So as you can see, steam distillation of essential oils is like following a recipe! And we all know what happens when we cut down on recipes!
How do their essential oil distillate costs disappear or decrease?
There are many ways for unethical distillers to reduce their costs. Here are some:
Short distillation process cutting – As you can see from the examples above, distillate essential oils can be time consuming and costly! Most marketed lavender oil is traded at 155 pounds of pressure at a temperature of about 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes! Therapeutic scale lavender requires zero pounds of pressure for a minimum of one hour and fifteen minutes!
Add Solution to Oil – Companies will use a distillation method such as solvent extraction that will expand oil production tremendously. Moreover, they can add solvents to good quality oil by diluting it. Some companies dilute it up to 90-95% with cheaper solvents or oils that have similar smells! See Otto Rose Essential Oil.
Re-extract or Distillate Herbal Material – Distillate essential oils several times or repeat extraction with the same herbal material. Yes, some companies will repeat the distillation process up to four times or more! This produces very poor oil.
Use non-organic plant materials – Companies will use plants that contain pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or who knows what else to make essential oil! These chemicals not only react with the essential oil, they also become concentrated in the oil.
Are There Reliable Steam Distillation Stills and Companies?
Yes there are responsible companies and producers of essential oils. They care about the safety of their customers and the quality. And they will not harm us so they can make a great victory.
Those business owners who sit behind a table and earn by selling poor quality essential oils are General Contractors for Essential Oil (GCEO)! GCEOs do not grow, distill or analyze essential oil, and frankly they lack the expertise to do so. They just subcontract everything and worry about the bottom line, not consumer safety.
What do we consider when choosing an essential oil or company distiller?
I am happy to assist you in this area. There is a whole section devoted to discussing what to look for and how to choose a company that is correctly distilling essential oils! Please click here for more information.