How to Use Essential Oils: A Guide to Aromatherapy

How to Incorporate Essential Oils into Your Skincare Routine

Essential oils are made from different parts of certain plants, including their leaves, barks, herbs and rinds. Different methods are used to concentrate these raw plant parts into oils. This product can be added to vegetable oil, bath gels and creams when used topically.

Ways to use the best essential oils

1. Aromatherapy: Use a diffuser to gently spread your scent of choice around your living room or office. Or if you don’t have a diffuser, use this quick and effective trick. Add 2-5 drops of your favourite pure essential oil to a cotton ball and place it over spaces where you want to spread your favourite aroma.
2. Topically: On your skin, when combined with a carrier oil. There are so many ways to incorporate essential oils into your skincare and haircare routines. However, before you decide to this, a little bit of know how is essential (excuse the pun). So, here below we have laid it all out for you in a quick series of do’s and don’ts.

Here are some quick do’s and don’ts.

Don’t just rub them anywhere.

Essential oils are concentrated and oils that may be fine to use on your arms and legs may not be safe to use on the more sensitive skin around your mouth, nose and eyes.

Do check the quality.

Like most things, there are varying degrees of quality, when it comes to essential oils, this is no different. We suggest buying essential oils from a tried and proven brand that has some great customer reviews. Look for a trustworthy producer that only sells ‘pure oils’. This is a very important distinction when it comes to this product. As the product requirements and standards for a ‘pure’ essential oil are much higher. Meaning if you are buying a ‘pure essential oil’ then you are getting the good stuff.

Do toss out your older oils.

Generally speaking, we advise that you throw out any oils that you have had for more than three years. This is because these older oils are possibly spoiled from their extended exposure to oxygen after you have broken their product seals. These oils may not work as well, and could irritate your skin.

Do dilute them.

When it comes to essential oils, carrier oils are your best friend. Think of carrier oils and essential oils like peanut butter and jelly, some things just make sense when you put them together. Undiluted essential oils are too strong to use directly on your skin, especially on the more sensitive parts of your skin. You need to choose a carrier oil to use in combination with your essential oil of choice in order to dilute them. Pure almond oil, pure flax seed oil and pure castor oil are some of your options to name a few.

Don’t use essential oils on damaged skin.

Irritated, red or damaged skin will absorb more oil and may cause unwanted skin reactions. Especially undiluted oils, used without a carrier oil can be especially aggravating when used on damaged skin. So we suggest that you never put raw versions of this product on skin that is inflamed, red or feeling especially sensitive.