Essential Oils are made from parts of plants like flowers, leaves, rinds, barks and roots. Different methods are used to concentrate them into oils. You may add them to vegetable oils, creams, or bath gels. Or you might smell them, rub them on your skin, or put them in your bath. They will be helpful, if you know how to use them the right way. Always check the label and ask your doctor if you’re not sure if they’re OK for you to use. Here is a summary of some typical ways to use essential oils:
1. Inhalation
Open the bottle of essential oils, hold it up against your nose or several drops of essential oil are placed on a cotton ball or tissue and take a deep breath to inhale and enjoy. If you want an intense dose, sniff the cotton ball. If a milder, more constant exposure is desired, simply keep the cotton ball in your immediate vicinity (for example, leave it sitting on your desk next to your computer).
2. Steam Inhalation
Steam inhalation involves combining essential oils with hot water to create therapeutic steam. The best way to use essential oils to relieve a stuffy nose is through steam inhalation. Boil 2-3 cups of water, pour it into a bowl and add 2-5 drops of oil to the water. Place your nose about 12” away from the bowl, cover your head and bowl with a towel, and slowly inhale the steam. Such us using Eucalyptus to relieve blocked nose or Using either energizing or relaxing essential oils . If you notice any discomfort or irritation, stop immediately. Note: This is not recommended for children younger than 7 years old. Children older than 7 can use swimming goggles to protect their eyes.
3. Use in Bath
Adding essential oils to your bath is an amazing way to take a relaxing time-out during your busy day. But oil and water don’t mix! So effective way to use essential oils in a bath is to mix them with a fatty substance such as a carrier oil, milk or with castile soap first and then add into water. The carrier oil or castile soap protects your skin, and helps the essential oils disperse through the bath water.
4. Apply Topically on Skin
Essential oils are fat soluble, which means they are absorbed by the skin. A popular way to enjoy your essential oils is to simply apply them to your skin for absorption. As a rule of thumb, essential oils should be diluted in a carrier oils (vegetable or nut oil such as coconut or jojoba oil) at no greater concentration than 3-5% and and gently massage it until absorbed.
That means if you have one teaspoon (5cc) of carrier, you would add 3 drops of pure essential oil. This would make a 3% solution that could be used on a portion of the body.
For massage or for application over large areas of the body, a 1% solution (meaning, one drop of essential oil in one teaspoon of carrier) is generally a safe concentration. For infants, using a 0.25% solution is recommended (.5% for toddlers).
5. Spray
Drops of essential oils are placed in a water-based solution, shaken, and sprayed into the air in order to deodorize a room or set a mood. An example might be spraying an aqueous solution of pine or citrus oils to enhance holiday feelings or a solution of peppermint oil to stimulate alertness. You might also want to use a solution of water and your favorite essential oil as a yoga mat cleaner. It is important to shake the bottle before spraying in order to spray the solution and not just water.
6. Use with Diffuser
Add a few drops of essential oils in your diffuser, turn it on, and circulate the oil into your room. Electronic diffusers are designed to disperse a super fine mist of essential oils. They will gently fill the air with the aroma and healing benefits of the essential oil of your choice within minutes.
These diffusers do a great job of purifying the air and removing unwanted odors! Using a diffuser may produce a nice scent, but has very limited healing capacity since the amount of essential oil is so small.
7. Use with Nebulizer
The nebulizer uses room-temperature air to blow essential oils and evaporate into the air. It produces a particle size small enough for the lungs and body to absorb them rapidly. It is absolutely the best way to provide both aroma and therapeutic healing value with essential oils. Since nebulizing diffusers work so powerfully to quickly saturate the air with essential oils, they generally run at a higher sound level, and tend to use essential oils at a higher rate than any other type of diffuser.
