With all its known uses and benefits, it is not a secret that essential oils have become a staple in today’s homes. Extracted from parts of plants like flowers, seeds, leaves, roots, and even twigs and barks through steam distillation, CO2 extraction, or cold compression, these plant-based oils have come a long way, as far as providing relaxation, fighting stress, and treating skin problems.
They have amazing natural effects on health and well-being, exactly the reason why many people love them. The ways to benefit from essential oils are plenty, especially when used properly.
People seeking to boost their mood, improve focus and increase energy turn to essential oil therapy or aromatherapy because of their healing properties.
For years, aromatherapy is known to be beneficial in treating chronic diseases such as insomnia, migraine, and indigestion. Generally, aromatherapy can enhance our physical and mental health.
How Are Water-Soluble Essential Oils Produced?
Due to the immense popularity of essential oils, it is no surprise that new essential oil products are available these days. One of them is the water-soluble type. You probably have heard about these essential oils countless times but is there really such thing as a water-soluble essential oil?
We have learned in Chemistry that water and oil will never mix, because of their different molecular components. Water and oil molecules do not attract each other. Water molecules are different from oil molecules and essential oils are hydrophobic in nature which means they won't mix with water.
If so, how can pure essential oils mix with water and how is it possible to produce water-soluble essential oils? The truth is that it is really possible. Although hydrophobic, the mixing properties of essential oils can be altered with additives. The additives can help reduce the viscosity and surface tension of the oil, making it mixable with water.
Alcohol and synthesized emulsifiers are the additives used in the process to improve the essential oil’s water solubility. This enables the water and oil mixture to be possible.
In addition to alcohol and emulsifiers, another example of additives is hydrosols. It can also be alternatively used to disperse essential oils in water evenly. It is a water essence collected from the process of steam distillation of the essential oil and has similar fragrant properties as the parent oil but is more diluted.
Because of its water solubility, hydrosols can be easily incorporated into formulas with great water phase content and do not require an emulsifier to stabilize.
Carrier oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, and avocado oil, to name a few, are helpful in diluting essential oils before they are applied to the skin.
The potency or rich concentration of essential oils may cause irritation when applied directly to the skin without being diluted in a carrier oil.
However, it is important to take note that when you dilute essential oils to a carrier oil, certain guidelines must be adhered to, to ensure safety. Also, not all oils make perfect carrier oils.
With their water solubility, essential oils are compatible with diffusers and can offer the same natural and therapeutic benefits as pure essential oils as long as quality ingredients are used.
Wonderful Advantages of Using Water-Soluble Essential Oils
Water-soluble essential oils offer a ton of new ways to make the most of what essential oil can offer. Do you enjoy bath time with essential oil? Or heat essential oils to indulge in a calm and relaxing night after a long day's work?
Now that you understand how water-soluble essential oils are produced, it's just right to further know the benefits of using these oils.
Perfect for Bath Time and Spa
Many of us consider essential oils as part of our daily routine, including bath time or spa. But dissolving a few drops of the essential oil alone into your water is not a good idea because it is likely to cause an unpleasant reaction to your skin.
Essential oils are not necessarily harmful when it comes to their chemical composition, but due to their concentration. That's why water and essential oil mixture is a much safer choice.
Opting for water-based essential oil will provide you with even greater benefits. Aside from giving off a relaxing scent, you can also benefit from them therapeutically.
This is not something that you can get with normal oils since they would just float. If you are looking for a better bath or spa experience, water-soluble essential oil is the way to go.
They Work Great with Diffusers
A diffuser disperses essential oils into the air, filling the room with a natural and therapeutic fragrance. It may seem simple to understand, but one thing you have to know is that a small amount of the oil will not mix and dissolve with water instead it remains on the top, possibly one of the reasons why your diffuser can get clogged. It is an important thing to know if you like to diffuse essential oils.
Using water-soluble essential oils is a great solution since they can dissolve in water. As a result, the fragrance will spread to every water particle, ensuring the even distribution of essential oil mist from your diffuser.
Another advantage to this is that cleaning your diffuser will be a breeze because there won’t be clogging on the machine.
More Stable than Essential Oil Alone
Essential oils are naturally highly volatile. Its particles will instantly evaporate when exposed to open air, which means its benefits and effectiveness will also disappear. With water-soluble essential oils, you don’t have to worry about the essential oil evaporating since it gets dissolved in water and its effects and benefits remain, even when in contact with air.
Can Be Used Right Away
If you have tried blending essential oil with another essential oil or carrier oil, you probably know that you have to wait for hours in order for the oil to be perfectly mixed.
This is an important step that should not be missed as it helps in ensuring the effectiveness of the oil and in developing its perfume. But admit it, waiting for the blended oils to be ready for use is not something a lot of us are willing to do.
This is another area where water-soluble essential oil stands out. All you need to do is mix it with water and you can use them right away, without worrying if the oils are blended perfectly and if they are already aromatic and effective to use.
As soon as it gets dissolved in water, you can spray it into the room or add it to essential oil diffusers to enjoy its calming scent.
There's More You Need to Know about Water-Based Essential Oil
There is a misconception about the effectiveness of water-based essential oil since it is not pure essential oil. Some say this can affect the efficacy that essential oil can provide. It does not mean that it is not effective at all. In fact, it offers some really great advantages that will make you want to keep a bottle or two of water-based essential oil that you can use when you need to.
Just because you dissolve essential oil in water does not mean it won't be perfect for aromatherapy. As long as it is correctly mixed and quality oils and no dangerous chemicals are used, you will find water-soluble essential oils to have good performance.
That's another good reason to consider it as a must-have in your home. Not to mention, it is friendlier to your diffuser, too! That also means you can have your aromatherapy session right when you need it.
