Vital Force Naturals

One of the new parts to my business is natural skincare products. I’ve been making my own stuff for years (being an aromatherapist it seemed the obvious thing to do) so it was a natural progression to make aromatherapy products that are affordable and popular but a little more bespoke, and with good quality food grade ingredients.

So what exactly is aromatherapy and what are essential oils??

Aromatherapy is defined as the ‘controlled use of essential oils in a positive way to maintain good health and revitalise the body, mind and spirit’. Essential oils are defined as the ‘exclusive product of the extraction of the volatile aromatic principles contained in the substances of which they bear the name’. (As taught to me by Shirley Price Aromatherapy). Phew! People often think ‘essential’ because they are essential to the plant but that’s not strictly true as they are in fact secondary metabolites, although no one really knows for sure. It’s more that they were first described as an ‘essence’ of the plant. And ‘oil’ is a bit of a misnomer too. They’re not strictly oils, they are not fixed, meaning they won’t stain or leave a mark and don’t feel slippery like an oil. They disperse slightly in water, depending on the oil, and dissolve well in vegetable oils which is generally how we use them during aromatherapy massage. They are highly volatile meaning they evaporate readily which makes them highly flammable, and when exposed to air, light and heat, oxidise quickly. They can also damage painted or polished surfaces and ‘eat through’ plastics, which is why the pure essential oil is always kept in dark, glass bottles.

Vegetable oils are called carriers, simply because they carry the essential oil into the body, so actually anything can be a carrier – oil, water, air, cream, lotion, butter, milk, shampoo etc. (Also called base product) Vegetable oils and butters have their own therapeutic properties and when combined with essential oils the effects can be quite powerful.

All my products contain essential oils and one of the best ways to get their full benefit is to use them every day. Essential oils are highly aromatic, so the aroma of your product is extremely important. The quickest way into the brain is through the olfactory system (nose) so if the smell of lavender reminds you of your nasty old aunt, then maybe it’s best to avoid that oil, as the memories and emotions they conjure up can be very powerful, both positive and negative. Essential oil molecules are tiny, and are categorised as top, middle and base notes. Top notes are the smallest (think fresh, citrus, uplifting oils) and these evaporate first, so that’s your first hit. Middle notes are next, often herby, background aromas, think juniper, lavender and fennel. These bring balance to the oil. Base notes are the biggest (think heavy floral/woody scents like Jasmin, rose, and sandalwood), which evaporate last and are the lingering aroma that hold it all together. All oils have a mixture of all three but usually contain more of one note than another. Each oil is very complex and can contain hundreds of chemicals, and like many things in nature need to be used with respect and knowledge. And because they are natural each harvest will be slightly different, depending on weather, soil, pests, harvest time, method of extraction, political climate etc. This means that this years lavender for instance may have a slightly different aroma, colour and texture to last years, and may have a slightly different action therapeutically. It often has a different price to reflect this too.

The essential oil itself is contained in different parts of the plant and this dictates how the oil is extracted and has a bearing on the price of the oil. Some plants yield a lot of oil very easily, whereas some oils need a lot of plant material and a complicated extraction process to yield a small amount. The most common form of extraction is steam distillation, but expression, solvent extraction, enfleurage, percolation and carbon dioxide extraction are also used. Some methods are more successful than others at extracting all the chemicals within the essential oil but some chemicals are inevitably lost. And some oils are then ‘bulked up’ with other isolated chemicals from other cheaper oils or synthetic materials or just separated and adulterated. So when buying essential oils all these factors have to be considered. As with a lot of things price is often a good indicator of quality, but not always.

When sourcing essential and carrier oils I try to find organic unadulterated oils that are grown and harvested sustainably. If you care about what you put in your body you should care about what you put on your body.

For more information on my products click HERE and order directly with me or through my social media

07973 548858

vitalforcemail@gmail.com

Insta and Facebook: @vitalforcenaturals.com

LinkedIn: @PetaPinnock