Carrier Oils are derived predominately from seeds and nuts; the few exceptions include Jojoba which is actually a plant wax. Essential oils and absolutes are so powerful that they must always be diluted in carrier oil before use on the body. Carrier oils are also known as base oils and fixed oils and are packed full of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and many more key nutrients that will help you maintain healthy skin and feel fantastic.

How Much Essential Oil And/Or Absolute Do I Add To A Carrier Oil?

Most of the carrier oils we offer are very light having little to no odour and absorb easily into the skin. As a rule of thumb you should use between 1-3% essential oils and/or absolutes to 97-99% carrier oil. For more expensive oils and especially more potent smelling essential oils and absolutes, it maybe especially wise to use 1% essential oil or absolute with 99% carrier oil.

Methods Of Extraction

Cold Pressed - quite misleading as all ‘cold pressed’ oils are subject to a temperature between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit to obtain the oil. However this is the best process that produces the most therapeutically valuable carrier oils.

Expeller Pressed - similar to cold pressed procedure however the oil is exposed too much higher temperatures (Up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and so the oil is not really recommended for therapeutic uses. Expeller pressed oils find themselves for sale on most supermarket shelves as they are much cheaper to produce than cold pressed oils.

Refined Or Unrefined

Refined - fully processed oil where it has been exposed to all methods of refinement including a fluctuation in temperature from as high as 400 degrees and as low as -25 degrees, the oil is then deodorised, which removes the heavy and often unsettling odour in the oil, and finally bleaching, where natural clays and other mediums are used to alter or remove an oils color and scent. Not to be used in aromatherapy.

Unrefined - this process involves mechanical extraction and screen filtering where no additional refining process has taken place. The unrefined process helps oil retain its natural characteristics.