A Touch of Wellness
for the personal in personal care
Massage & Bodywork - Aromatherapy - Wellness Products
The quality of essential oils is affected by:
- genetics of the plant
- growing conditions: the geographic location, quality of the soil, altitude, temperature, moisture, minerals, etc.
- whether the plant material is wild-crafted, organically grown or cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides
- harvesting time and method: time of day and year, hand-gathered or mechanical
- processing method of distillation: length of time, pressures used, temperatures.
Factors which can influence the essential oil of the same plant species are the altitude at which it grows and whether it is on the coastline or inland. An example of this is Lavender (Lavendula officinalis) and Spike Lavender (Lavendula spica). Lavender is cultivated widely in France where it grows in abundance with several variations. Spike Lavender grows at low altitudes and has a high natural camphor content, whereas the Lavender that most of us enjoy for its more pleasing, rounded fragrance grows on limestone silt at an altitude of 2000-5000 feet.