Question about essential oils, fragrance oils and essences

[Guest guest]

Hi! Can anyone tell me the difference between essential oils, fragrance

oils and essences? I want to make a soap with real orange oil in, since it

is a great cleanser. I have a facial soap with orange essence in it, that

is commercially made, is that the same as orange oil? Where is the best

place to get real oils. Such as frankincense and myrrh oil, which have

great medicinal properties. I thought I had bought some real myrrh and

frankincense oil, but then found out it said it was a fragrance oil. Also is

it better to make my own infused oil with the leaves and berries of plants

instead? For salves and soaps and such? I want to get all the medicinal

properties from different herbs that are available.

Thanx a bunch!

 

Rebekah

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Rebekah,

 

Sweet orange oil is a great choice for soaps . . . Very economical, yet

fresh and bright. Essential oils are pure plant extracts, steam distilled

or cold pressed from aromatic plants. Fragrance oils are man made

chemicals. An essence (literal definition is the 'scent' of something) is

usually a perfume compound and can be either natural or synthetic, depending

on the context. Sometimes in natural perfumery essences are tinctured

botanicals (infused in perfumers alcohol). Some perfumers call all their

botanical ingredients 'essences'. There are several good essential oil and

natural extract suppliers right here on this list . . . Check out people's

tag lines after their signatures.

 

Be Well,

Marcia Elston, Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence

http://www.wingedseed.com

http://www.aromaconnection.org

" The most commom way people give up their power is by thinking they don't

have any " : Alice Walker

 

 

 

On Behalf Of Rebekah Ganiere

Saturday, March 07, 2009 11:41 AM

1natural ;

Question about essential oils, fragrance oils and

essences

 

Hi! Can anyone tell me the difference between essential oils, fragrance

oils and essences? I want to make a soap with real orange oil in, since it

is a great cleanser. I have a facial soap with orange essence in it, that

is commercially made, is that the same as orange oil? Where is the best

place to get real oils. Such as frankincense and myrrh oil, which have

great medicinal properties. I thought I had bought some real myrrh and

frankincense oil, but then found out it said it was a fragrance oil. Also is

it better to make my own infused oil with the leaves and berries of plants

instead? For salves and soaps and such? I want to get all the medicinal

properties from different herbs that are available.

Thanx a bunch!

 

Rebekah

[Guest guest]

Hi Rebekah

 

Essential oils are produced by distillation of plant material (and sometimes

animal). Fragrance oils are typically synthetic. In natural perfumery, we use

the term " essence " to mean any general aromatic product from the plant, be it a

product of distillation or various solvent extraction methods. But in general

usage, the term " essence " is very vague and could mean a lot of things. The best

thing to do is to consult with your supplier to clarify how they are using

various terms.

 

As for where is the best place to get " real oils " , there is no one place. There

are any number of companies who sell essential oils, some of whom reside on this

very list. I don't want to name names and seem biased by leaving someone out,

but you may see them coming forward on Ad Day and so forth. The main thing to

look out for is a lot of fantastical hype-sounding claims on a supplier's

website. For example, " we have the best oils and no one else has the quality of

oils that we have " , that sort of thing. As you participate in this community,

I'm sure that you will come to recognize that certain suppliers have well-known

reputations of being trustworthy, knowledgable, and ethical.

 

Best wishes!

 

Patty

--- On Sat, 3/7/09, Rebekah Ganiere <becky wrote:

 

 

Hi! Can anyone tell me the difference between essential oils, fragrance

oils and essences? I want to make a soap with real orange oil in, since it

is a great cleanser. I have a facial soap with orange essence in it, that

is commercially made, is that the same as orange oil? Where is the best

place to get real oils. Such as frankincense and myrrh oil, which have

great medicinal properties. I thought I had bought some real myrrh and

frankincense oil, but then found out it said it was a fragrance oil. Also is

it better to make my own infused oil with the leaves and berries of plants

instead? For salves and soaps and such? I want to get all the medicinal

properties from different herbs that are available.

Thanx a bunch!

 

Rebekah