A member wrote:
I have a question about best practices concerning the thickening of some oils which I think is from oxidation. When I finish a 5ml EO container I usually refill it from a 30ml container without washing out the 5ml container. When it comes to refilling the oils that tend to thicken (I am thinking of Rosemary CO2 right now or Cassia) is it best to wash out and dry the used Miron (or regular) glass 5ml container before refilling it? I am wondering if traces of the oxidized oil in the used container get into the new batch and may make it oxidize more quickly.
Why do the CO2 oils tend to be thicker?
Thank you for this very good question!
I will answer it to the best of my ability. First of all, I would like to revisit some facts about the CO2 extracts. CO2 Extracts are created by putting the plant material in a vacuum pressure chamber. Then CO2 gas (the same gas that we exhale and that trees exhale and inhale) is pumped into the chamber, until the pressure reaches around 60 times atmospheric pressure.
At this level of pressure, the CO2 gas behaves like a liquid. It dissolves the plant material as a chemical solvent would. Then the pressure is released, and the CO2 turns back into a gas. This leaves a waxy, oily substance that contains all of the dissolved plant material, including the essential oils. Because this process happens at very low temperatures, no "cooking" of the oil takes place leaving a pure substance that smells nearly identical to the plant that it used to be. Thanks to CO2 extraction, we can now experience essences of jasmine, and other rare flowers and plants that simply would be destroyed under the heat of conventional distillation methods.
Once the plant is extracted, it can then be left as it is, with waxes and other elements intact. This is known as unfiltered, or "Total" CO2 extract. Or the extract can be filtered with very fine filters that remove a large part of the waxes, fats, plant fibers, and other elements, leaving mostly just essential oil. This is called "Select" CO2 extract.
Depending on the plant that is being processed, CO2 extracts are normally much thicker than distilled essential oils. They contain more of the waxes and plant body than the oils produced through distillation. They can also have the tendency to thicken over time, although again it depends on the oil. It may be due to oxidation, but also might be because of a loss of the "moisture" element of the extract, like a drying over time.
Even some steam distilled oils, such as sandalwood, myrrh, and vetiver, also have the tendency to thicken as they age. I have some really old forms of myrrh and sandalwood that are now so thick that they do not pour at all, even if you place the bottle upside down. Yet they smell amazingly beautiful, having mellowed for over 10 years to produce a rare perfume.
If you are not sure how to get the oil out of the bottle with the thicker CO2 extracts, here is how I have come to work with these oils. First, I remove the orifice reducer from the inside of the bottle neck. There is no purpose to having it if you can not get the oil to drip through it! I throw it away, as it is usually not very easy to get clean again.
Then I find a couple of sets of chopsticks. Check out Walmart's chopstick page here. It is important to get at least two styles; one with a fine tapered needle like end, and one with a thicker blunt end. The needle like end will work better for some oils, and the thicker end will work better for others. Then when I need to measure drops of an oil that is too thick to drip with, I dip a chopstick into it, and let it drip off of the chopstick to count my drops. It is not super accurate, but works very well for me for most blending.
Since your extracts seem to be thickening quickly, you might try using cleaned bottles to transfer into every time. Another possibility is to look at how and where you are storing the oils. Sometimes the right marble or crystalline stone tiles under them will change everything on an energetic level. Another energetic issue could be if there are motors or electronics nearby that are influencing the oils. And finally, it can be an issue to store them near an area where healing work is performed on a regular basis. The released energy from healing can sometimes influence the oils, which I have seen in several locations where people had a healing practice.
Even some steam distilled oils, such as sandalwood, myrrh, and vetiver, also have the tendency to thicken as they age. I have some really old forms of myrrh and sandalwood that are now so thick that they do not pour at all, even if you place the bottle upside down. Yet they smell amazingly beautiful, having mellowed for over 10 years to produce a rare perfume.
If you are not sure how to get the oil out of the bottle with the thicker CO2 extracts, here is how I have come to work with these oils. First, I remove the orifice reducer from the inside of the bottle neck. There is no purpose to having it if you can not get the oil to drip through it! I throw it away, as it is usually not very easy to get clean again.
Then I find a couple of sets of chopsticks. Check out Walmart's chopstick page here. It is important to get at least two styles; one with a fine tapered needle like end, and one with a thicker blunt end. The needle like end will work better for some oils, and the thicker end will work better for others. Then when I need to measure drops of an oil that is too thick to drip with, I dip a chopstick into it, and let it drip off of the chopstick to count my drops. It is not super accurate, but works very well for me for most blending.
Since your extracts seem to be thickening quickly, you might try using cleaned bottles to transfer into every time. Another possibility is to look at how and where you are storing the oils. Sometimes the right marble or crystalline stone tiles under them will change everything on an energetic level. Another energetic issue could be if there are motors or electronics nearby that are influencing the oils. And finally, it can be an issue to store them near an area where healing work is performed on a regular basis. The released energy from healing can sometimes influence the oils, which I have seen in several locations where people had a healing practice.
