Essential oils can be a surprisingly helpful addition to your daily life.
At first glance, they might just seem like overpriced oils that just smell good. At least that’s what I thought in the beginning.
Then little by little, as I discovered more about them, I learned that they can be good for a lot of things, including your skin, clearing the smells in your home, aromatherapy and lots of health benefits (which we’ll get into later on).
Because of the many benefits of essential oils, they’re definitely a must try. Especially if you like experiencing different aromas.
The Definition Of Essential Oils
Essential oils are a very concentrated extraction from plants and herbs that have lots of aromatherapy, beauty and health benefits.
Related: DIY Lip Scrubs With Essential Oils You Can Make At Home
Why Are Essential Oils Good For You?
Essential oils have been used for health reasons for hundreds of years around the world. They are often used as alternatives to other hybrid and processed solutions because they’re natural, meaning you don’t have to worry about dire side effects and can be used to treat many different things.
So in essence, they’re amazing natural remedies!
Uses For Essential Oils
Ok so now that we know what essential oils are and what they’re good for, how exactly do you use them? How do you figure out what essential oils are good for what?
Hopefully my essential oils guide sheds some light on that. There are lots and lots of ways to use your oils. But here are the most basic ones in detail to help get you started incorporating essential oils and all their benefits to your own life.
For starters, some unique ways to use essential oils you might not have thought about:
- Foot soak
- Body massage
- Essential oil candles
- Bubble baths
- Added to natural lotions and perfumes
- Sensory stimulation
In this guide we will look at the uses for essential oil in three main categories, including their beauty benefits, health benefits, and how you can use them to improve your home.
How To Use Essential Oils On Skin
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years as beauty remedies, lots of them, like frankincense and lavender, are great for getting super soft skin and helping you get rid of unwanted spots and uneven skin.
I’ve gone as far as creating my own essential oil night spray that I use almost every night and often during the day if my skin needs a little pick me up. It’s a great DIY face toner that you can create for yourself, according to your skin’s needs.
Sometimes, when I’m home and know I’m not going out anywhere, I’ll use it as a natural deodorant and skip the chemical filled stuff we buy from the store.
Can essential oils be applied directly to the skin?
You never want to apply undiluted essential oils directly on the skin. This is because essential oils are potent oils that come in very concentrated doses. You never want to apply essential oils directly from the bottle to the skin, especially if you are not familiar with that specific type of oil yet.
I learned this the hard way by once applying PURE tea tree oil on a breakout on my cheek and ending up with an irritated burn from that. It took a while for it to heal.
You want to ALWAYS make sure you dilute your essential oils with some purified water or carrier oil (I like using Dr. Thayer’s alcohol free natural witch hazel) and trying some out on a small area of your skin to see if its too strong for your skin.
What is carrier oil?
Carrier oil is oil used to dilute essential oils. It’s generally recommended that you use one drop of essential oil per three drops of carrier oil.
A carrier oil can be an almond oil or even a vegetable oil. I like using almond oil because of it’s smell and because it is SO good for your skin by itself. Adding your favorite essential oils only enhances that.
Carrier oils perfect for diluting your essential oils
Almond Oil
Plant Therapy has a great 16 oz carrier oil bottle perfect for getting you started with essential oils and making sure you’re diluting them properly!
Plant Therapy Sweet Almond Oil For Skin Hair Body + Face
Since everyone is different, if you want to use essential oils for the beauty benefits of the skin, you have to try out what works for you and your skin.
Rosehip Oil
Uses and benefits: Anti-aging, fine lines and wrinkles
Rosehip Oil contains Vitamins A and C and encourages cell production which makes it a perfect candidate to create a toner for maturing skin. It is not necessarily considered an essential oil, but the benefits of using it are similar. Its safe enough to not have to blend it with a carrier oil for use.
Hemp Seed Oil
Uses and benefits: highly moisturizing, used as a carrier oil
Hemp Seed Oil is famous for being super packed with a long list of powerful nutrients that can help nourish the body from the inside out. It helps maintain the immune system and promote brain health as well as being helpful for dry itching skin.
How do you apply essential oils?
Essential oils can be applied lots of ways. You can apply them in a diluted mix from a spray bottle, dabble some on a cotton bud, or use your bare fingers to rub it on.
Just remember, you always have to dilute them first. That’s the most important part. Once you do this you can experiment and try different blends on different areas of your body.
How to use a compressor
Sometimes we want our essential oils to absorb faster, and a great way to do that is to create your own essential oil compress.
All you have to do is dip a clean washcloth in warm water and apply gentle pressure to the area where you applied your essential oil.
This will help it absorb faster in whatever area you’re using it in. Now, how about aromatherapy?
What is aromatherapy and its benefits?
Aromatherapy is using essential oils through the senses, either smell or skin contact, to get the maximum benefit of these oils.
Aromatherapy has been used for a long time and thought to reduce anxiety, help you sleep better, and help with depression.
You can use aromatherapy through the use of essential oils in your bath, using a diffuser in your bedroom, or simply applying your favorite essential oils as body oil. One great way to create a more relaxed space that helps with the relief of anxiety and depression is to use an essential oils diffuser.
Related: How To Make Your Home Smell GOOD With These 17 Tips
What is an essential oil diffuser?
Aromatherapy diffusers help spread the aroma of whatever essential oils you put into it around your home.
There are a TON of diffusers out there that work in several different ways. There are simple candle diffusers, electric diffusers, atomizing diffusers, and even lamp ring diffusers.
You can always go in depth to see which one you like the most.
I personally like using aromatherapy candles to diffuse a more potent smell around my home! But when I don’t use a candle, I use an electric diffuser that gets the job done too. Here’s a personal favorite. I love the blue light it gives off, and it isn’t too expensive!
Ultrasonic Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
Essential Oils For Sleep
You might have heard that there are essential oils that help you sleep better if used correctly. And its true!
There are lots of different oils you can try to see if it’ll help you regulate your sleep cycle and help you fall asleep faster for a more restful anf fulfilling nighttime.