Behind the Making: Organic Eucalyptus Oil
The world of essential oils can often be hard to navigate. From unique benefits, application methods, and farming practices – it’s easy to get lost in the options. Among the most popular of essential oils, extracts from peppermint, lavender, chamomile, and eucalyptus are widely favored. We’ll be exploring the cultivation behind appraised eucalyptus plants and the process behind steam distillation of essential oils.
Eucalyptus plants are widely known for their valued yield of eucalyptus oil. This oil belongs to the family of aromatic plants and therapeutic essential oils which possess a variety of antibacterial, healing, and mood altering properties. You can read more about aromatherapy & the top 10 natural remedies for stress here when making a purchase selection, an increasing number of consumers have shown interest and preference in organically grown essential oils.
Why Organic?
One of the main factors that often plays into decision making is the certification of an organic essential oil. It’s not just a marketing tactic. An organic eucalyptus oil will generally point to a significant increase in quality and purity. Obtaining an organic certification is among one of the most regulated processes in the food industry as it requires the final product to be at least 95% free of synthetic additives like pesticides, dyes, and chemical fertilizers.
Organic products are also typically associated with a higher price tag. This is due to the lower crop yields, longer pest management, and fees that come with obtaining the certification. In most cases, the crops coming from an organic farm will reflect the true cost of growing. They don’t receive government subsidies like conventional farmers do and have limited scaling options.
Eucalyptus oil can originate from one of three places. A general farm, a certified organic farm with zero pesticide and chemical fertilizer practices, or literally from a eucalyptus tree in the wild. Obtaining your organic oil will ensure an overall higher quality product with the greatest degree of purity. In addition, organic eucalyptus oil is healthier and less toxic in general due to the lack of preservatives, chemicals, and the process behind steam distillation. Their aroma tends to be more appealing and the components become more effective due to their higher retention.
The Extraction of Pure Essential Oils Through Steam Distillation
The extraction of essential oils can be done through several methods. From cold pressing, maceration, or hydro and steam distillation – different methods could affect the retained properties of an oil. Those seeking to retain the purest form of a plant will typically go through the steam distillation method. Steam distillation of essential oils is the process used to isolate an essential oil by lowering its decomposition point. By lowering the degree at which the oil’s organic compounds boil, damage to the heat sensitive components is minimized.
Upon harvesting, eucalyptus leaves are cut and prepared for distillation within a day of collection. They’re placed into a heat chamber where the temperature and pressure are carefully adjusted to prevent destruction to its components. Too high of pressure could result in too harsh of a chemical-like aroma. Temperatures set too high could potentially lessen the oil’s therapeutic properties.
Steam is then passed from the bottom of the chamber where it carries the oil and condenses it to a cooler state. In the condenser, a water stream is continuously supplied to cool down the mixture. Any remaining water is evaporated from the condensed mixture, leaving behind pure eucalyptus oil. The steam distillation of essential oils is usually continued for extended periods of time until all the oil has been extracted from the plants.
Additional Benefits of Steam Distillation
In addition to providing a 100% pure output of organic eucalyptus oil, the steam distillation of essential oils carries various other benefits. The equipment itself is relatively inexpensive. The process also possesses the large capacity to produce essential oils at industrial scales. It requires no subsequent separation steps and has been proven to produce organic solvent-free oils. It’s no wonder that steam distillation continues to be the industry’s most preferred and reliable method for extracting pure, organic, and largely scalable essential oils.
Making Your Selection
Sorting through the dozens and hundreds of options available in the eucalyptus oil market could be a chore. Before Organic Aromatic Eucalyptus Shower Mistgoes through these exact certifications when the eucalyptus is being farmed and the oil is being produced and extracted!
Eucalyptus Oil Uses
Now that you’ve made your trusted purchase, let’s take a look at some of the proven benefits that eucalyptus oil users love. On the skin, it can be diluted with water and applied as a remedy for health problems like arthritis and skin ulcers. When inhaled through a eucalyptus shower spray or diffuser, the aroma from eucalyptus oil can serve as a remedy for nasal congestion, cold symptoms, and stress. The steam distillation of essential oils will surely heighten these benefits and remedies.
Concluding Thoughts
As we’ve seen, the process of becoming an organic product goes through a series of authenticity checkpoints,
chemical restraints, and yearly audits. The purest of eucalyptus oils goes through the industry standard method of steam distillation in order to obtain 100% oil extract. The steam distillation of essential oils is extremely technical, scalable, and preferred to ensure the maximum number of properties is kept from the plant. The direct benefits of being an organic consumer traces back to it’s safety, heightened health properties, and overall quality of use. We highly encourage being an active user of organic essential oils for your daily aromatherapy practices!