Absolute

Definition

An absolute is the most concentrated aromatic extract obtained from plant matter through volatile-solvent extraction, followed by a cold-ethanol wash of an intermediate product called a concrete. This step separates the alcohol-soluble odorous fraction from the plant waxes, which precipitate out and are chilled and filtered away. The typical yield is on the order of 55 to 65 percent of the starting concrete, which makes the absolute one of the rarest and most expensive materials on a perfumer's palette.

Unlike an essential oil, which is produced by steam distillation, an absolute captures heavy, heat-sensitive molecules that distillation would destroy. This is why the most precious flowers such as jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, and mimosa exist in perfumery only as absolutes, never as true essential oils.

The Process, Step by Step

The extraction chain runs in three stages. The flowers are first washed with hexane in steel extractors, which absorbs both the odorous material and the waxes. Evaporating the solvent leaves a semi-solid, wax-rich paste called the concrete. This concrete is then agitated in cold ethanol, where the odorous molecules dissolve while the waxes flocculate and are removed by chilling and filtration. A final evaporation of the alcohol delivers the absolute, a viscous and deeply colored liquid.

Industrial yields reveal the scarcity. According to figures relayed by the trade press, one ton of jasmine flowers yields roughly 2.5 to 3 kg of concrete, of which slightly more than half becomes absolute after washing. Worldwide production of jasmine absolute reportedly barely exceeds ten tons a year, and jasmine absolute commonly trades between 4,000 and 10,000 dollars per kilogram.

Concrete, Absolute, Essential Oil: Do Not Confuse Them

Three extracts are often blurred in everyday speech, though they name distinct stages and processes.

Rose is the exception: it exists both as an absolute (by solvent) and as an oil (by distillation), two materials with very different profiles, the former more honeyed and waxy, the latter fresher and more spiced.

The Osmetheca View

The dominant definition often reduces the absolute to "the most concentrated form of perfume," a confusion fed by marketing that labels certain enriched eaux de parfum as "absolu." That is a misreading: an absolute is not a commercial concentration of scented alcohol but a raw extraction material. A perfumer never wears a pure absolute on the skin; it is folded into an accord, often at only a few percent, because its power is overwhelming.

The other point that popular accounts skip is residual solvent. Absolutes retain a small amount of residual hexane, which is why cosmetic regulation governs their use and why so-called 100 percent natural perfumery sometimes prefers CO2 extracts or distilled oils. Grasping this means understanding that an absolute is never a chemically "pure" product but a refined, regulated extract.

See Also