in my opinion) a determining criteria!

 

All extracted plant oils are Volatile to some degree .. but all Volatile

oils are NOT Essential Oils .. all dawgs are mammals but all mammals are

not dawgs! This subject can be debated till the cows come home and we

will not find agreement .. those who have been around the News Groups a

while will recall that we have NEVER been able to get agreement on what

" Aromatherapy " is either. ;-)

 

It serves no purpose to argue the semantics of this as it detracts from

the important points .. there is enough misinformation out and about

and some folks will fall on their swords when attempting to validate the

misinformation .. especially if it came from a misinformed teacher's

instructions. Ideally, we should use common language in this industry.

 

Solvent Extraction: A misunderstood term. Essential Oils are ALL

Solvent Extracted. The Solvent used in the three forms of extraction of

Essential Oils (above) is .. Water. Heated Water - Steam. I point this

out because in the industry we say that Absolutes are Solvent Extracted,

and true it is .. but we should say which Solvent is used because Water

is a Solvent.

 

CO2 Extracted Oils: They also are not Essential Oils. But they, like

Essential Oils .. are Solvent Extracted. The solvent used is Carbon

Dioxide (CO2) in its liquid state. After extraction is complete the

CO2 then reverts back to its gaseous state.

 

Absolutes: Some aromatics do NOT take well to distillation .. Jasmine

for example. Some aromatics can't be distilled .. Vanilla for example.

Some can be Distilled OR extracted as Absolutes .. Rose for example.

 

Why do we produce both Absolutes and Essential Oils from Rose Blossoms?

 

Because production of Absolutes requires less aromatic plant material,

thus .. Absolutes are not as costly to produce as are Essential Oils

made from the same aromatic materials. For those aromatic oils that

are produced both as Essential Oils and Absolutes there will not always

be a valid basis for price comparison.

 

Production of Absolutes is a multi-step process requiring both Hot

Processing and Cold Processing .. it starts with a Hot Process.

 

I'll use Turkish Rose Absolute as a tool for explaining this process.

The Rose Blossoms are literally washed in a hot process of Hexane .. in

a type of still, similar to the Hydro-Distillation method described

above .. but the Solvent used in the initial process to produce Rose

Absolute is not Water .. its Hexane.

 

Hexane is NOT as dangerous as it is commonly thought to be .. that is

not to say that in its pure state its harmless .. its NOT to be used as

an after dinner cocktail - drinking it would be harmful. But Hexane

will not be found in its pure state in an Absolute. Hexane is used to

produce many common cooking oils found in the kitchen.

 

Upon completion of this Hexane bathing process, the Hexane is drawn off

and what remains is a very waxy substance called Concrete. Concrete is

thick and not really suitable for use in AT .. though some folks do use

it in cosmetics.

 

The still warm Concrete is then poured into containers (normally kilo

size) with a hole in the top of the container .. through this hole will

escape the remaining Hexane in the Concrete. Hexane is one of the most

volatile substances known to science so it does escape. Then later ..

sometimes weeks later or even longer, the remaining (now cold) Concrete

is subjected to a Cold Process bath using another Solvent.

 

This final Solvent used to produce Rose Absolute is normally Ethanol ..

or C2H5OH .. something we find in every bar .. Grain Alcohol.

 

The Absolute produced from the Concrete will have a bit of Ethanol

remain in it .. and maybe a trace (6 ppm or so) of Hexane. But it is

NOT harmful .. I repeat .. it is NOT harmful.

 

An extract from one of the many fine articles on Martin Watt's site is

below .. folks should visit his site at http://www.aromamedical.com/

 

This portion is from his page entitled " Misinformation On Aromatherapy

Issues http://www.aromamedical.com/articles/misinfor.html

 

Misinformation: " Absolutes should not to be used for therapeutic

purposes " .

 

Truth: " IN FACT several floral absolutes have been extensively tested

on humans for adverse effects and are passed as safe if used in the

appropriate amounts. Several absolutes are permitted food additives

under EEC, FDA & WHO regulations. Solvent residues are subject to

International regulations, and these levels are only a few parts per

million if for food use. Therefore, the use on the skin in aromatherapy

is perfectly safe, provided the maximum levels recommended by RIFM are

not exceeded. As absolutes are cold processed, they represent the

perfume found in the living plant much more closely than the equivalent

distilled essential oil. " UNQUOTE

 

I'll comment on his last sentence .. the reason the odor of an Absolute

will more closely resemble the aromatic source it was extracted from

than will an Essential Oil is likely to be due to chemical changes

caused by heat during the distillation process. This doesn't mean the

oil loses its therapeutic properties. If that were the case there would

be no Aromatherapy .. but it is likely that some of the natural trace

chemicals might be altered by distillation .. and the odor of an oil is

not always due to the major chemical components .. often its due to some

obscure trace chemical(s).

 

I'll comment on Martin's point on safe use.. " IF used in appropriate

amounts " . How do we learn the appropriate amount of a particular EO or

Absolute? The only source I know of that is referenced is Martin's

Safety Manual, " Plant Aromatics " . This reference publication has been

around for a long time. It contains, for various Essential Oils and

Absolutes, references on scientifically proven safe dilution for dermal

application of those Essential Oils and Absolutes. The old edition of

" Plant Aromatics " sold for years at $75. I have published the new,

revised edition and now offer it for $44.90.

 

The revised edition came out in November 2001 and is now in the Fifth

Printing. I am exclusive dealer for North and South America. It can

be seen and ordered from me at the following URL .. folks in Europe

should contact Martin. http://www.av-at.com/plantaromaticsavnp.html

 

Now .. I will caveat my recommendation that you visit Martin's web site

with the following comments. I do this because though I agree with

maybe 99.44% of Martin's work .. I can't agree with all of his positions

and if I send folks to read things I don't agree with I need to let them

know that up front. ;-)

 

1. Martin is my good buddy and I have the utmost respect for him and

his knowledge. He has perhaps the most extensive research library of

any person in this industry .. he has spent many, many years doing a lot

of fine research. He has published and its good work. If I were to

measure his general knowledge of aromatic matters against my own .. I

would come out on the short end of the stick .. but I know a thing or

three .. even a blind hawg finds an acorn now and then. ;-)

 

2. Martin is a fanatic on safety .. this is a good thing because his

extreme position provides some balance to a lot of crap put out by many

others that totally disregards safe use of Essential Oils. But I am not

of the opinion that if an EO is not proven to be safe then it should not

be used. Many EO commonly used in AT have not been tested for dermal

use .. one of the many not tested is Peppermint.

 

3. Martin is an honest man with a very low tolerance for the hype that

is common in this industry .. and he's been around this industry long

enough to see a lot of such crap. That is why he often comes across as

a Troll .. he's not really a Troll .. just acts like one sometimes. ;-)

 

4. Martin is sometimes an extreme Green .. I consider myself as being a

logical conservationist. I don't agree with his positions on Rosewood

and Sandalwood .. and I have presented my disagreement in debate with

him on and off list. None of what I have written here today is written

behind his back .. he is a member of this list .. likely will see this

post if he has his ears on. We duke it out and still remain friends due

to a mutual respect .. even though he is a Social Democrat. ;-)

 

5. If someone wants to learn the CORRECT information about Essential

Oils and Aromatherapy .. and the SAFE use of same .. rather than later

having to weed through the humma-humma and unlearn bad information .. I

would recommend they consider taking Martin's Aromatherapy Course .. its

the best around and least costly Aromatherapy Course around .. and you

can get a 10% discount on the cost of the course by going through me.

http://www.av-at.com/coursedetails.html

 

In addition .. if you own or purchase Plant Aromatics prior to taking

for the AT Course .. you get an additional $13 rebate.

 

Back at the farm:

 

So .. we started with Rose Blossoms .. then obtained Rose Concrete ..

and finally we wind up with two products .. Rose Absolute .. and the

plant Waxes that are left behind after the final extraction process.

This wax is called .. Rose Wax. For the last few years this wax has

been highly sought after by folks in this industry .. for soaps or

whatever. Prior to this fad the remaining Rose Wax was a product we

dumped in the garbage.

 

And that's what Absolutes and Essential Oils are .. and how they are

produced.

 

> Thanks!

 

Welcome fer'shur .. and y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch http://www.AV-AT.com .. Bulk/Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO,

Rose Products, Tested Hydrosols and other nice things shipped to you

from our store in Downtown Friendsville, MD .. Pop: 597 .. ceptin' when

I'm in town .. then its 598 but they refuse to change the sign. ;-)