What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are hyper-concentrated plant souls — steam-distilled or cold-pressed from leaves, flowers, peels, or bark.  They have been used since the dawn of man for everything from mind-body-spirit wellness to pure enjoyment.  Because they are so concentrated, it takes many pounds and even tons to create the oils.  For example, it takes 3,000 lemons to make 1 kg of lemon essential oil.  So That’s why your candle smells like a citrus explosion in one sniff...because IT IS!  Essential Oils are used in everything from body & body products, candles, teas, and some are even edible and used in teas and as a flavoring in desserts and pastries (think lemon, mandarin orange, lavender, peppermint etc.).

Lavender

Lavender is the most-revered and best-known essential oil, and has had a long-involved, 5000 year-history all over the world.  Beloved for its intoxicating, balanced, and mystical floral  scent, this king of Essential Oils is a true champion.  Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) — NOT the ornamental spikes in your garden is one of the most worshipped.  In Provence, France, where 60% of world supply is grown, it grows as celestial purple ocean fields at 800–1,200 meters altitude.  In Bulgaria (Kazanlak Valley) it is grown in combination with rose fields, but it is also grown in Tasmania with a high-lnalool concentration  and is pesticide free.  

The best time to harvest lavender is when there is the maximum oil in the buds, which is when just 50 percent of the flowers are open.  To produce 1 hectare of lavender essential oil (that's 12–20 kilograms,)  it requires 15,000–20,000 plants.  Your lavender candle? Distilled from 20,000 purple buds hand-cut at dawn in Provence. Royalty in a flame.  You're missing out if you haven't tried one.    

Lavender History & Facts

Around 3000 BC, ancient Egyptians mummified pharaohs with lavender-resin paste. By 600 BC, Persians named it *lāvand* (to wash,) while Roman baths dumped it in their spa waters to keep them smelling fresh.  Around 77 AD, Greek doctor Dioscorides wrote: “Burn lavender to calm nerves, heal burns.”.  By the time the Middle Ages had rolled around, French monks grew it in monastery gardens while Plague doctors stuffed their noses with it  with lavender to “block miasma.”.  By the 1600s, Queen Elizabeth I demanded lavender jam daily and Charles VI of France slept on lavender pillows.  But it was Chemist René Gattefossé who termed the word, "aromatherapy" when after burning his hand he then dunked it in lavender oil.  But Today Lavender has been found in MRI studies: Lavender scent has bee found to decrease cortisol 25% in 10 minutes.  And it smells so wonderful while it does this!     

Essential Oil Superpowers

Lavender: Floral pillow.  Sleep, calm, anti-anxiety.  Pair with vanilla for “Bedtime Hug”

Peppermint:  Icy wake-up, Focus, headache relief.  Mix with eucalyptus for “Morning Kick”

Sweet Orange:  Sunshine in a bottle.  Uplift, immune boost.  Blend with cinnamon for “Winter Cabin”

Tea Tree:  Medicinal spa. Acne, anti-fungal.  Use in soy wax for “Cleanse & Refresh”

Eucalyptus:  Spa steam. Congestion, clarity.Pair with pine for “Forest Breath”

Frankincense:  Ancient temple.  Meditation, skin glow

Ylang Ylang:  Tropical honeymoon.  Aphrodisiac, stress melt.  Mix with jasmine for “Date Night”

Lemon:  Fresh laundry.  Detox, mental clarity.  Layer with basil for “Kitchen Zen”

Rosemary:  Herb garden.  Memory, hair growth.  Blend with cedarwood for “Study Buddy”

Patchouli:  70s boho.  Grounding, insect repellent.  Pair with bergamot for “Hippie Luxe”