Essential oils are obtained from various parts of plants by various methods, some dating back thousands of years.
Oil from citrus fruits can be obtained by expression, or squeezing the rind. Enfleurage, soaking the material in oil or fat to capture its fragrance, has been used since ancient times. With maceration the fixed oil is heated to release the essential oil.
Solvent extraction uses solvents to render the oils in delicate flowers such as violets or mimosa.
Steam distillation, used by the Arabs since the eighth century, is the most popular method for extracting essential oils, using steam heat to evaporate vapour from flower petals, which is collected, cooled and fed into an alembic where the separated oil floats on top of the water. After the oil is skimmed off, the remaining water…
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CosBeauty (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2021 - April 2021