What are aromatherapy carrier oils? They are an essential part of the aromatherapy experience. They are the extracted oils from the seeds and nuts of many different plants. These are the fatty portions of the plant which hold oil to nourish the growing seed.
There are a lot of different types of these. They come from plants which produce many seeds, such as sunflowers, peanuts, pomegranate. But they can also come from plants which produce only one seed such as the avocado or mango. In contrast, essential oil is extracted from the leaves or the bark or roots of plants. They can also come from the flowers themselves, such as rose petals.
These substances are usually, as the name suggests, the more inert carriers which can be used as a base starting point to mix in more exotic, essential oil ingredients. But, they come in a huge variety of different types that they can also play a large part in the look and grade of the final solution.
They are a nutrient for the plant from which they come and so they can also provide nutrition to the mixture. Indeed, they are known to contain fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. Many contain anti-oxidants which can help to reduce the effects of aging.
It is for this reason that aromatherapists opt to buy cold pressed ingredients. This means that the oil is extracted out of the seed by pressing them repeatedly in specially constructed presses. This is done by using as little heat as possible.The other way of extracting is to use heat and pressure to get the oil out. This is good for some cases, but for cosmetic and therapeutic purposes, heat expression has the effect of destroying many of the nutrients present in the oil.
Essential oils cannot be used neat because they are too strong. If they were applied directly to the skin, they would cause irritation or even an allergic reaction. So it is much better to dilute them with a more neutral substance.
The exact mixture must be chosen with care and is usually a tried and tested recipe. Even though most of the oil types have no smell of their own and no color, some of them can have a sweet aroma or a faint yellowish color.
Peanut oil, especially must be used with great care because of the potential dangers of someone using it who might be allergic to it. If a person is allergic to peanuts then even the slightest exposure to the proteins in the peanut oil could cause them to have a very severe and potentially dangerous allergic reaction to it.
Carrier oils can be purchase in large quantities and stored for longer periods of time. They can be kept in air tight containers in dark and cool conditions. They do have long shelf lives, but if they are kept for too long they will go stale. This is known as going rancid, and a similar thing happens to butter which has been kept for too long. Old oils can be compared to newer ones to see if they still smell and look the same.
The author utilizes pure therapeutic grade essential oils for aromatherapy. More information is available through The Ananda Apothecary at www.anandaapothecary.com.