The basics
What is an essential oil?
It is the aromatic essence of a plant: the scent produced by its flowers, leaves, peel or roots, collected and concentrated in a bottle.
Plants produce these compounds to protect themselves and to attract pollinating insects. Despite its name, an essential oil is not greasy at all: it evaporates in the open air, which is why you can smell it straight away.
Origin
Each oil comes from a specific part of the plant
The essence is found where the plant produces it. Depending on the species, it is collected from:
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The flowers
Lavender
The flowers are picked in full bloom, when their scent is at its peak.
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The peel
Lemon
The oil is hidden in tiny pockets in the peel, not in the juice.
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The roots
Vetiver
Its long, tightly packed roots yield a thick oil with a woody scent.
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The resin
Frankincense
The resin that flows from the Boswellia tree hardens into tears and is then distilled.
Leaves (Peppermint), wood (Cedarwood), seeds (Coriander) and bark (Cinnamon Bark) are also used.
Production
Two methods of extracting the essence
Steam distillation
Steam passes through the plant and carries its aromatic compounds with it.
As it cools, the steam turns back into water. The essential oil, which does not mix with water, separates from it and is collected. Time, temperature and pressure are adjusted for each plant so that the oil keeps its full composition. This is the most common method: flowers, leaves, roots, wood or resin.
Cold pressing
Used only for citrus fruits, it extracts the oil from the peel by mechanical pressure, without heating.
The fruits roll against cylinders that grate the surface of the peel and open the tiny pockets that hold the oil. A jet of water collects it, then the mixture is filtered and the oil is separated from the water. Lemon, Orange, Bergamot and Grapefruit are obtained this way.
Did you know?
Terroir and harvest
Two oils with the same name are not always equal
The composition of an oil depends on the plant itself, and on how it is processed.
The terroir
Soil, climate and altitude change the compounds the plant produces.
The harvest
Picked too early or too late, a plant yields a less rich oil.
The distillation
If it is too hot or too short, it damages part of the essence or leaves some of it behind.
You cannot tell a pure oil just by looking at it
No official standard defines the purity of an essential oil. dōTERRA oils are tested batch by batch to the CPTG standard: 3 checks and 4 families of tests verify that the bottle contains only the plant stated.
How to use
Three ways to use them
On every product page, coloured usage badges show the possible uses of the oil.
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In a diffuser
A few drops in a diffuser scent a room. It is the simplest way to start.
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On the skin
Diluted in a carrier oil, for massage or in your skincare. Some can be applied neat: the badge tells you.
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Internal use
Some can be taken in small doses, in a glass of water or in cooking. Only if the product carries the I badge.
Where to start
Three easy oils to start with
Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint are the most versatile: each lends itself to several everyday uses.
All three in a kit
