Ylang-ylang is grown natively in Malaysia, Indonesia and other lowland countries of east Asia. The ylang-ylang tree does not produce flowers until its fifth year of growth. After this, it produces around 45 pounds of flowers each year for up to 50 years.

It takes approximately 50 kg of flowers to yield 1 kg of essential oil.

Unlike most other essential oils, however, ylang ylang oil is produced using a method of steam distillation known as fractional distillation. During the process, oil is extracted from the still in batches at various intervals. The first batch, called extra grade or extra fraction oil, is taken about an hour after distillation begins and produces oil of the highest quality. The remaining batches are known as first (taken after four hours of distillation), second (taken after seven hours), third (after 10 hours) and complete (15 hours). First and second grades are typically used in cosmetics, while third is used to scent soaps and various other skin care products.