What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are concentrated aromatic compounds extracted from plants. Every drop captures the essence of its source — the petals, roots, bark or peel of a single botanical — through distillation or cold pressing.

How are essential oils made?

Two methods produce the vast majority of oils. Steam distillation passes steam through plant material to release and collect the aromatic compounds. Cold pressing, used mainly for citrus, presses the oils from the peel. Both methods concentrate the plant's natural chemistry into a potent liquid.

Why do they matter?

Because they are undiluted, a little essential oil goes a long way. In a waterless nebulizing diffuser, a few drops are atomized by pressurized air into an ultra-fine dry mist — no water, no heat — so what fills the room is the oil itself, exactly as it smells in the bottle.

From cooking and cleaning to daily aromatherapy, essential oils are a versatile, natural way to bring scent into the spaces where you live and work.