| Herbs, wood, and spices are main sources of natural | | | | a portion of plant essence through the distillation |
| oils. Most of them are extracted from plants. The | | | | process. Hydrosol is popular for its soothing properties |
| normal way to get oil out of a plant is through the art | | | | and aroma. |
| of distillation. | | | | Distillation needs a few components to have a |
| Roots, berries and leaves work great with the | | | | successful extraction. First, the temperature is |
| distillation process. Wood can release them through | | | | important. Too high, or too low, a temperature and it |
| being burned. Burning wood, or herbs, was a popular | | | | won't work properly. |
| aromatherapy method used by Native American | | | | The temperature in the extraction chamber is |
| Indians. | | | | important. Too high a temperature and the |
| Distillation is the most common method of extracting | | | | components of the oil are altered, or even ruined. The |
| these oils. Distillation is a flow of steam that is used | | | | pressure also needs to be just enough, otherwise it will |
| against the raw plant material. Steam causes small | | | | lesson the effects that the oil has. |
| sacs in the plant to release essential oil by bursting. | | | | Extraction can take a lot of effort. When extracting |
| The steam that burst the sacs carries the oil out of | | | | these oils it is very important to take the time to make |
| the chamber. The steam runs in to a condensor, and | | | | sure you are getting all the oil components with the |
| turns in to water. Both water and oil are in the | | | | process. Some plants release oils earlier than others, |
| condenser and are separated. | | | | but aggressive processing normally means low-quality |
| The water that is in the mixture is known as hydrosol. | | | | natural essential oil. |
| Hydrosol is not normally thrown away, since it contains | | | | |