About Our Essential Oils.
At Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm, we extract essential oils on site using copper stills at low pressure and low temperature for a minimum of 105 minutes. This yields the best quality oils as the plant material is not scorched and enough time is given to extract all the constituents of the oil. The vegetable tissue of the entire plant contains specialized cells grouped in glands which, as they mature, secrete essential oils and store them in different parts of the plant - leaves, stalks, as well as flowers.
The essential Oil industry recognizes three grades of essential oils. FRAGRANCE, COMMERCIAL, and THERAPEUTIC. Fragrance oils are synthetic oils or highly adulterated essential oils, sometimes marketed as true essential oils. Fragrance oils are used in products such as air fresheners, detergents, and candles. A commercial grade essential oil is distilled to preserve the top few (usually 10) oil constituents. Commercial grade oils are used to enhance the aroma of commercial foods, beverages, cleaning products and body care products. A therapeutic grade oil is distilled to preserve as many of the naturally occurring oil constituents as possible (often over 300) and is created specifically for therapeutic use in aromatherapy. In the case of lavender, after 25 minutes of distillation, 75 percent of the essential oil constituents are extracted. However, after 1 hour and 45 minutes of distillation, the remaining 25 percent of the constituents are extracted. The difference between the two extraction times is the difference between a commercial grade and a therapeutic grade essential oil. At Fragrant Isle Lavender, we distill every batch for a minimum of 105 minutes to extract therapeutic grade oils. The best quality you can get.