How is it distilled?

Helichrysum is one of the most fragrant plants which contribute to giving the Corsican “maquis” its characteristic perfume. The flowering head buds, called “The flowery summit” which are treated the day after picking, are traditionally hand cut thus leaving the Maquis unspoilt by modern machinery. Harvesting takes place from June to July when flowering commences. Over a ton of flower heads are needed to make 900gr to 1.5kg of essential oil! This is why it is quite expensive.
The Helichrysum Italicum essential oil is obtained by distilling, usually by steam, and has absolutely no comparison to other Helichrysum oils coming from the Balkans or from Yugoslavia, which has a totally different composition.

The Mediterranean Helichrysum is much richer in Terpenes has more Neryle acetate and Diones. Helichrysum from countries other than Corsica have less theraputic qualities for the human body. In fact there are very few comparisions with the excellent and unique Helichrysum Italicum coming from Corsica. Below you can see the chemical composition of the Helichrysum Italicum, as you can see the level of Neryl Acetate is over 40% in fact it is usually 40% compared to the Balkans which doesn’t pass 7%! This is the chemical composition which is responsible for fighting the free radical and regenerating skin cells.

Distilling information.

Procedure: Distilling is completed by water vapour.
Distilled parts: Flower heads.
Botanical name: Helichrysum Italicum ssp serotinum
Country of origin: Corsica, also known as “the island of beauty”.
Culture: Organic and guaranteed by Ecocert.
Quality: 100% pure and natural.
Visual aspect: A limpid, fluid liquid.

Its natural combination of chemical constituents creates one of the most profoundly healing essential oils available.

Today, most common essential oils, such as lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus, are distilled. Raw plant material, consisting of the flowers, leaves, wood, bark, roots, seeds, or peel, is put into an alembic also known as a distillation apparatus and placed over water. As the water is heated the steam passes through the harvested plants, vaporizing the volatile compounds. The vapours flow through a coil where they condense back to liquid, which is then collected in the receiving vessel.

Most oils are distilled in a single process. One exception is Ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata), which takes 22 hours to complete through a fractional distillation.

The recondensed water is referred to as a hydrosol, hydrolat, herbal distillate or plant water essence, which may be sold as another fragrant product. The most common name for it is quite simply floral water; it has the same proprieties as the essential oil but in a less concentrated percentage. Popular hydrosols are rose water, lavender water, lemon balm, clary sage and orange blossom water. The use of herbal distillates in cosmetics is increasing.
Some plant hydrosols have unpleasant smells and are therefore not sold. Such as Yarrow for example.

Just a piece of information concerning last year’s harvest. We distilled the oil and sent it off immediately and on arrival our client found the oil to have a “weird smell”. In fact he had to air the oil out as it was so fresh and after 10 days Eric found the Helichrysum smell coming through good and strong. It’s turned out to be his best oil acquirement in the Helichrysum line for a long time.