Essential Oils Extraction: Cold Press Method
Essential oils have been used for hundreds of years to naturally and holistically enhance health, beauty, and wellness--and that’s no surprise, considering how beneficial they are for your mind and body. People use essential oils to relieve stress and pain, fight off the flu, decrease inflammation, prevent infection, soothe irritated skin, relax the mind, energize the body, normalize hormones, regulate digestion, improve mental clarity…. the list goes on and on.
Our essential oils are 100% pure, highly concentrated, and derived from the finest natural plant sources worldwide—from Morocco to Indonesia and Australia, but when it comes to health-enhancing extracts, it matters where they come from, but also how the essential oils are derived.
The Cold Pressed Process: How It Works
Essential oils are extracted from various parts of a plant or tree—root, seed, leaf, flower, fruit or bark. Cold pressing is a mechanical extraction process, also known as expression or mechanical separation. Historically, cold pressed oils were extracted by hand, and required the use of specialized sponges that could absorb the plants' oils and liquid. The sponges would then be pressed in a vice-like device over a container. The oil would collect and separate from the rest of the plant's extracted liquid. These days, cold pressing is less labor intensive. Plants and plant parts (such as the rinds of fruits) are placed in a spike-filled container and slowly punctured. Most modern-day cold press machines also utilize centrifugal force to help separate the oil from the rest of the plant pulp and liquid. The puncturing and spinning process releases the essential oils, which are then collected, bottled, and used in its pure form or added to other products, especially carrier oils like jojoba or argan oil.
The Benefit of Cold Pressing Essential Oils
Essential oils offer a variety of beneficial effects that help flora survive and thrive in their natural habitats. In humans, essential oils have a powerful health impact on virtually all parts of the body. Cold-pressing helps preserve the integrity and potency of these oils, which offers greater health benefits to you. As the term implies, "cold pressing" involves no external application of heat. Any heat that occurs is created internally because of the mechanical pressing process. This is important because, in certain plants, high levels of heat cause the delicate and tiny molecules within the oils to break down and degrade, which can minimize the oil's health benefits.
Are All Essential Oils Cold Pressed?
Essential oils that go through the cold pressing process come mainly from citrus fruits—grapefruit, lemon, lime, bergamot and mandarin oranges, and tangerines. Because of the time and technicality involved, however, cold pressing is not always the most practical method of extraction. Traditionally, distillation has been used to derive essential oils from most plants—flowers, trees, vegetables, and nuts. The distillation process, which often involves high temperatures, typically involves steam, water or a combination of both. Plants are sealed in a specialized still, and the water and/or steam are forced inside. This increases the pressure and "squeezes" out the oils, which are then condensed and collected. That said, both cold-pressing and distillation are effective ways to extract essential oils from plants. No matter what method is used, the best oil extractions avoid harsh chemicals or the use of harmful additives in the bottling and storing process. We do our due diligence to ensure that all our essential oils are derived by using the most effective means possible, so that you're getting a better product and a better benefit, no matter how you use them.
That said, both cold-pressing and distillation are effective ways to extract essential oils from plants. No matter what method is used, the best oil extractions avoid harsh chemicals or the use of harmful additives in the bottling and storing process. We do our due diligence to ensure that all our essential oils are derived by using the most effective means possible, so that you're getting a better product and a better benefit, no matter how you use them.
