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About Absolutes

The delicate nature of many flowers means that steam distillation can not be used to extract the oil because the intense heat destroys the flowers, causing them to become compacted into a solid mass that the steam can not penetrate.

Even where special apparatus has been developed to assist the penetration of steam, the very high temperatures needed to produce the steam will often have a negative effect on the aroma of the oil produced. With the exception of a few oils such as Neroli and Rose, steam distillation is simply unable to capture a true representation of the oil from most flowers.

So a special process using solvents has been developed to capture more of the delicate fragrance without causing any damage to the fragrance. This process does not use any heat or water so none of the water-soluble aromatic compounds are lost as they are in steam distillation. When an oil is extracted this way oil is referred to as an absolute rather than an essential oil.

How are they made?

In the first stage of the process the plant material is placed in a cylindrical drum along with a solvent, usually hexane. The drum is rotated to aid in the absorption of the solvent and to separate the odiferous extract.

This extract is then subjected to vacuum distillation to remove the solvent which can then be recycled. The aromatic material obtained after this first process is known as a concrete or resinoid, depending if the extract is waxy or resinous. Concretes and resinoids are used in a wide range of industries, but specialist knowledge is required to work with them because they are very difficult to work with. This is why they are not usually used in aromatherapy.

The second stage in this process involves using alcohol to separate the aromatic compounds from pigments and waxes, which are usually present in the extracted material if it is derived from a flower or herb. They have little aromatic value and make the oil difficult to use due to their insolubility. After removing the waxes and non-odiferous materials, the alcohol is then recovered using vacuum distillation.

Highly concentrated

When produced correctly, an absolute will contain far more of the aromatic principles of the flower than its steam distilled counterpart. Because of this, many popular herbs are also extracted using this process; Clary sage, Geranium, Lavender, Tonka bean and Vanilla are just a small selection of materials that are available as an absolute. Because absolutes are highly concentrated, they do not often smell like the herbs until they are once again diluted down to the correct levels.

Examples of absolutes of a floral nature include Champaka, Jasmine, Mimosa, Orange flower (Neroli), Rose, Tuberose, Violet leaf and Ylang ylang. Floral absolutes tend to be the ones used mainly (if at all) in aromatherapy. You may wonder why you have not heard more about these fragrant delights if they are so good. Good question.

Bad press

Unfortunately, absolutes have acquired a bad reputation in aromatherapy due to misinformation being repeated in books and on the net. The concerns usually lie in solvent residues left in absolutes which are claimed to be unacceptably high. In reality, when produced correctly, any residues are in the order of 5 to 10 parts per million. This means that when they are diluted down to their correct level, any residues will be almost down to parts per trillion!

Of course it may be possible to end up with residues of a higher order due to poor manufacturing standards, but it should be noted that because many absolutes are permitted food flavourings the residues must be strictly controlled and meet FDA, EEC and WHO regulatory controls. In any case, solvents are very expensive and manufacturers are more than keen to recapture every last drop of them for recycling. There really is no incentive for a manufacturer to leave any residues of any kind in the product.

Sense of proportion

Others have cited alcohol residues as a reason the avoid the use of absolutes, but again the same thing applies. There are thousands of skin care products that contain far worse ingredients at much higher levels, so a sense of proportion ought to be used when debating these issues. Regulations for the food industry are generally far more stringent than those for the cosmetics, so if absolutes are permitted as food additives they should be perfectly safe on the skin.

If you still feel unsure about using absolutes on the skin, remember that of course they can be vaporised to help address emotional conditions. Many experienced aromatherapists have found that absolutes are more effective than essential oils on emotional states and prefer to use them this way.

Alternative methods

There are other methods of extraction that do not use solvents, but the cost of the specialist equipment is much more expensive thereby driving up the cost of the final product. Super-critical carbon dioxide produces wonderful extracts, but is not employed for such a wide range of materials and tends to be used mainly to extract spice oils.

A relatively new process developed by Advanced Phytonics producing what are known as 'phytols' using a very low boiling point solvent at minus 26 degrees Celcius which produces excellent oils. Production levels are fairly small and again the prices are very expensive when compared to absolutes.

Absolutes really do offer a wonderful way to recapture floral fragrances more accurately, and it would be a pity not to enjoy the benefits - until at least the prices begin to fall of other less controversial methods of extraction.

Next > About carrier oils
See also > Quinessence Absolute Oil Range

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Did you know?

Absolutes are much more concentrated than essential oils, so only a very small quantity is needed.

In fact, you will use less than half the amount with an absolute than you would an essential oil, and this makes absolutes much less expensive than they first appear.

Also, the shelf-life of an absolute is much longer than its essential oil counterpart. When stored correctly, absolutes will remain in perfect condition for 3 or 4 years.

Learn more about shelf-life...

Rose

Above: Rosa centifolia

Origin: Morocco

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Above: Jasmine (Jasminum officinale)

Origin: Egypt

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