Storing Essential Oils, Hydrosols, etc

[Guest guest]

Hey Sandra,

 

>>and with as little head space in the bottle as possible.

>

> So if they are in a large container with space above them, I should transfer

> them to a smaller bottle, like amber glass?

 

Yep .. or drop small PURE GLASS beads in the bottle to raise the level

of the oil. Nitrogen flushing is a good option too but its not so easy

with the small bottles.

 

>>The oils you have in plastic should be transferred out of the plastic

>>and into (dark) glass ASAP! Never store EO's in plastic and especially

>>never store absolutes in plastic.

>

> The only plastic I have are called Rose Hydrosol and Rosehip Seed. They came

> in these containers.

 

Short term storage of Hydrosols and Cold/Expeller Pressed Oils in the

Food Grade Approved Plastic Bottles will not harm them .. but as it says

on my site .. for longer storage they should be placed in sterile glass

containers with sterile caps. Of course, you should accept NO Essential

Oils in plastic .. regardless of the type of plastic. My opinion.

 

As Chris mentioned .. some companies sell Oregano EO mixed with Olive

Oil in bottles with those rubber tipped eye droppers in them. I have

tested that configuration and found that on the 3rd day I could smell

the rubber in the EO. If you put Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)

in plastic .. it oughta take about five minutes for it to eat through.

 

Contrary to a common rumor that we LOVE to perpetuate in this cottage

industry .. heat and light will NOT harm essential oils. Extreme

changes of temperature are not good for chemicals of any sort but keep

in mind that most essential oils are produced/stored in Suthran clines;

some in countries where it is 130 degrees F. at 10:00 in the morning.

 

Where this rumor originally came from was the idea that heat is a great

medium for allowing the growth of microbial critters .. mold and yeast.

But .. they gotta be there first afore they can grow and the only way

they can be there .. in an essential oil or hydrosol .. is to have the

container contaminated AFTER the oils/hydrosols leave the still. That

is easily done for SOME Hydrosols .. not for others .. and it is a RARE

essential oil that will not kill them dead on contact.

 

An isolated example here .. but it supports my position. When Chris

visited the Rose Fields in Summer 2001 .. she poured the water out of a

sterile bottled water container .. previously unopened .. and filled it

with Rose Hydrosol direct from the faucet of the holding tank at the

still. She later put it into the trunk of my car. For whatever reason

it was forgotten .. got behind the spare of whatever. That Hydrosol

stayed in the truck through two winters and two summers.

 

Couple of years later I sent some Hydrosols for testing here .. cheap it

is and I use the Turkish Gummit facility that tests drinking & bottled

water (not the same one I use every 90 days in the USA) .. so I decided

to test the OLD Rose Hydrosol too. It tested ABOVE the standards for

drinking water .. and good it was cause a few months later I jumped out

of the shower and lathered up for a shave only to find that the water

had been cut off right after my shower. Went to the refrigerator and

pulled out that almost THREE YEAR OLD Rose Hydrosol, poured it in the

sink and then finished the shave. Went to the pub later and the gals

and guys thought I smelled like a Rose bush. ;-)

 

That is NOT to say that you should not refrigerate Hydrosols .. it will

increase the shelf life. Why? Cause odds are you have contaminated it

to some small degree in the second place. Lady wrote just this week on

a Bay Laurel Hydrosol she bought over a year ago. It finally developed

mold in it .. that's the most common thing for a Hydrosol. But .. she

operates from her basement and she said there is an odor of mold there.

If we could see those ugly little spores in the air we might be afraid

to even breath the air .. and when we open a bottle there is a minute

pressure change .. those spores rush in quickly.

 

Besides storing EO in colored glass .. they oughta be outta sight, outta

the light, screwed down tight and treat'em right. ;-)

 

> thanks a lot,

> San

 

Welcome fer'shur .. y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch http://www.AV-AT.com