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Soul of Herbs

Essential oil

General description of the method; for a specific herb always check suitability, plant part and safety on its card.

Steam-distilled highly aromatic oil; requires dilution and respect for potency.

Safety in brief: Highly concentrated — dilute for topical use; internal use only with expert sources.
Difficulty:
Hard
Preparation time (rough guide):
Dilution and storage take minutes; distillation is a separate discipline.
Equipment:
Dropper, carrier oils for dilution, dark bottles.
General preparation safety

Some species are toxic internally. Skin and mucosa irritation. Pets (especially cats) can be sensitive. Pregnancy, children, epilepsy — verify expert sources.

More detail

Essential oil is a highly concentrated product of steam distillation (or other approved methods). A single drop can be plenty; topical use normally requires dilution in a carrier oil using established ratios.

Never apply strong neat oil to large areas without knowing irritancy.

Related methods

Methods are often compared — links below go to the detail page with short context.

Recipes in the catalogue

These herbs have a published step-by-step procedure for this method — full instructions are on the herb card under processing.

Herbs in the catalogue

Published herbs that list this method on the card.

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