Macerations History This paper makes a distinction between fat or oil macerations and alcohol macerations. Oil macerations are similar to carriers and alcohol macerations are similar to absolutes. This paper will only explore the fat macerations. Distillation is a relatively new process and our ancestors used various other techniques to get the healing properties of essential oils and plants. Distillation of essential oils did not happen until the 10th century. Up until this time essential oils were used but primarily as incense. Plant material or resin was burned and the resultant smoke was used to heal or purify. Plant material would be thrown into a fire and the essential oils would be released. Essential oils could also be obtained from infusions. The herb, resin or plant material would be steeped in water, alcohol, or fat. A tea was nothing more than the plant being steeped for a few minutes in water and drank. If the plant had a high essential oil content, the oil would be floating on the top. An infusion steeped the plant material for hours or days. This process tended to yield more essential oil so the steeping process needed to be capped to stop the essential oils from evaporating. A maceration was an infusion with the plant material pressed or macerated. This process yielded the most essential oil. Distillation is not the only way to obtain essential oils and our ancestors were very capable of using and getting essential oils without it. Essential oils are not soluble in water and only slightly soluble in alcohol. Fat was the best way to obtain essential oils. Enfleurage was a method of maceration. Two pieces of glass covered with an odorless fat spread pressed flowers or herbals between them. The fat became saturated with the essential oil was called a chassis The chassis would be cleared of the flower or herb and the process would start over. When the chassis could hold no more scent, it was called a pomade. The pomade would be treated with alcohol and an absolute would be extracted. This was a tedious process and it would take many pressings before the oil was sufficiently strong. The resultant product was also very expensive. Only the rich could afford such an oil. Infused macerations were still the best way to obtain essential oils until the discovery of distillation. This made essential oils more affordable but still out of the price range for most. Essential Oils were primarily distilled for the perfume, cosmetic, and liquor industry. The ordinary person still used infused macerations for their daily needs. Maceration became a popular and inexpensive way to get essential oils and other plant healing properties to the people. With the appearance of pharmaceutical drugs in the late 1880’s, homemade preparations like macerations fell out of favor. Little was written down and much of the process was lost. The 1960’s saw a questioning of “modern practices” and a turning to more natural ways of living. The pharmaceutical industry was held in suspicion and making your own herbal preparations were revisited. Many looked to the Native Americans and other ancient cultures to relearn or regain information about making these preparations. The old ways of producing essential oils inexpensively were lost, but are now being rediscovered. Aromatherapy started in France at the beginning of the 20th century. Healing with scent began to be researched and essential oils were considered pharmaceuticals. In France, doctors prescribed them. Essential oils although not as expensive as they once were are still expensive. Vast amounts of organic material are used to yield a little oil. Essential oils are only the very light or scented portion of the plant and often lack many of the qualities that the whole herb possesses. Many herbs if distilled will not have the same healing properties as the herb because the healing properties of the herb do not distill. Fat macerations allow you to obtain essential oil and other healing chemicals from the herb. Fat macerations have a delicate scent and can be used just like essential oils. It takes twice as much maceration as essential oil to do the job, but maceration are generally less expensive and can be made in the home. Another benefit of macerations is they are more complex than essential oils and have other healing properties. |
