Wild As The Wind Natural Health Information

Why Are Some Essential Oils Slow Pouring?

Essential Oils UKSome aromatherapy essential oils positively flood out of the bottle, like Organic Lemon Essential Oil, whilst others don’t seem to flow at all. This is because essential oils have different viscosities.

The viscosity of an essential oil simply means the thickness of the oil, which in turn directly affects the speed at which the oil will pour.

Very runny essential oils, like Organic Lemon Aromatherapy Oil, which possess hardly any viscosity at all, will pour as easily as water. However, much thicker essential oils, many of which are made from the wood, bark or resin of trees, are considered to be highly viscous and slow pouring.

Temperature Affects How Pourable Essential Oils Are

Like all oils, aromatherapy oils pour more easily in the summer, when the ambient room temperature in your house is often higher than at other times of year.

Coconut Oil is a great example of how the pourability of an oil changes depending on the temperature of the room it is stored in. During the the winter months our Organic Coconut Oil tends to set hard in the jar, whereas in the height of the summer it finally yields to the ambient warmth of your kitchen, and melts into a pourable oil.

Organic Coconut Oil is a very dramatic example of what is happening to our essential oils on a much more subtle level. However, even aromatherapy oils, like Vetivert Essential Oil, can set solid in the bottle if it is stored in an unheated room in winter.

Which Essential Oils Pour Slowly?

Most aromatherapy oils made from tree resin, like Benzoin Essential Oil and Myrrh Essential Oil etc. are very slow pouring. However, Frankincense Essential Oil is very much the exception. Most forms of Frankincense Essential Oil run very quickly no matter the room temperature.

However there are some anomalies.

Organic Rose Otto Essential Oil is steam distilled from the petals of roses, and is in no way a resinous oil. However, if Organic Rose Essential Oil is stored in a cool room the oil sets a little like a jelly within the bottle, and is effectively set solid. In this state it is impossible to pour Rose Essential Oil.

Essential Oils Which May Pour Slowly

There’s a good number of resinous essential oils which can cause problems during the cooler months. These include many of the balsamic essential oils.

The list of essential oils which may present a problem when pouring are as follows:

What Can You Do Without Harming Your Essential Oil?

There is one simple way to get your viscous essential oil moving quicker, allowing it to flow more easily through the dropper insert in your essential oil bottle. Simply roll the bottle vigorously between your hands, whilst the lid is on, to warm the oil up a little.

When you feel the temperature of the bottle has increased a little you can again try to pour the oil out through the dropper insert. If the essential oil is warm enough it will pour more easily.

Nevertheless, slow pouring essential oils will never pour as quickly as the fastest pouring aromatherapy oils, so you will need to exercise a little bit of patience with them!

NEVER Do The Following To Your Essential Oils

No matter how rushed you are, and how tempted to rush things you are you must never heat your essential oils rapidly, or to temperatures above normal room temperature.

Aromatherapy oils should always be stored in a cool, dark place for this very reason.

Do NOT microwave your essential oils.

Do NOT place  your essential oils in boiling water.

Doing either of these things will damage your essential oils.

Your viscous essential oil should be gently warmed in your hands as described above.