Education

At nakedpress we believe strongly in education and improving one's skills and knowledge. When it comes to our products and aromatherapy in general there is a lot to learn. One thing we really want to do is to empower our customers to take control over the products they use in their homes, on themselves and their loved ones. We hear all too often today about the effects of chemicals on our bodies and in the environment. We truly believe that through collective consciousness, we as individuals can really make a difference.

We invite you to explore this main Education Page to help you make the most out of your experience with nakedpress.
 

What are Essential Oils? Essential Oils are volatile compounds that occur naturally in plants. They have been variously described as the “Life Force or Essence” of plants. The Essential Oil is contained in minuscule quantities in most plants, in leaves, (such as Eucalyptus), petals (rose), bark (sandalwood), resins (myrrh), roots, rind (citrus fruits) and seeds.

The word oil causes some confusion as people tend to think of these essences as being the same as olive, sunflower, or other fixed oils. Essential Oils are non-oily and unlike fixed oils, they evaporate when exposed to air.

What is Aromatherapy? The term aromatherapy was first used in the 1920s by Rene Maurice Gattefoss, a French chemist who used the term to describe “a therapy using aromatics”. The word “Aromatherapy” implies that the cure or treatment lies in the inhalation of the aroma of the plant extract being used. Whilst this is true, this is only part of the story. These precious essences are composed of molecules small enough to penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream and so may be employed in many ways:

• Incorporated with carrier oils to make massage oils.
• Adding to water to use as a compress.
• Adding in minute quantities to baths.
• Adding to alcohol to make toilet waters and perfumes.
• Incorporating with any carrier to make insect repellants.
• Incorporating in cosmetic creams and healing ointments.
• Using in shampoos, conditioners and hair tonics.
• Strengthening the perfume of potpourris.
• Adding antibacterial qualities to room freshener sprays.
• Used in preparations for pets to heal skin conditions and repel fleas.
• Adding to homemade household cleaners.
• Added to soy wax for 100% natural aromatherapy candles.

Why Quality is so Important? It is imperative to use only the best essential oils available; synthetics, fragrances and compounded oils do not have the healing properties of the “real thing”. Many oils are labeled as “fragrant oil”, “compounded oil”, or “perfume oil”. These descriptions mean that the oil is synthetic or blended with either paraffin oil, carrier oil, or some other kind of diluting agent. Often alcohol and occasionally a small amount of vegetable oil, which are both good solvents for essential oils, are used to adulterate, stretch, or cut essential oils. 

nakedpress essential oils, carrier oils and raw materials are tested with the latest and highest grade equipment available and to ensure the highest levels of quality are upheld. We are happy to offer certificates of analysis “COA’s” for all our oils on request. All our oils are batch tested and come with a batch number and best before date on the label. This acts as another form of quality control and tracking for batches of oil and is necessary for testing procedures. It is not recommended to ever buy essential oils from a company that can’t offer such fundamental assurances and controls. 

General Safety Notes: We advise never to ingest essential oils: some essential oils are very toxic if ingested and should only be used internally on the advice of a qualified aromatherapist or naturopath. All essential oils should be kept well out of reach of children as most would prove lethal if drunk even in small quantities. We advise against the use of essential oils during pregnancy. Essential oils should never be applied directly to the skin (except Tea Tree and Lavender) unless first diluted in a carrier oil, lotion, cream base, shampoo or conditioner, etc. Don’t be tempted to use more than 8-10 drops in a full drawn bath. To avoid floating “hot spots” of unmixed essential oil in a bath it’s best to mix the oil with either 1 tablespoon of full cream milk, almond oil or our hand and body wash base. In some cases, individuals may have some kind of an allergic reaction to a specific oil, in which case discontinue use immediately.

Blending Information: Creating your own essential oils blends is an easy and fun way to experiment and get the greatest benefits from essential oils in your life. 

Mixing Your Own Essential Oil Blends: Use tiny bottles when experimenting eg- 10-12ml dropper bottles. Begin with the base notes. Caution is the key as these will be the long-lasting and dominant scents: In most blends, the base note will need to be the least in quantity unless you are seeking a heavy sensual effect. After adding the base notes add the middle notes, then finally the top notes to give “zing” and freshness to the blend, swirling in between each addition.

Never test smell directly from the bottle: put a drop on your wrist or a piece of blotting paper and wait a few moments before smelling.

Blending Note: The concept of aroma "notes" comes from the fragrance industry. Top notes are essential oils that are the most volatile. They evaporate the quickest. This is the major note that strikes you when you smell perfume. The middle notes are moderately volatile and base notes are the slowest to evaporate. Base notes are used to "hold back" the more volatile top and middle notes, increasing the time the fragrance will last. A balanced fragrance will generally be a composition of top, middle and base notes.

Blending Factor: Explanation: The blending factor is a scale by which the intensity of an oil scent is measured. The scale is from 1 to 10, one for being the most highly aromatic and ten for being the most subtle scent. For example to create a harmonious blend of 3 oils with a BF of 1,5 and 10 you would add 1 part, 5 parts and 10 parts of each oil to the blend. This is only a subjective method and we advise you to experiment.

Most of our oils have a blending factor included within the listing for your reference.