Question:
;) Some supermarkets sell 100% grapeseed oil under the cooking oil section. I got 1 ltr for £1.49 the other day and its fine for base oil.
Don't know if this has been mentioned before but I thought I would let you know.
We have had this discussion before and all have different views. Personally I don't use supermarket oil, it is for cooking. I would never add pure essential oils to it unless desperate and to me it deflects from the whole point of the oils being pure.
I do know some that use it though, but I wouldn't. You can buy 5ltrs of grapeseed for £20 from oil suppliers.
[sm=hippy.gif] That's a very good point but as a hard up student I'll use it for practice on friends until I can charge.
But if it's 100% pure what's the difference?
There is a difference in oils for consumation and oils for massage. You can also get essential oils for consumption, ie orange oil is used for flavouring etc. It doesn't have therapeutic qualitites. It's up to you and I see your point, I just wouldn't use it, it goes against what I believe in! Call me a purist.
I always buy cold pressed grapeseed oil. I don't think the cooking oil is cold pressed. This makes a difference to the quality.
Lesley
Always a good topic for debate! I have been told of some very poor quality base oil from essential oil suppliers so you have to be careful there too.I am of the opinion that your base oil can be part of the treatment or simply the medium to get the oils in.I often advise people at home that if they are in urgent need to use olive oil etc to apply their oil,i often dont feel there is a need to be specific there,it can prove quite costly for those on low incomes to pay 7.99 or whatever for a 100ml base oil from boots!Isnt there some debate about cold pressed oils anyway??Will have to look it up,not sure if they actually are cold pressed or just markrted as?I know i sound vague but i often type as i think and i only heard this recently.Will get back to you.!
aS A student i totally understand your need for this and i dont disagree;)
Hi izzig
Thought I would post some of the notes on cold pressed vegetable oils that I give to my students as this might help you make up your mind.
All cold pressed carrier oils have specific beneficial effects on bodily health, as they contain vitamins, minerals and therapeutic fatty acids in varying degrees, and recently many therapists have shown a greater interest in these health benefits. The properties of vegetable oils relating to the skin, can be of vital importance, especially as they comprise at least 95 per cent of any massage mix, and should always be taken into account when treating skin conditions - it is no use using a carrier whose properties are helpful to a dry skin if yours is oily!
Externally, the oils have an effect on a number of skin problems and for these, the most beneficial carrier oil can be selected. The more severe the problem, the higher should be the percentage of special oil in your mix, to enhance the effects of the essential oils.
The stability of vegetable oils depends on its fatty acid content; those high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are more stable than those high in unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). Stability also depends on the vitamin E content, those vegetable oils containing both SFAs and vitamin E having a longer shelf life.
A number of vegetable oils, such as Avocado, Sesame, Sunflower and Wheatgerm contain a variety of minerals which may be impoverished by the use of pesticides and fertilisers during their growing period. Furthermore, molecules from some of these chemicals may permeate into the finished cold pressed product.
With increasing interest in organic plants from drying, or essential oil extraction, an interesting aspect arises. Some aromatherapists go out of their way to buy organic (or naturally grown) essential oils, yet happily dilute these in cold pressed vegetable oils which form about 95 per cent of the final mix yet are not organically grown! Organic vegetable oils are quite rare but can be obtained and I feel are vastly superior to their non-organic counterparts.
Carrier oils can be divided into three main groups:-
1.'Basic' oils (the highest proportion of a massage mix)
2.'Specialised' fixed oils (more often used as a percentage of the main mix, perhaps too thick or costly to use on their own)
3. Macerated oils or Herbal oils (plant extracts in a basic fixed oil).
Basic carrier oils are much paler in colour than specialised oils such as avocado (dark green) and wheatgerm oil (rich golden brown). Jojoba is an exception - it is pale, but is a liquid wax, not a triglyceride oil, and is in the more expensive class of carriers.
Vegetable oils can be extracted from nuts or seeds by two methods:
1.Cold Pressing, which is costly, and executed on a comparatively small scale.
2.Hot extraction (the second method) is a much larger industry, a more complicated process, yet paradoxically, less expensive, as the demand is so great and a considerably higher yield of oil is produced (albeit not such good quality).
The two industries are usually separate, a cold-pressing factory not carrying out hot extraction as well.
Carrier oils for massage should be cold pressed, though this is a slight misnomer, as a certain amount of heat is employed to help release the oil, usually not higher than 60 degree C. The nuts or seeds are placed in a horizontal press with an enormous 'screw'. As this turns, the oil is squeezed out and drips into a trough below - a fascinating process to watch. The first oil to be collected is known as,' virgin pressed' (Olive Oil is commercially available in virgin and second pressings). Natural heat is generated as the pressure is increased to force out more oil, but careful watch is kept to see that it does not read 70-80 degrees C (60 degrees is the limit allowed in France - no limit in the UK). If higher than this, the oil cannot be classed as cold pressed. After pressing, the oil is filtered in successive cotton cloths and finally through a paper filter.
The remaining
Don't know if this has been mentioned before but I thought I would let you know.
Answers:
We have had this discussion before and all have different views. Personally I don't use supermarket oil, it is for cooking. I would never add pure essential oils to it unless desperate and to me it deflects from the whole point of the oils being pure.
I do know some that use it though, but I wouldn't. You can buy 5ltrs of grapeseed for £20 from oil suppliers.
Answers:
[sm=hippy.gif] That's a very good point but as a hard up student I'll use it for practice on friends until I can charge.
But if it's 100% pure what's the difference?
Answers:
There is a difference in oils for consumation and oils for massage. You can also get essential oils for consumption, ie orange oil is used for flavouring etc. It doesn't have therapeutic qualitites. It's up to you and I see your point, I just wouldn't use it, it goes against what I believe in! Call me a purist.
Answers:
I always buy cold pressed grapeseed oil. I don't think the cooking oil is cold pressed. This makes a difference to the quality.
Lesley
Answers:
Always a good topic for debate! I have been told of some very poor quality base oil from essential oil suppliers so you have to be careful there too.I am of the opinion that your base oil can be part of the treatment or simply the medium to get the oils in.I often advise people at home that if they are in urgent need to use olive oil etc to apply their oil,i often dont feel there is a need to be specific there,it can prove quite costly for those on low incomes to pay 7.99 or whatever for a 100ml base oil from boots!Isnt there some debate about cold pressed oils anyway??Will have to look it up,not sure if they actually are cold pressed or just markrted as?I know i sound vague but i often type as i think and i only heard this recently.Will get back to you.!
aS A student i totally understand your need for this and i dont disagree;)
Answers:
Hi izzig
Thought I would post some of the notes on cold pressed vegetable oils that I give to my students as this might help you make up your mind.
All cold pressed carrier oils have specific beneficial effects on bodily health, as they contain vitamins, minerals and therapeutic fatty acids in varying degrees, and recently many therapists have shown a greater interest in these health benefits. The properties of vegetable oils relating to the skin, can be of vital importance, especially as they comprise at least 95 per cent of any massage mix, and should always be taken into account when treating skin conditions - it is no use using a carrier whose properties are helpful to a dry skin if yours is oily!
Externally, the oils have an effect on a number of skin problems and for these, the most beneficial carrier oil can be selected. The more severe the problem, the higher should be the percentage of special oil in your mix, to enhance the effects of the essential oils.
The stability of vegetable oils depends on its fatty acid content; those high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are more stable than those high in unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). Stability also depends on the vitamin E content, those vegetable oils containing both SFAs and vitamin E having a longer shelf life.
A number of vegetable oils, such as Avocado, Sesame, Sunflower and Wheatgerm contain a variety of minerals which may be impoverished by the use of pesticides and fertilisers during their growing period. Furthermore, molecules from some of these chemicals may permeate into the finished cold pressed product.
With increasing interest in organic plants from drying, or essential oil extraction, an interesting aspect arises. Some aromatherapists go out of their way to buy organic (or naturally grown) essential oils, yet happily dilute these in cold pressed vegetable oils which form about 95 per cent of the final mix yet are not organically grown! Organic vegetable oils are quite rare but can be obtained and I feel are vastly superior to their non-organic counterparts.
Carrier oils can be divided into three main groups:-
1.'Basic' oils (the highest proportion of a massage mix)
2.'Specialised' fixed oils (more often used as a percentage of the main mix, perhaps too thick or costly to use on their own)
3. Macerated oils or Herbal oils (plant extracts in a basic fixed oil).
Basic carrier oils are much paler in colour than specialised oils such as avocado (dark green) and wheatgerm oil (rich golden brown). Jojoba is an exception - it is pale, but is a liquid wax, not a triglyceride oil, and is in the more expensive class of carriers.
Vegetable oils can be extracted from nuts or seeds by two methods:
1.Cold Pressing, which is costly, and executed on a comparatively small scale.
2.Hot extraction (the second method) is a much larger industry, a more complicated process, yet paradoxically, less expensive, as the demand is so great and a considerably higher yield of oil is produced (albeit not such good quality).
The two industries are usually separate, a cold-pressing factory not carrying out hot extraction as well.
Carrier oils for massage should be cold pressed, though this is a slight misnomer, as a certain amount of heat is employed to help release the oil, usually not higher than 60 degree C. The nuts or seeds are placed in a horizontal press with an enormous 'screw'. As this turns, the oil is squeezed out and drips into a trough below - a fascinating process to watch. The first oil to be collected is known as,' virgin pressed' (Olive Oil is commercially available in virgin and second pressings). Natural heat is generated as the pressure is increased to force out more oil, but careful watch is kept to see that it does not read 70-80 degrees C (60 degrees is the limit allowed in France - no limit in the UK). If higher than this, the oil cannot be classed as cold pressed. After pressing, the oil is filtered in successive cotton cloths and finally through a paper filter.
The remaining
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