Base oils in Aromatherapy!
There are several mediums of delivering essential oils to your system! From air to lotion and everything in between. Today I would like to talk about specific medium – carrier or base oils, the reason they called “carrier” it is cause they literally delivery essential oils to your body. However not all base oils are created equal!
Here is a brief and basic breakdown that you should be aware off.
So…it is very much preferable to use cold-pressed organic carrier oils for the purpose of aromatherapy, that’s cause this way they will contain more essential fatty acids, penetrate more easily and will actually provide a much needed nourishment for the skin, besides delivering essential oils to your skin.
Most common essential fatty acids (EFAs) are oleic acid, linolenic acid and linoleic acid.
There are two types of fatty acids – saturated and unsaturated.
Saturated oil are usually very fatty and greasy and too sick, such as Coconut (hence I do not prefer it for my medium). And refined Coconut oil is really drying for the skin.
Unsaturated are in turn divide into two categories – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Monounsaturated = linoleic acid – more stable and keep for longer time, at least 1 year of kept in cool place away from sunlight. Ex. Sweet almond oil, camellia oil, argan.
Polyunsaturated = linolenic and linoleic – very light and non-greasy and mostly anti-inflammatory however they go rancid very quickly – shelf life usually about not even a year, about 6 month given your refrigerated or cool place away from sunlight. Ex. Evening primrose, borage seed.
Polyunsaturated oils are great for ingesting such as avocado, evening primrose, borage seed, black currant, flax seed by they go rancid quickly, hence you just use low additions of these oils to your main base which should always be monounsaturated.
WHY?
Well basically, if you use polyunsaturated acid, or actually oil with lots of polyunsaturated acids they the oil will oxidize quickly and will in turn produces free radicals which are not beneficial for the cells in are body and just pretty much dangerous. Once the oil goes rancid there is actually chemical change that takes place that prevents the essential oils from doing their work, besides the not so pleasant aroma. And when massaging the oil into your skin you introduce free radicals to it that get absorbed into your organs and can also cause various skin irritations.
Conclusion – choose your carrier oils wisely! IT DOES MATTER!
Rejuvelate products are made in the base of argan oil which is very stable due to its vitamin E content and then depending on the product and its purpose there are additions of wonderful polyunsaturated oils, especially if we are talking skin conditions such as eczema or rosacea or psoriasis,,, there is simply no way without them.
