ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS:
THEIR TRUE COLORS
ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS:
THEIR TRUE COLORS
Many people did not realise essential oils are made up of bright vibrant colors: from deep reds of Jasmine, to dark inky blue of German Camomile, to subtle greens of Geranium.
To see all the different colors together is a beautiful sight, which has until recently been hidden. This is due to the fact essential oils are light sensitive, i.e. they degrade slowly when exposed to UV light. To overcome this they have always been sold in dark colored bottles, protecting them from light but also hiding their colors too. Recently I was talking to a professional aroma therapist who expressed surprise at my statement that essential oils were different colors. I too was only vaguely aware of the fact, so I set about looking for a safe way to be able to use essential oilswhile also being able to see their colors. Hence the new range of organic essential oils in clearglass bottles protected from light by their metal containers from NHR Organic Oils, (patentapplied for). This method of packaging not only allows one to see the essential oils colors but by keeping the clear glass bottle inside a metal tube stores them in a 100% light proof container,rather than traditional brown bottles that give approx. 80% light protection. This keeps the oils from degrading even slowly from UV light radiation. It is vital to keep essentail oils as fresh and pure as possible therfore retaining the strongest therapeutic effect.
Colors have an important role to play when choosing different oils: their colors often relate toand enhance the therapeutic effects. For example, the deep earthy brown of Myrrh relates to thebase chakra, having a balancing and grounding effect or the blues of camomile relating to the digestive system and chakra. The color becomes as important as the aroma when choosing anessential oil. When the awareness of the color is combined with the known therapeutic properties, one can make a more accurate and informed choice, using ones knowledge, and senses (sight and smell) and of course ones intuition all together.The use of aromatherapy is slowly but surely embracing the energetic therapeutic properties ofessential oils, as well as the physical therapeutic properties. Essential oils have been used forenergetic healing for 1000's of years, and more recently there has been a revival of interest. SeePatricia Davis's book "Subtle Aromatherapy" or "Fragrant Heavens" by V.A Worwood, bothexplore the subtle energetic side of aromatherapy.
ORGANIC QUALITY AND PURITY
The other vital factor when choosing an essential oil is to know it is organically grown, which helpsto ensure its purity and vitality. The majority of essential oils on the market are very low-grade oilsand their therapeutic properties reflect this. Which sadly confirms many people's suspicion that aromatherapy does not work. The simple truth is they have not used good quality organic oils.
There are fortunately some exceptions, and it is possible to buy very high quality organic oils if one is discerning. To ensure the essential oils you are buying are of the highest organic quality you need to find a trustworthy supplier who follows certain stringent rules -
1. They should have a close relationship with the source i.e. farm and distillers
2. Each oil should be tested Using Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC). Ensuring there are no adulterants or impurities, and the many individual components are in thecorrect proportions. For example 'Clinical' grade Lavender oil should have 35-50% linalyl acetate (depending on type).
3. Tests for aroma, color and age of the oils; and finally provide organic certification are needed.
When buying from a shop, you should trust your own sense of smell and the the rapeutic effect of the oils you are using. Here it should be added that one of the primary advantages in buying only organic essential oils, is that these oils do not contain any pesticides, chemical fertilizers, artificialpreservatives, adulterants or especially now do not come from genetically altered plants. It istrue that such pure oils might cost twice as much as impure oils, but they are at least one hundred times more effective.
Essential oils contain an enormous range of components. This explains their extraordinary variety of therapeutic effects. All these naturally contained components are only found in high-gradeorganic "clinical oils". If the natural balance of the oil is upset only slightly, through additives and adulterants, then not only will the oil's therapeutic properties be weakened, but the oil could be potentially harmful to the individual user.
It is far more expensive to produce pure organic 'clinical' grade oil, due to the expense of organic farming and a more thorough distillation process etc. For example during the distillation process oflavender oil, 75% of the essential oil is extracted after 25 minutes; however, it takes a further 1 hour and 45 minutes for the remaining 25% of the oil to be extracted. Tempting less scrupulous distillers to save time and money by reducing the time of distillation, but the result is a low-gradeoil.
Until recently organic essential oils have been very expensive and only available from a few outlets,and usually restricted to trained practitioners. NHR Organic Oils are changing this by selling the highest quality oils at affordable prices.
Written by: EcoMall
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