Essential Oils
About Essential Oils
- Essential oils are not really oils. They do not
contain the fatty acids that constitute what we would consider an actual
oil. Valerie Gennari Cooksley, author of Aromatherapy: Soothing
Remedies to Restore, Rejuvenate and Heal defines essential oils as
“highly concentrated plant constituents possessing potent medicinal and
cosmetic qualities.” However, I think Stephanie Tourles nailed it in
Organic Body Care recipes when she said, “I consider essential oils the life force or the soul of the plant.”
- Most essential oils are high in antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties: This makes them an excellent addition to your homemade cleaning preparations. Oils that are best for cleaning are: Lemon, grapefruit, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree, lavender, and rosemary.
- Essential oils are miniscule in molecular size, which
means they are absorbed well by the skin – making them perfect
ingredients in personal care items intended to heal, soften, and
nourish. However, they do not accumulate in the body over time – they
simply offer up their healing properties and then pass on through.
- Scientific studies have shown that rosemary essential oil helps your brain perform. Specifically, smelling rosemary essential oil helps memory recall and performance on tests. Interestingly, this study
also showed that groups that inhaled either rosemary or lavender
essential oil felt much more relaxed than those who inhaled no odor at
all. (I always keep it next to me..smells great and always clears the sinuses:)
- Fragrance oils and essential oils are NOT the same thing.
As a rule of thumb, if you see the word “fragrance” or “fragrance oil”
or even “perfume” on anything, you can assume this is synthetic and NOT
natural. (Even if it says natural fragrance.)
- Essential oils are wholly natural and cannot be patented;
which means that you’ll never see an essential oil in a pharmaceutical
drug. As such, you can expect that the vast majority of mainstream
healthcare practitioners will never recommend essential oils as
therapeutic alternatives to drugs. More importantly, because essential
oils cannot be patented, drug companies will not waste money studying
them. This limits our scientific knowledge of essential oils GREATLY,
and the majority of what we know about them are things that have been
passed down through thousands of years of personal use and
experimentation.
- Enormous amounts of plants are needed to produce essential oil.
In fact, on the extreme end, it takes 4000 pounds of Bulgarian roses to
produce 1 pound of essential oil. Other plants like lavender only take
100 pounds of plant material to produce a pound of essential oil. Still,
can you imagine how concentrated essential oils must be, in light of
how many plants are used to produce them?
- Most essential oils should never be used undiluted on the skin. Instead,
they should be combined with “real” oils (called carrier oils), waxes,
butters, alcohols, or other diluting measures. Because they’re so
concentrated, if you don’t dilute, you may end up with an unfortunate
reaction (and unhappy skin).
- There are a few essential oils that are generally recognized as safe to use undiluted.
Of course, there has to be a few exceptions to the rule. Again, in
Organic Body Care Recipes, the author points out that the only essential
oils that are widely acknowledged as safe to use undiluted (sparingly)
are: lavender, German chamomile, tea tree, sandalwood, and rose
geranium.
- Never use an undiluted essential oil on a baby or child.
Children have much thinner, more delicate skin than adults have, and
tend to be very sensitive to the potency of essential oils. In fact,
even if you do use essential oil in a recipe for children, only use half of the essential oil recommended in the recipe. That’s all they’ll need, anyway. (Here is a list of 19 essential oils that are safe for babies and children.)
- Avoid the following essential oils while pregnant or nursing (and skip EOs completely in your first trimester): Aniseed,
cedarwood, chamomile, cinnamon, clary sage, clove, ginger, jasmine,
lemon, nutmeg, rosemary, sage (this is only a partial list of some of
the more common essential oils – view the full one here).
- To test if you’re sensitive to an essential oil (which is probably best to do before using it in a skincare preparation):
Combine one drop of essential oil with 1/2 tsp carrier oil (like olive,
jojoba, or sweet almond). Rub this on the inside, upper portion of your
arm and wait a few hours. If no redness or itching develops, you’re
most likely not sensitive to that essential oil.
- Keep all essential oils out of the reach of children – and avoid contact with your eyes. This is just standard safety precautions, but must be mentioned.
- Do not take essential oils internally, especially oils like wintergreen and eucalyptus. While
some essential oils may be used well-diluted in something like
toothpaste with safety, it’s generally recognized that there’s no need
to take essential oils internally. In fact, there are several toxic
essential oils that should be avoided even through skin contact.
Luckily, these are NOT common essential oils, and most of them you’ll never find in the store.
- Not all essential oils are created equally, nor does more expensive necessarily mean “better.”
There are certain brands I will use in a less therapeutic fashion (like
for cleaning), because they’re far less expensive than their
counterparts. When you see a wide fluctuation in price between, say,
lavender essential oils, you can bet that the far less expensive one is
likely lower in quality. However, a small variation in
price differences on the higher end will NOT mean a better essential
oil. It will just mean a higher price. (A little birdie also told me
that there are also only a handful of essential oil distilleries in the
world, which means that most essential oils come from the exact same
places – thus there is little difference in quality between the more
“typically priced” EOs.) What I’m saying here is: Understand that you DO
have to pay for quality, but that if you’re just using essential oils
in non-therapeutic fashions, it’s okay to use less expensive oils (like
the Beeyoutiful ones pictured at the top of this post, or NOW brand essential oils). But if you want high quality, I suggest using Mountain Rose Herbs or another ethical supplier that offers organic essential oils (grown without pesticides or toxic fertilizers). Others include Young Living, duTerra or Plant Therapy.
- To test your essential oil to see how “pure” it is, put
a single drop of it on a piece of construction paper. If it evaporates
quickly and leaves no noticeable ring, it is pure. If you have a ring
left, then it is likely diluted by the manufacturer with an oil of some
sort (this test will not work for myrrh, patchouli, and absolutes).
- Essential oils will last for at least 5 years (if not 10), so one bottle could literally last you a decade.
Hopefully that thought will help mitigate the cost involved in
purchasing some essential oils. Because they are SO concentrated and
only a tiny amount is needed in anything you do, they’ll last you a
very, very long time. The only exception to this rule is citrus oils,
which will see a reduction in potency after a year or two.
- Store your essential oils in dark glass bottles (which they were probably packaged in) and out of direct sunlight. This is simply to help preserve their potency.
- Remember that what you’re allergic to in food, you will be allergic to in essential oils.
So if, for some reason, you can’t eat sage without breaking out in a
rash, steer clear of sage essential oil (or any product containing it).
- USE ESSENTIAL OILS TO HELP YOUR MOOD. Lavender,
peppermint, grapefruit, chamomile, lemon, ylang-ylang all help produce
happy, joyous moods. Clary sage helps with PMS (although there have been
reports that overuse of clary sage can lead to intoxication). Rosemary
increases focus and concentration. Don’t forget the mood benefits of
essential oils. Here’s an information packed aromatherapy reference chart to refer to.
- The recommended usage of many essential oils is hotly contested throughout the aromatherapy profession.
The majority of oils you find in the supermarket are absolutely safe
(though you should research them before using them); however, once you
start digging into the world of essential oils, you’ll find that
professionals – even within the same organization – debate extensively
over the use of certain oils. If you’re ever unsure about an oil or its
use, do the research you can, and if you still cannot make up your mind
as to its safety – avoid it. But, by all means, do NOT be afraid of
essential oils. Just use them with care and respect, and all will be
fine.
Recommended Essential Oils to Get You Started
Here are 7
essential oils to consider when starting to use them in your personal
care products or homemade cleaning supplies.
- Peppermint (good for lip balms, oily/acneic skin, and cleaning products)
- Rosemary (good for hair preparations, oily/acneic skin, and cleaning products)
- Sweet orange (good for all skin types and very soothing in room sprays for children)
- Rose geranium (good for all skin types, creating perfumes, and for use in homemade moisturizers)
- Tea tree (great for healing, getting rid of dandruff, oily/acneic skin, and cleaning products)
- Lavender (great for all skin types, for relaxation, hair preparations, and cleaning products)
- Lemon (great for lifting moods, cleaning preparations, and sparingly in toners and products for oily skin)
All of these essential oils also happen to be some of the least expensive and easiest to find. Bonus!
Want to Learn More About Aromatherapy and Essential Oils?
Here are some favorite references for learning more about how
to safely and effectively use essential oils in skincare, aromatherapy,
and cleaning products.
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