4 ways essential oils are extracted and why it is important

Every plant yields a different quantity of it's own valuable substances and it's important that crops are properly cared for. Young Living owns their own farms on over six continents and more than over 30 countries. They are the only company to have a 'seed to seal guarantee' because they care to oversee all of their practices to be as natural, as they should be. They believe in a high level of stewardship for the land and health of plants they harvest by hand are never to be tampered with toxins such as insecticides which is done naturally, as it should be. That is something to be proud of! Getting the best of what nature has to offer and knowing it's pure is why I chose start using Young Living's products, on top of that they're helping my family strive for better health.

So back to extraction! How much does it actually take to fill a 15ml bottle? Were you ever curious, because I know I was! Here is a great example, it takes 1 1/2 pounds of Frankincense resin to produce one 15ml bottle vs. It takes 160 pounds 160 pounds of rose petals to produce only one 15ml bottle of rose essential oil. It's a lot to be harvested, but it is that much because essential oils are to be very potent, that is why it is important to always to be safe, read more here. So how does Young Living extract the plants lifeblood to be bottle up, and sent to families around the whole world? Let me explain below...


There are 4 common extraction techniques:

1. Steam Distillation: A water vat is placed over a heat source with the plants suspended over the water. The proper temperature and pressure is needed to avoid burning the oils being extracted. Inside the water vat naturally the separation of oil and water occur because they cannot mix. The essential oil extracted will naturally be floating on top of the water, it is next sent to to be filtered.

2. Cold Pressing: All of Young Living's citrus oils need to be cold pressed or they will become bitter when exposed to heat. Other substances that are commonly cold pressed are fatty oils such as almond, olive, jojoba and coconut.

3. Resin Tapping: Trees are cut and resin seeps out to be collected. Kind of in the same sense why people tap, maple trees to collect the sap. Young Living oils that are harvested in this manner are Frankincense, Myrrh and Copaiba.

4. Absolute Oil Extraction: This is the most complicated method of extracting essential oils. It requires a solvent which is used to extract extract oil from delicate plants that would not survive through any other method. After a solvent is used, the second process is to then steam solvent and essential oil to remove the solvent completely to produce absolute oil. Young Living only uses this process for Jasmine and Neroli essential oil.

Anything that disrupts the distillation process, time of year plants are harvested, plant health, use of insecticides, effects the end product period. Those are some things to consider when choosing a company's product is what goes on behind the scene not only the distillation process. There are also 4 different grades or qualities of oils on the market, I will be covering soon! This was very vital information I learned and I am happy to share it with you. I hope you enjoyed today's blog!

Whispering Springs Farm Utah, U.S. The largest herb farm and distillery in the world, Young Living's lavender farm in Mona, Utah, features nearly 1,400 acres of fragrant herbs and is open to visitors year round.

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