Use The Healing Power Of Essential Oils

Learn How To Use Essential Oils For Healing In Your Home With Our Helpful Guide.

- Candice Curtis

To find out more about essential oils and their uses for healing, we chatted to Sue Pugh, co-owner of Still Pure (Stillpure.co.za), which produces essential oils and natural, botanical products.

HOW ARE ESSENTIAL OILS MADE? 

Essential oils are most commonly made by putting plant material through a steam distillation process. The end result is pure essential oil and water (hydrosol), which carries some of the water-soluble components of the essential oil and can be used for various applications.

Sue explains that the parts of plants used in this process vary. ‘In some cases, the whole plant is used, as with rosemary. Sometimes only the flowers are used, as with jasmine; and sometimes only the leaves, for example with lemongrass. Roots only are used in vetiver; only the wood is used in sandalwood, and we use the resin only with myrrh.

‘Different oils can also be made using various parts of the same plant,’ says Sue. ‘For example, some species of orange trees will give you bitter orange essential oil, which is pressed from the fruit rinds; neroli is distilled from the blossoms, and petit grain from the stems and leaves.’

BENEFITS OF NATURAL PRODUCTS

According to Sue, generally, essential oils shouldn’t be used on their own for the treatment of any serious physical or psychological illnesses. It’s recommended they’re used in conjunction with other treatments, as diagnosed by a medical professional skilled in alternative medicine. ‘Essential oils are best used to maintain wellness rather than as a cure once a problem has already set in,’ she explains.