There are so many different grades of oil on the market and to be honest it can all give us a bit of a headache when trying to understand the difference between Cold Pressed, Refined and Unrefined. Read on to find out more about the different grades and a simple breakdown of how oil is extracted. All natural oils are great for the skin and hair but how do we get these oils? How are they extracted from the plant/fruit/nut?
Most of our oils are extracted by using cold pressing methods to preserve and maintain all the nutrients from the plant. No solvents, bleach, chemicals and added heat are used which can alter the oils nutritional value.
Only minimal heat is used which is created when the nuts/fruit are grinded against one another creating friction. This temperature is controlled and minimal. It is never heated to a high temperature like refined oil which reduces the nutritional value. Personally, I like to use cold pressed oils as all the nutrients from the plants are then transferred onto your skin and hair resulting in many benefits.
1. The nuts or fruit are firstly filtered to remove any impurities that you don't want in your final product.
2. The fruit/ nuts are then pressed and grinded using pressing machines or a pestle and mortal which grinds the nuts extracting the oil and all its nutritional content. The solid material is then separated from the oil using a screw in the press which stirs the mixture continuously.
3. Pressure is then applied forcing the oil out of the press, this pressure is controlled as it can then increase the temperature which would result in the oil losing some of its nutritional content.
4. The oil is then filtered to seprate the solid from liquid. It is then finally passed through a mesh whereby any remaining sediment is removed resulting with pure cold pressed oil.
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