They are oils, however, they are not like the super greasy oils that contain fatty acids, but they are considered to be volatile oils and have a slightly oily feel to them.
2. Essential Oils come from many parts of a plant.
A plant’s bark, roots, leaves, stems, flowers, and blossoms can all be used to make essential oils.
3. It Takes a Lot of Plant Material to Make a Little Essential Oil
I’ve read different figures in different places, but one of the figures I have read is that it takes 60,000 roses (about 180 lb) to make just one ounce ( 29.57 ml) of rose otto oil. Now you can see why essential oils are so expensive and why it must be tempting for some to add “fillers” to oils to make them go farther.
4. Essential Oils are Very Concentrated
This follows from how much plant material goes into each drop of essential oil, but it is important to note that there is a lot of power in these oils. While I don’t encourage fear of using them, some caution is warranted because they are strong.
5. A “Fragrance Oil”, “Scent”, or “Natural Oil” is NOT an Essential Oil
In general, if you see the term “fragrance”, “scent”, or “fragrance oil”, you don’t know what you are getting, but you are not getting a pure essential oil. It’s kind of like the food industry in this regard. Think of how the word “natural” or “minimally processed” in the food industry means just about nothing. Same with the oils industry. You need to know your terms to know what is being sold.
6. Water and Essential Oils Don’t Mix Well
Do not use water to dilute Essential Oils, water only INCREASES the strength of the oil. It is better to use a carrier oil as that will make it not as strong when it may be burning, or making the skin itchy.
It is recommended to buy an oil either already diluted, or to dilute it when you are getting started, and/or to dilute very strong oils because you need to see how the oil will react with you before continuing to use it. Also, they can be too harsh to use without diluting.
However, that diluting needs to be done with a carrier oil and not with water. The most typical oil for diluting is fractionated coconut oil, but you can use pretty much whatever oil you like. I tend to use coconut oil as it has great health giving properties.
Likewise, if you ever do happen to get too much oil on your skin, you should dilute it by putting an oil onto the oil rather than trying to rinse the essential oils off with water.
7. What is a NEAT oil?
NEAT means no carrier oil is added. As mentioned above, oils are sometimes sold blended with other oils, the most common blending oil being fractionated coconut oil.
Again, typically it is best to dilute oils when first starting to use them. With caution, as you get used to the oils and know how your body reacts, you might find you start to use them undiluted on your skin. I personally do that all the time, but not with the hotter oils. One option of dilution to use when starting to use an oil is 4-8 drops in 1/2 teaspoon of carrier oil.
8. Allergies and Essential Oils
It is often said that if you are allergic to a food you will be allergic to the essential oil. That may or may not be true.
Essential oils have different chemistry than the plant. If you are allergic to a chemical in the plant and that chemical is in the oil you will be allergic to the oil, however many people are not allergic to the oil. For example, I have heard of one person that is allergic to lemons but loves the distilled lemon oil and doesn’t have any reaction to it.
That being said, if you are allergic to the plant, I would personally recommend using extreme caution with the essential oil, or to avoid it completely.
9. Essential Oils on Children and Babies
You should never use an undiluted essential oil on a baby or child – for the same reason as you shouldn’t start using essential oils undiluted on anyone. Remember that the younger the person is the more sensitive the skin will be. Use extreme caution when working with infants and young children.
For example, even though Frankincense oil is considered one of the most safe oils and many people have used it on their infants and children in the pure undiluted form, you should always dilute the oil until you have a well established education on how that oils works for that individual.
Regardless of how you choose to use them, keep your essential oils out of the reach of children and babies.
10. Essential Oils and Pets
You will want to be cautious when using them on cats. Cats are highly sensitive and just having them on your own body is usually enough to affect them. With that being said, the essential oils work wonderfully for pets. Some report seeing quicker results with using the oils on animals than on people.
As a rule you want to make sure you use the oil in the appropriate amount when compared to your animal’s size. For example, a 5 lb rabbit will take a lot less oil than a 100 lb Rottweiler.
Use the oils in the same way you would use them on yourself. However, because animals are sensitive, when putting the oil on the exposed skin, it is always advisable to use a carrier oil as well. A blend of 5 drops of Fractionated Coconut Oil to 1 drop of pure essential oil might be a good ratio to start with.
The oil could be placed on the pads of their feet, or you could use the pure oil on the fur and the animal can breathe it in. As always, be cautious.
11. Not All Oils Are The Same – Expensive Does NOT Necessarily Mean “better”.
It has been estimated that 95% or more of the companies blatantly adulterate or purchasing from essential oils “experts” that blatantly adulterate (heat, add things to or take things out of the oils, or otherwise alter them from their natural state), it is important to find a source that you can trust for your essential oils.
But as a general rule the low cost oils have a tendency to be more adulterated and the more expensive oils test out to be higher therapeutically.
12. Oils and Eyes
Never put essential oils in or too near to your eyes. They are very strong and can do damage.
13. Essential Oils Shelf Life
This is a complicated topic as many oils will oxidize and how quickly they will do that depends on how much they are exposed to oxygen. However, they typically do last a long time if stored correctly.
14. How to Store Essential Oils
Essential Oils should be stores in dark glass bottles (brown or blue, which they hopefully were packaged in), and out of direct sunlight. So an open shelf in your bathroom might not be the best place to have them.This keeps them from having their chemistry changed by the light as it can interact with some chemicals in the oils.
15. Essential Oils, Emotions, and Moods
Most people talk about using essential oils for physical ailments, but the oils also can be helpful for moods and emotions.I find diluting a certain scent like a citrus oil (orange, lemon, or grapefruit), or peppermint can give me a real lift in the middle of the day.When you think about it, this makes sense. Smells affect us. And pharmaceutical companies use nasal delivery for some medications, so the nose is one means of delivery into the body.
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