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What are natural essential oils - Aromatherapy Oils? Depending on the species of plant, essential oils are extracted from the petals, leaves, roots, buds, twigs, rhizomes, wood, bark, resin or fruit. In a few cases, every part of the plant growing above ground is used. There are several ways of obtaining the oil, the most common being steam distillation. This involves putting the plant material in a large, closed container, known as a vat, and forcing steam through it. The heat and pressure release the tiny droplets of essential oil from the plant, which then rise with the steam, out through the spiral tube. This cools the steam and turns it back into a liquid, the essential oil (being generally lighter than water, will float on the top and can be skimmed off. |
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