Carrier oil for essential oils

In fact, pure essential oils (EO) should be diluted first with a carrier oil or basal oil in order to obtain an adequate concentration and chemical effects are not too hard on the body, so they should not directly be used for aromatherapy purposes. This is because the active ingredients in EO have the strong enough power of reaction. If it is not be diluted first, then it can lead to excessive sensitivity of the users organs.
Carrier oil is the oil obtained from the extraction of vegetable material. The content can usually be found in the seeds and the fruit of a plant. Its function is as a source of food reserves as these plants grow. In addition, it is also a backup energy source for plants, especially in helping the chemical-biological processes during his lifetime.
Chemical properties
The compounds that make up carrier oil for essential oils may consist of: lauric, palmitic, capric, stearic, kaproat, decanoate, and linoleic acid and other compounds which are derivatives. They have different chemical properties with EO properties. They are less stable, easily soluble in ether, but not easily soluble in water and do not easily evaporate.
Basically it is is a type of vegetable oil in the form of straight-chain fatty acids containing ester groups, which are hydrophilic. These can cross the hair follicle, reaching the top layer of skin and can be absorbed by the skin as well. Aside from being a base component in the aroma therapy, they also can act as emoliensa, cosmetics, nutrition, sunscreen, and water repellent. In aroma therapy, they are used in a ratio of more than EO.
They can be produced from grains and fruits through the process of extraction so that it is commonly referred as vegetable oil. The type of carrier oil for essential oils are the oil of coconut, wheat, sunflower, olive, peanut, corn, soy, sesame, avocado, and etc. Choosing the right type of material mentioned above will determine the characteristics of the resulting mixture for each of these vegetable oil have a distinctive aroma, especially if they have not been properly purified. However, sometimes it purification process eliminates the efficacious component in it, such as antioxidants or vitamin E that actually has a benefit if the mixture is intended for the skin.

You might also like:
Essential oil chemical changes
Retort design for essential oil distillation
Raw material preparation before essential oil processing
How to make natural transparent soap from essential oil