About Ylangylang Fractional Distillation

Ylangylang is the one essential oil that is always distilled in “fractions”…i.e. the distillation is stopped at various stages, the essential oil thus far produced is taken off, then the distillation continues. Various “grades” of Ylangylang are thus produced. Each distiller makes his own determination of where the “dividing line” should be, so there is a wide range of quality from one distiller to another. The normal production will include either Ylangylang super, Ylangylang extra, and Ylangylang 1, 2 and 3 or Ylangylang Extra, Ylangylang 1, Ylangylang 2, and Ylangylang 3. There is, obviously, going to be some overlap between what is one producers’ Ylangylang extra and another producer’s Ylangylang 1. Ylangylang Complete may be either the full, uninterrupted distillation (a complete oil) or a blend of different fractions.

The first fraction, the “extra” is composed primarily of esters and ethers, while the last fraction will be mostly sesquiterpenes.

A distiller of Ylangylang from the Phillipines once explained that his ylangylang distillation categorizations were based on the length of the distillation. ie: Pure Ylangylang Essential Oil is categorized according to the length of fractional distillation being carried out:

Length of Distillation	Oil Grade
1st hour	Extra
3rd hour	I
5th hour	II
8th hour up to 20th hour	III

This is one case where longer distillation does not equate with a higher quality oil.

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