Essential Oils - What are they?

I have been reading about essential oils and it seems the more I read, the more essential oils I uncover, and the more information I find. This has opened up a whole new world to me. I have never heard of essential oils before but now I am intrigued and want to know more and more. But my head is spinning from all this information, so I have to concentrate on the basics.

First, what are essential oils?

Essential oils are the natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. If you squeeze the peel of a ripe orange, the residue in your hand is full of essential oils. In fact, orange oil is widely produced by pressing the rind of the orange. Essential oils are non water-based phytochemicals made up of volatile organic compounds. Essential oils are very clean, almost crisp, to the touch and are immediately absorbed by the skin. Essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits.


The Egyptians were some of the first people to use aromatic essential oils extensively in medical practice, beauty treatment, food preparation, and in religious ceremony. Frankincense, sandalwood, myrrh and cinnamon were considered very valuable cargo along caravan trade routes and were sometimes exchanged for gold. The Greeks used essential oils in their practices of therapeutic massage and aromatherapy. The Romans also used aromatic oils to promote health and personal hygiene. Influenced by the Greeks and Romans, as well as Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic use of aromatic herbs, the Persians began to refine distillation methods for extracting essential oils from aromatic plants. Essential oil extracts were used throughout the dark ages in Europe for their anti-bacterial and fragrant properties.

In modern times, the powerful healing properties of essential oils were rediscovered in 1937 by a French chemist, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, who healed a badly burnt hand with pure lavender oil. A French contemporary, Dr. Jean Valnet, used therapeutic-grade essential oils to successfully treat injured soldiers during World War II. Dr. Valnet went on to become a world leader in the development of aromatherapy practices. The modern use of essential oils has continued to grow rapidly as health scientists and medical practitioners continue to research and validate the numerous health and wellness benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oils.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm sold on essential oils. I have been looking for natural products, and these are just about as natural as you can get. So I have ordered a set of different essential oils and once I have tried them out, I will post a blog to report my findings.