Essential Oil Facts Part 1

The therapeutic benefits of essential oils are incredible, and I’m so happy to share a bit of information about that with you today!  

I’ll be sharing a bit of info about the chemical make up essential oils in general today.   There is so much info, that I won’t bore you with a super long post so we will only cover a few today.  Enjoy!!

Essential oils are made up of many different chemical constituents that make up their aroma and therapeutic effects.  These elements are made by plants to attract pollinators and protect them from predators, bacteria, fungi, and other pests.  

The make-up of most essential oils are hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen compounds.  There are many different classes of these compounds or molecules in essential oils.

The most common elements are terpenes, alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and oxides.  These chemicals combined in different blends and different concentrations give essential oils their particular benefits.  

Today, I’ll tell you about terpenes.  They are the large molecules found in essential oils, and are typically identified by names ending in -ene.  Terpenes rich essential oils are incredibly volatile, and so work well with inhalation.  These are typically top notes found in oil blends or perfumes, so they would be the first notes you would smell.  

Terpenes can be cleansing, antioxidant, stimulating and can have positive enhancing effects on mood and mental health.  

Some common types of terpenes are limonene (found in citrus essential oils), pinene(frankincense, fir, and juniper), terpene(bergamot, tea tree, coriander, lime)

Frankincence has elevated levels of pinene and limonene, which contribute to it’s use in many cultures for meditation. 

Pinene