Essential Oil 101
What are essential oils?
They are called “essential” because they contain the essence of a plant, including its aromatic and wellness properties.
What exactly are essential oils? They’re technically not oil, but the liquid extracts of plants, like the juice from a petal or leaf. The liquids are processed, becoming concentrated liquid for aromatic and wellness uses. essential oils are called “essential” because the oil contains each plant’s essence. Parts used to make each oil varies, including flowers, grasses, fruits, roots, trees, or leaves.
Essential oils are extremely volatile and should be used with great care. For example, just one drop of peppermint equates to approximately 28 cups of peppermint tea.
What is essential oil good for?
Essential oils are good for many uses–they cleanse, offer pain relief, tone skin, fight infections, lift your mood, and so much more!
Essential oils offer many benefits. They help you with anything from your mood and headaches, to stiff joints and congestion. They aid digestion, skin care, and monthly matters. essential oils help get you through the cold season and keep your place insect free. After all, they are the scents that come from different parts of a plant and that fresh scent you get in the forest comes from these plants.
How do I diffuse essential oils?
You can go simple or upscale for diffusing diluted oils into the air from a bowl with a reed stick or from a ultrasonic device that agitates the water into a cold mist.
Diffusing oils is a efficient, cleaner and effective method for releasing essential oil goodness into your surroundings. A few drops of oil are added to water and allowed to evaporate from a diffuser. The released oils will lift your mood and sense of well-being for hours.
How do I topically use essential oils?
There are many ways for essential oils can be applied to your skin, from a soothing massage oil, to a calming salve, or a luscious dip in your bath.
Essential Oil is highly concentrated and therefore needs to be diluted when applied to skin. You can dilute in water or carrier oils e.g. jojoba(dry and damaged skin), olive(skin) or coconut oil(skin and hair). A good ratio is 1 drop of concentrated essential oil for every milliliter of base oil.
Pimp your bath by simply swishing a few drops of oil into the water.
A few oils can be applied directly to the skin. This method is known as “neat” and is not used for most essential oils.
Other topical applications include compresses, creams, shampoos, and sprays. It's up to your imagination. Just be careful on the concentration levels. You can do a simple skin patch test by putting 2 drops of essential oil with 5ml of carrier oil, and apply a few drops of this dilution to the inside of your forearm; cover with a bandaid. Wait for 24 hrs, and if there's redness or irritation, just discontinue use.
How should I store essential oils?
The tried and true essential oil storage tips are: use glass; store in a cool dark place; and keep far out of children’s reach.
Have you seen those normal amber and cobalt blue bottles–they’re your default bottles for storing essential oils. Find a cool, dark storage place that is child-proof, and you are all set. Most oils are able to keep for more than 2 years as long as it is not continually exposed to oxygen in the air. Some oxidize as lighter components evaporate after a bottle is opened. This shortens the oil’s life, making it potentially harmful to use. After the lighter portions of an oil have evaporated, heavier constituents that can be irritating are left behind.
Essential Oil Fun Facts!
As you begin to explore essential oils and the benefits they share, here are some fun facts to share with friends and family:
It takes 60,000 roses to make 1 ounce (30cc) of rose essential oil!
Earl Gray tea owes its fragrance to bergamot.
Chamomile owes its name to the Greek words “khamai” (on the ground) and “melon” (apple)
There’s a story that during the bubonic plague, aristocratic women dipped their leather gloves in lavender to stave off the deadly disease.
250 pounds of peppermint leaves = 1 pound of peppermint essential oil.
One lemon = 5 drops of lemon essential oil.
Lavender oil is used for antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is nicknamed as 'first aid in a bottle' for its multiple medicinal properties. Lavender was used in World War I and II when medicines were scarce.
The Papyrus Ebers of 1500 BC noted that priests recommended frankincense resin as a treatment for wounds. History shows that the resin and oil was also used to cure hemlock poisoning, leprosy, worms, snakebites, plague and cosmetic issues.
Arabic doctors made sure that their clothes were heavily scented with frankincense before visiting with patients. While they may have not known the scientific reasoning behind it, it was strongly noted that individuals who worked close with essential oils remained free of disease. For example, people who worked with the dead, embalming their bodies, did not usually become sick with the same illness that the deceased succumbed to.
Important Disclaimer
The information contained is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Any statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA and any information or products discussed are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult a healthcare practitioner before making changes to your diet or taking supplements that may interfere with medications.