Featured Article There are few luxuries as simple and pleasant as soaking in a warm bath, enhanced by a few drops of essential oils. Such a bath is particularly pleasant after spending long hours outside on a beautiful, but cold, winter day. Essential oils can transport you to a relaxed and comforted state. While enjoying this pleasure and calmness, you may also be bringing health and benefit to your body, mind, and emotions. Use them often and enjoy their natural beauty!

We should all know by now the difference between essential oil and a carrier or "fixed " oil. However, sometimes even those experienced with essential oils are a little confused about the use of essential oils in combination with carrier oil.

Essential oil and carrier oil

Essential oils are highly volatile by-products of plant metabolism. These oils are stored in almost every part of the plant, in very specialized cells. They are often colored and are usually lighter than water. They dissolve fairly well in alcohol and mix well with vegetable oils, fats, and waxes. Essential oils play a very important role in a plant's life. Science has discovered that some plants, in extreme climates, use essential oils for protection against the sun's rays. Frankincense bushes, for example, produce a vapor of essential oil that surrounds the plant and filters the sun's rays. You notice this cloud by the pleasant aroma as you walk by.

Carrier oils or fixed oils do not evaporate completely. They are usually stored in the plant's seed. They have high nutritive value, which is critical to a plant's growth and development. With the help of carrier oils, a small amount of essential oil will spread over a large skin area. They may also reduce the potential for skin irritations caused by some essential oils. They prevent excessive evaporation of essential oil components, and may be used as a skin emollient. Neways Mixing Oil is an example of a carrier oil. It is a gentle combination of quality vegetable (carrier) oils that allow safe and effective application of essential oils. Neways Mixing Oil is a mixture of grapeseed oil, safflower oil, primrose oil, and apricot-kernel oil. Let's look at each of them.

• Grapeseed oil- very popular oil among beauticians and massage therapists. Very light and odorless, this oil may help clean and tone the skin.

• Safflower oil -comes from an herb that is cultivated in California and Arizona. It is a powerful massage oil.

• Evening primrose oil -expensive oil, rich in gamma-linoleic acid. Excellent oil for skin care.

• Apricot-kernel oil -very light, penetrating, and virtually odorless. This oil may be used on all types of skin and is extremely nourishing.

If you are planning to use essential oils on the skin, always dilute the essential oil with carrier oil. For a full body massage, add 10-15 drops of a chosen essential oil, or 10-15 drops from a combination of 3 to 4 essential oils (link to blending oils previous letter) per 1 oz. of carrier oil. For a topical skin application, use 5-6 drops of essential oil in 10 ml (2 Tbsp) of carrier oil.

Preparation of Essential oils

How is it possible to extract "plant intelligence" hidden in small cellular plant material? Today's most popular method, "distillation", was inherited from our ancestors. Archaeologists have found traces of 5,000-year-old distillation machines in Egypt, India, China and Mesopotamia. The first essential oils used in the distillation process were cedarwood, coriander, cinnamon, basil and turpentine. Essential oils must be removed from most plants within a few hours, or at most, a few days after harvesting. The extraction usually takes place right on the plantation site with the help of proper distillation equipment.

This miraculous process is aided by simple steam. Steam is able to extract oil droplets from the plant, which are then carried upward in the vapor. Steam distillation is the most common extraction method of essential oils.

The plant material is placed on a large grate, and heated steam is injected into a plant. The molecules evaporate and are carried by the steam into a tube cooled by cold water. It then travels through a condenser into a separator which divides the oil from any water. Quality distillation requires a great deal of experience. Each oil requires the right combination of pressure, temperature and time. Excess heat or pressure may yield larger amounts of oil, but may also destroy many fragile components - reducing the quality of the oil. Experts have shown that essential oils used in aromatherapy must be complete oils, meaning, they have all their components. It is important that the distillation process proceed slowly to protect the delicate and valuable oil components.

Another form of extraction is the Cold-Press method. Citrus oils are typically extracted through this method. Essential oils from citrus fruit are hidden in the skin of the fruit. You may see tiny fireworks when you squeeze an orange or lemon rind into a candle flame. This simple demonstration shows us that essential oils are present in the rind, and are flammable. In extraction, the peels are separated from the fruits and then cold pressed. Essential oil is collected with a small amount of juice, which is later separated. It is important to collect the fruits that have not been sprayed with pesticides.

Enfleurage is one of the oldest methods used to obtain the gentle fragrance of very sensitive and fragile blossoms. In this method plant material (petals) were immersed in fat or oil that was spread onto sheets of glass. After a few days, the petals were removed and exchanged with new ones. The process was repeated until the fat or oil was completely saturated with essential oil from the blossoms. Then the essential oil was separated from the fat with the help of alcohol. Today enfleurage is used only to extract jasmine oil, and the method has been replaced by more efficient solvent extraction methods.

Solvent extraction is also a very gentle method. The first stage in the process produces a salve-like solid. The most popular solvents used in this process are hexane, ether, or petroleum benzene. The solid is later treated with alcohol, in order to separate plant wax from the essential oil.

Resinoids. Resin is a substance that comes from the bark of a wounded tree or bush. Resin hardens to a solid state after exposure to the air. The preferred solvent for extracting fragrant particles from resin is alcohol. A typical essential oil extracted from resin is Frankincense.

A relatively new method of extraction is completed with the help of carbon dioxide (CO2). The advantage of this method is its low temperature extracting process. This is the only method that will help to extract essential oil from the fragile Lilac and Lily of the Valley plants.

Oil of the month  - Roman Chamomile

What a beautiful essential oil for babies, children and adults. Roman Chamomile truly offers something beneficial for every stage of life. This herb has enjoyed a medical reputation in Europe and especially in the Mediterranean region for over 2,000 years. The ancient Egyptians and the Moors used Roman Chamomile and it was one of the Saxons’ nine sacred herbs, which they called ‘maythen’.

A small, stocky, perennial herb, Roman Chamomile grows up to 10 inches high in a whispy, half spreading or creeping stem. It has daisy like flowers. Neways Roman Chamomile is guaranteed to be raw, genuine, authentic, single species, and holistic, as are all of the other Neways Essential Oils.

It is current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia for the treatment of dyspepsia, nausea, anorexia, vomiting in pregnancy, dysmenorrhea and specifically gas associated with menstrual stress. Roman Chamomile is excellent for skin care, especially acne, boils, and eczema, when blended with Bergamot. It assists with insomnia, nervous tension and is one of the safest oils to use in baby care, especially diaper rashes and colic.

You may feel like you’re at your wit’s end, but you can take charge of your worries with Neways Roman Chamomile. This calming essential oil has a comforting, soothing, and warming effect on your body, mind, and spirit, and it may promote feelings of ease and peace.

Used by ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Roman Chamomile is attributed to England, where it was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Lacnunga, the ancient Anglo-Saxon text. Roman Chamomile essential oil features a warm, sweet, herbal scent that comes from steam distillation of the flower heads. This is amazingly versatile oil, particularly prized as a topical application to support healthy-looking skin.

Destress with a Roman Chamomile massage or bath. Gently inhale the aroma. Find out why it’s long been renowned for its natural power.

BENEFITS
• Relaxes mind and spirit
• Eases tension
• Supports the appearance of healthy skin

RECOMMENDED USE
Inhalation: Place 5 drops in a bowl with hot water, and inhale.
Shampoo: Place 2 – 3 drops in daily amount of shampoo.
Bath: Place 2 – 3 drops in daily amount of shower gel.
Massage: Add 5 – 6 drops per tablespoon of Mixing Oil or Tangible Massage Lotion.
Skin care: Place 3 – 4 drops in daily skin care products.
Compress: Add 4 – 5 drops in bowl with cold or warm water.

BLENDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Bergamot, Clary Sage, Jasmine, Geranium, or Lavender