Herb Essence

Herbs are also used in homeopathic and flower remedies and to make essential oils. Essential oils are the “essence” of a plant—the moisture you see when you tear a fresh plant leaf or the spray that you see when tearing a fresh tangerine peel in the sunshine. These oils give a plant their scent; they evaporate thoroughly when exposed to air. The proper distillation process to extract these volatile oils is expensive and time consuming, so you will more than likely have to purchase your oils. Try to find a Grade A type, 100 percent pure oil when you shop.
Many in the market are adulterated with a chemical fragrance enhancer and/or another substance to stretch the company’s bottom line. Unfortunately, manufactures who cheat by diluting their oils could do you more harm than good. If you are in the wild and are positive that you have identified a plant correctly and want to use its essential oil, you can rub the leaves of the plant on you—the moisture from the plant is the plant’s essence. However, it is important that you identify a plant correctly—the essence of poisonous plants, such as poison ivy and poison oak, can give you a terrible skin reaction if touched. Before you go rubbing yourself with nature, know exactly what you are getting yourself into, or rely on a purchased product.