Katrina Lee

Ever wondered how to use essential oils?  Trust me when I say it’s not complicated!

There are three key ways to use essential oils – Aromatically, Topically + Internally (aka in food!).

Before we jump into each of these uses – please make sure you check out these safety guidelines – essential oils  are safe and natural tools, but as pure plant extracts, they are potent, so there are some basics to cover before you get started!

Aromatically (AKA Smelling Them)

If you are wanting to work on mood, emotions, sleep, behaviour or health one of the best ways of using essential oils is to smell them.  In fact, you get more out of an essential oil diffusing them than any other method. Ways to use oils aromatically are:

  1. Smell them out of the bottle – this is a great way to work out your favourites and which ones make you feel calmer or more energized.
  2. Put one drop of your favourite oil onto the palm of your hand, rub them together and breathe them in.  I like to start my day with peppermint or wild orange to wake me up and then use Frankincense for staying grounded/stress free and Lavender for calm.
  3. Diffuser Jewellery- drop 1-3 drops of essential oil onto the black lava beads or felt pad for a personal diffuser while you are out and about.
  4. Drop 1-2 drops onto your pillow or clothing (no it doesn’t stain)
  5. Diffusing around the house, office or car – you can purchase diffusers (or maybe one came with your order) that don’t heat and damage the oils but just vibrate them and turn them into a gas, so you can get the most benefit to the mood centre of your brain while you are in an area.  There are so may diffuser recipes you can try- even play around to make up your own.  

Topically

The most popular way to use essential oils is topically or on the skin!
The reason that we do this is three fold.

  1. It crosses the skin into the blood stream so that it can penetrate the cells helping to detox them and allow them to work more effectively, settle the nervous system so we can have benefits with behaviour and pass through the blood-brain barrier also for mood, emotions, memory and sleep.
  2. The smell stays on our body so that we get the added aromatic benefits as well as a replacement for perfumes and deodorants.
  3. We can target specific areas of the body that may be causing us trouble and needing support like the head, nose, throat, chest or muscles.

So how do we use essential oils Topically?

  1. Squirt 1 tsp – 1 tablespoon of fractionated coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, olive oil or a lotion into your hand or a small glass bowl and add 3-6  drops of an essential oil or a combination of essential oils of your choice and rub on the target area you are wanting results for. 
  2. Make a blend in a jar for all over the body use.  This is an amazing way to support your physical and mental health as the act of rubbing your body gets the lymphatic system moving properly and helps to detox the cells and also energise you for the day.  The essential oils are another level of support.  100 drops in 115ml of liquid is a great blend as you only use a few fingertips full at a time.
  3. Make a rollerball or spritzer for ready to go use when required.  This is especially good for any recipes that you might use on a regular basis like immune booster, sinus support, first aid ‘owie’ spray or headache roller.

To make these you add the essential oils by drop into the roller in safe dilution for the ages it’s being used on and top with fractionated coconut oil (see dilution chart below)

Food Flavouring

If you are wanting the fastest and most effective health and wellness benefits from these oils the most efficient method is flavouring with them.

You will know which oils are SAFE to do this with and which ones aren’t by reading the side of the bottle.

The oils safe to flavor with are clearly labelled ‘For Flavouring Use’ while those not for flavouring state ‘For aromatic or topical use’ on the bottles

We can flavor with essential oils by:

  1. Adding them to our water, soda water, smoothies or even alcoholic beverages.  The most popular for this are Smart & Sassy, Lime, Lemon, Peppermint, Wild Orange, Tangerine and Grapefruit
  2. Adding them to hot water for our own herbal teas- Cardamom, Cassia and Peppermint are popular choices
  3. Adding them to our cooking.  We can sweeten desserts and snacks with oils like Peppermint, Wild Orange, Lemon or Lime or season a meal with any of the Herb oils like Oregano, Thyme, Basil and Rosemary.