Absolute Oils

Absolute Oils (absolutes, absolute essential oils) Absolute oils are extracted from flowers, leaves or bark. The majority of essential oils are produced by the process of steam distillation. Some flowers, however, are too delicate for steam distillation (as they damaged) and so their oils are more prolifically produced by solvent extraction or enfleurage. These oils are called absolute oils (absolutes). An Absolute oil has a very high concentration of fragrance and a little goes a long way. An absolute oil is volatile, meaning it evaporates as opposed to a fixed oil which does not. Absolute oils are generally more expensive to buy than steam distilled oils. Production of Absolute Oils The common method used to process absolute oils is either solvent extraction or enfleurage and the second step being the distillation using alcohol.