Essential Oils

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. 

Essential oils are generally known as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted from, such as Clove Oil. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it contains the "essence of" the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived.

Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam and they are used to add a specific via a number of methods, like heat vaporisation or diffusion, or added to carrier oils, like jojoba for home-made massage oils.