Essential oils, which are among the miracles offered by nature, have been used for health and beauty purposes for thousands of years.
The use of essential oils dates back to ancient civilisations. Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans used these oils in religious ceremonies, beauty and health applications. The traces of essential oils found in mummies found in Egypt show how valuable these oils are.
Essential oils are intensely aromatic liquids extracted from leaves, flowers, roots or other parts of plants. These oils contain the characteristic odours and therapeutic properties of plants.
Essential oils are usually obtained by methods such as steam distillation, cold pressing and solvent extraction. Steam distillation, the most common method, is the process of heating plant material with steam and separating the oil by condensation of the steam. Cold pressing is used to extract oil, especially from the peels of citrus fruits.
Essential oils are used in aromatherapy to improve mood and reduce stress, in skin care for their antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, in massage oils to provide relaxing effects, in household cleaning as natural and fragrant cleaners, and in some medical treatments to relieve mild pain and digestive problems.
These oils have a wide range of uses in both health and daily life as they contain a high concentration of natural essences of plants.
