How Do I Use Essential Oils? A Beginners Guide To Using Essential Oils Safely And Effectively
How Do I Use Essential Oils?
We will delve into the 3 main ways of using essential oils in great detail in this article to help you use them correctly and safely to get the maximum wellness benefits as possible.
As you know each one of us are different, essential oils can have a different effect on our bodies as individuals and we may all experience something different when using them.
Some oils work better for some more than others and it can be fun experimenting with what oils we prefer and work best for ourselves. This article should start you off in the right direction if you are completely new to the amazing world of essential oils.
Essential Oils are made up of volatile aromatic compounds taken from the stems, roots and flowers of plants and trees. Volatile meaning they will evaporate quickly when exposed to air.
Essential Oils have been studied for quite a long time and have been documented throughout history and have been shown to have profound health benefits when used correctly.
We have put this beginners guide to safely and effectively using essential oils as a form of natural wellness and we hope to answer the question of how to use essential oils safely and effectively at home in an everyday setting.
There Are 3 Main Ways To Use Essential Oils
- Aromatically
- Topically
- Internally
Check Out This Video On How To Use Essential Oils By Dr. David C Hill. Must Watch!
How Do I Choose An Essential Oil?
- Choose Only Unadulterated 100% Pure Essential Oils
- Make Sure There Are No Fillers Or Harmful Chemicals Added
- Free From Herbicides and Pesticides
- Check For - Purity, Potency, Efficacy
- Choose A Company With Integrity And Values
- Look For A Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade or (CPTG) Essential Oil
- Packaging - Oil Should Be Packed In Dark Bottles To Prevent Spoilage
- Price Point - Just Cause It's Cheap Doesn't Make It Good For You, Beware Of Cheap Oils. You May Think You Are Getting A Bargain, But You Will Only Pay For It In The Long Run
We only recommend using a quality essential oil that is 100% Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade or CPTG. Many oils can be purchased over the counter in a variety of different stores from your local corner store to a high end pharmacy to even a tourist gift shop.
Essential oils today have been mass produced and marketed in many ways to be beneficial for your well-being, but what are you actually buying??
The majority of essential oils in these shops can be full of fillers and synthetic chemicals and have little to no health benefits whatsoever, some may even be causing more harm to you than good. A lot of these oils can not be taken internally or ingested at all.
We only recommend using dōTERRA essential oils as they are a company with integrity and only produce unadulterated 100% Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils and are regarded by many as the leading company producing essential oils today.
These are the essential oils of our choice as they have worked wonders for our own personal health needs and we recommend them wholeheartedly without prejudice.
Be careful when choosing an essential oil for you and your family, do some research and find a company that has integrity and produces an amazing quality pure essential oil.
How To Use Essential Oils Aromatically?
Aromatic use of essential oils is probably the most popular way to start using these amazing oils and there are a few different ways to do so.
Here Are Some Of The Popular Ways To Use Essential Oils Aromatically:
- Diffusion With An Essential Oil Diffuser (I love Diffusing Peppermint Oil)
- Direct Inhalation Form A Bottle Or Dram Vile
- Cupping Your Hands And Inhalation
- Wearing Essential Oils As A Cologne Or Perfume
- Using a Humidifier Or Vaporizer
- Placing Oil On A Cloth Or Tissue/Handkerchief
- Placing A Few Drops Of Oil On A Pillow Or Bed Linen
- Making A Spray Bottle For Use On Carpets, Furniture, Curtains (Lavender is Awesome)
The Olfactory System
The Body has 5 main senses:
- Sight (vision)
- Hearing (audition)
- Touch (somatosensation)
- Taste (gustation)
- Smell (olfaction)
The sense of smell is one of our powerful senses and can affect the mind and body in many ways. It can help us detect hazards, it also integrates with our sense of taste when eating food to help us detect flavor. It can also affect our mood and forms part of the chemosensory system or the chemical senses.
The sense of smell can trigger memories and transport us back to a moment or place in time that we may have once forgotten and bring that specific memory back to us quite vividly and rapidly once activated.
The ability to detect odors and smells comes from specific sensory cells, which are called Olfactory sensory neurons. These neurons can be found high up in the nasal cavity. The detection and perception of odor is the connection between gaseous chemical molecules picked up by the olfactory epithelium beneath the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb's process's can then project these responses directly to the brain.
This is how and why essential oils work so well when diffused or inhaled and are able to trigger certain powerful physical and emotional responses. The powerful volatile aromatic compounds that are essential oils can be used to uplift your mood and have been shown in studies to affect the mind and body in very positive ways. This is why direct inhaling or diffusing is a very popular method to use essential oils.
Check Out This Video About The Olfactory System
Here Is An Example Of Our Most Popular Home Diffuser And Top 10 Essential Oils To Start With
Shop Essential Oils Click Here
How To Use Essential Oils Topically?
You may or may not know this interesting fact but it is true to say that our skin is the body's largest organ, with an estimated total size of about 20 square ft.
Our skin helps protect us against outside temperatures, be it extreme hot or cold. It helps us protect our vital organs underneath.
It allows us the amazing sense of touch and protect us against the elements, infections and disease, it also regulates the temperature of the body's. It is a pretty amazing organ that sometimes we often take for granted.
We have to be mindful of what products, lotions, creams and oils we place on our skin as some can have harsh chemicals that can be absorbed by our skin and taken into the bloodstream and affect us in negative ways.
Topical Use Of Essential Oils Is The Application Of The Oils Directly Onto Our Skin.
Most Popular Ways To Topically Apply Essential Oils
Some people topically apply to:
- The Soles Of Feet
- The Back Of Neck
- The Forehead and Temples (My Favorite method with Frankincense)
- Behind The Ears
- Legs And Arms
- The Base Of The Skull
- Back And Spinal Cord Area
- The Wrists, Hands And Nails
- The Stomach And Abdomen
- The Chest And Heart Area
- Pressure Points
- The 7 Chakra Points
As you can see there are many areas of the body to apply essential oils, as and how you need them to affect your body.
Here Are Some Other Popular Ways To Topically Use Essential Oils
- Massage Therapy
- Reflexology/Reflex Therapy
- Placing Essential Oils In The Bath
- Placing Essential Oils On A Washcloth
- Making Organic Soap
- Adding Essential Oils To Moisturizers Or Lotions
When you purchase a Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade or (CPTG) Essential Oil for topical use, you will notice the difference in potency and purity immediately from a cheaply sourced oil.
CPTG oils are extremely potent and certain oils or blends may in some cases need to be diluted with a carrier oil such as Fractionated Coconut Oil when topically applied to decrease sensitivity on younger children or adults with sensitive skin.
Less is definitely more in most cases, 1 or 2 drops of oil is sometimes all that is needed as even at this small amount, they can be extremely effective.
How To Use Essential Oils Internally?
The thought of consuming essential oils and taking them internally maybe new to you, but you have probably been doing this already without even knowing about it.
Have you ever added a fresh Basil leaf to pasta at home? Have you ever added fresh Oregano to a salad? Or even squeezed a Lemon into some water to add flavor?
If you have done any of these things at home you most likely have already consumed the volatile aromatic compounds that are essential oils. The only difference is that with buying and taking essential oils from dōTERRA is that they are very concentrated, very potent and the most important part! 100% Pure!!!
When these amazing oils are taken internally they can be easily absorbed by the stomach lining and distributed around the body to all the major organs and the brain by the bloodstream.
Essential Oils can be taken internally, but only essential oils of the highest standards would be recommended.
Most Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils from dōTERRA can be taken internally, you just need to read the label on the outside of each oil to determine if it is safe to take internally or not, you will see the circular Green "I" sign like above if it's safe to do so.
How To Take Essential Oils Internally
- Essential Oils Can Be Added To Water, Tea Or Other Beverages.
- Oils Can Be Added When Making Dishes In Cooking.
- Empty Veggie Capsules Can Be Used To Make Pills To Swallow The Oils.
- Essential Oils Can Be Placed Under The Tongue Or On The Roof Of The Mouth.
Using Essential Oils Safely
Certain Areas To Avoid Using Essential Oils
- The Eyes And Surrounding Skin
- Inner Ears
- Inner Nose
- Genitals
- Some Facial Areas
- Broken Skin
- Damaged Skin
- Injured Skin
Essential Oils And Photosensitivity
Photosensitivity is the abnormal sensitivity of the skin when exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun, sun bed or ultraviolet lamp most commonly following exposure to some medications or topical drugs or to some different sensitising chemicals.
Photosensitivity can result in accelerated burning and or blistering of the skin when exposed.
It is important to avoid sun exposure after using certain oils topically. One example of this would be Citrus oils.
Whichever way you choose to use essential oils, it is all of personal preference. The fun is finding out which way is best for you! Remember to listen to your body and to what works best for yourself.
We hope you found our beginners guide to using essential oils safely beneficial. If you have any friends or family looking to venture into the world of essential oils please share this article with them.
Here at the Essential Oil Blog we hold Essential Oil classes in person and also online through various apps and methods like Skype, Zoom, Google HangOuts, FaceTime etc. If you would like to learn more about using Essential Oils get in touch with us via our Contact Page.
Stay Healthy.
