Essential Oils and Absolutes - What Are They?

[Guest guest]

Hey y'all,

 

My last " informative " post of the day. Y'all were wondering when it

would stop - huh? ;-)

 

This is an old one .. but its gonna answer some questions that a lot

of folks have but have just not asked yet.

 

Once upon a time on this list .. somebody asked:

 

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

> oil and an absolute?

 

Yep .. see below. ;-)

 

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

 

There are around forty eleven ways to describe an Absolute .. and

afore I'm through you might be sorry you asked. Most of the

explanations are too short and create more questions .. but I'm not

known for brevity.

 

If its worth explaining its worth trying to answer questions afore

they are asked .. so I'll use a combination of those ways and hope the

explanation is clear enough. If it appears that I'm rambling it is

probably because its true.

 

ALL Essential Oil production is by either:

 

1. Steam Distillation .. means the plant material is placed in a

basket or container and suspended over the water .. steam passes

through the plant material, etc.

 

2. Hydro-Diffusion .. which is similar to Steam Distillation except

the steam is forced down from the top rather than passing through the

aromatic material from the bottom. Some say 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 .. means the aromatic material comes into direct

contact with the water .. similar to a washing machine where the

clothes are in contact with the water. Rose Otto is manufactured 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. This is

important to avoid having the aromatic materials overheat .. or

caramelize.

 

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

and Absolutes are not Essential Oils. They are Absolutes. I don't

consider Cold or Expeller Pressed Oils (like Citrus) as being

Essential Oils either. CO2 extracted oils are also not Essential Oils.

 

I don't argue the semantics of this with folks as it detracts from the

points I try to make .. there is enough misinformation about to cause

some folks to want to validate that misinformation or their

misinformed teacher's instructions. We should use common language in

this industry. If one wants to call turtles as terrapins or spiders

as insects they can do it if they want to .. but they might consider

talking only to folks who are likewise wrong or they might be

corrected/challenged.

 

The Solvent used in the three forms of extraction above is .. Water.

Heated Water - Steam. I point this out because in this industry we say

that Absolutes are Solvent Extracted .. and true it is .. but we

should say which Solvent is used because Water is also a Solvent.

 

Absolutes .. Some aromatics don't take well to distillation .. Jasmine

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

be distilled or extracted as Absolutes .. Rose Blossoms for example.

 

Production of Absolutes requires less aromatic plant material, thus ..

Absolutes are not as costly as are Essential Oils made from the same

aromatic materials. Because some aromatic oils are produced both as

Essential Oils and Absolutes .. there will not always be a 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 the Rose Absolute made here in Turkey 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. Except that the Solvent

used in the initial process to produce Rose Absolute is not Water ..

its Hexane.

 

Hexane is NOT dangerous as is commonly thought by some folks .. its

not to be used as an after dinner cocktail - drinking it would be harmful.

 

Hexane is used to make 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 .. I've heard.

 

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 few percentage

points 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 ..

folks should visit it 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 " . 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 .. in fact, the odor of an Absolute

will more closely resemble the aromatic source it was extracted from

than will an Essential Oil. The reason for this is likely to be the

destruction or chemical changes caused by heat in the distillation

process. Doesn't mean the oil loses its therapeutic properties .. if

that were the case there would be no AT .. but its likely that some of

the natural trace chemicals might be altered .. and the odor of an oil

is not always due to the major chemical components .. sometimes its

from obscure trace chemicals.

 

I'll comment on his point of safe .. " IF used in appropriate amounts " .

How do we learn the appropriate amount of a particular EO or Absolute?

Only source I know is Martin's Safety Manual, " Plant Aromatics " . This

reference publication has been around for a long time. It contains,

for various EO, references on scientifically proven safe dilution for

dermal application of EO and Absolutes. The old edition sold for years

at $75. I published the new, revised edition and now offer it for

$44.90. (ADDED: Except it is now on sale for less).

 

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

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 have to 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 .. having 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 too 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 good balance to the majority of the 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 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 .. he just acts like one sometimes. ;-)

 

4. Martin is more of a tree hugger than I am but still I am a true

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 .. rather than later having to weed through all

the humma-humma and unlearn the bad information .. I would recommend

they consider taking Martin's Aromatherapy Course .. its the best

around and the least costly one around.

 

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 couple of years this wax

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

whatever .. not sure. Prior to this fad the remaining Rose Wax was a

product we dumped in the garbage.

 

And that is what an Absolute is and how it is produced.

 

Butch http://www.AV-AT.com