There’s a lot of buzz online and in the news about essential oils. Here’s an easy introduction to essential oils that will help you sort through the hype and learn what essential oils can (and cannot) do.
Reminder: I’m not a doctor, and this information should not be considered medical advice. Do your own research and use good judgement!
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are naturally occurring compounds that are found in the seeds, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. This plant material is carefully treated by steam distillation or cold pressing, and the result is a highly concentrated liquid that we know as essential oil.
They are called “essential” not because they’re necessary (although I think they are), but because their extreme concentration brings out the essence of the plant.
As with many products, essential oils are made in different grades, or levels of quality.
Synthetic oils or fragrance oils are the lowest quality and are typically used in lotions or perfumes. These are often sold at craft stores.
Food grade oils are used to flavor things like cake mix, cereal, etc. An example of this is the lemon or orange flavoring sold at the grocery store.
Therapeutic grade oils are the highest grade and can be diffused (spread via air), used topically (on the skin), or internally. I only use and recommend therapeutic grade oils by doTERRA, because of their strict quality testing. Learn more about doTERRA essential oils here.
Because they are so concentrated, you only need to use one drop at a time. That’s why they’re sold in such tiny bottles!
What can essential oils do?
Therapeutic grade oils can be used to improve your family’s health, to clean and freshen your home, and to improve mood.
Here are a few examples:
- Use Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint essential oils to relieve seasonal allergies.
- Add essential oils to Homemade, Natural Febreze to eliminate odors throughout your home.
- Soothe an earache naturally with Lavender, Melaleuca, and Basil essential oils.
- Make safe, Natural Insect Repellent with Citronella, Lemongrass, and Lavender essential oils.
- Relieve pain and inflammation with Copaiba essential oil.
If you are going to use essential oils for your health, please only use therapeutic grade oils.
Health food store oils or inexpensive oils that are found online could be diluted, contaminated, or made from plants that are sprayed with pesticides. You wouldn’t rub Roundup on your skin, so don’t risk having it in your essential oils.
One of the reasons I chose doTERRA essential oils is because their oils are tested by an outside lab, ensuring they are free from contaminants and pesticides. Learn about the eight types of scientific testing doTERRA uses on every batch of oils.
What can essential oils NOT do?
Essential oils are not a magic pill that will fix everything. You can’t expect essential oils to fix an unhealthy lifestyle, make up for a poor diet, etc. If I broke my leg or was in a car accident–you bet I would go to the doctor. Essential oils can be used with Western medicine to improve your health.
Essential oils are extremely potent and concentrated, and should be used with care. One single drop is an adult dose. Yes, really! Babies and kids can use essential oils that are highly diluted with a carrier oil.
It’s important to use essential oils safely.
How do you use essential oils?
doTERRA essential oils can be diffused (spread via air), used topically (on the skin), or taken internally. Never put oils in your eyes, ears, nose, or other sensitive areas.
Essential oils are my first line of defense. I use them for health, freshening the air, and cleaning. The kids can help clean without danger of chemical exposure, and I don’t worry about spills or the dangers of mixing one cleaner with another.
And a single essential oil can be used in a variety of ways, which saves you money instead of buying multiple products.
For example: I don’t need to buy “Baby Bedtime Bath” for Little Peanut–I just add a bit of lavender oil to her bath water. A couple of drops of lavender on a cloth in the dryer gives our laundry a fresh scent. And finally, a teeny drop of lavender soothes occasional skin imperfections. That’s three separate products that I didn’t have to buy, from just one bottle of essential oil!
Julie Sunne says
Great introduction! I’m definitely going to try lavender for pimples. You make me want to know more! Stopping over from The Better Mom.
Lea says
Good info and that is my favorite EO book – I use it all the time.
Found you on Homestead Barn Hop.
Lea @ http://www.adropofthis.com
Marla says
I love using essential oils. This is a really good guide for people to follow because I know many people get mixed up on what and how to use them. Thanks for sharing Visiting from Jill Home Remedies
Mama Rosemary says
This is such a nice little primer! I have used lavender for years on blemishes, works like beautiful smelling magic. Thank you for sharing on Natural Living Monday!
Lisa Bertolini says
I have that book too. Essential oils have been one of the best additions to our lives.
Kristi @Let This Mind Be in You says
I absolutely love essential oils for the very reason that they are so versatile—having a few very versatile types in your stash can replace many different cleaners and products, and that is so helpful!
I’d like to invite you to share this post and up to two others at our From the Farm Blog Hop, which is live right now. Your style of blog posts would fit right in with the wonderful posts that are shared!
Becky says
We use eucalyptus in steam showers whenever someone has a cough or cold. Thanks for sharing this intro post with Tuesday Greens!
DianneB says
You should mention Young Living as another company that sells Therapeutic Grade essential oils also.
Rebecca says
I know you say you don’t recommend internal use of essential oils and for most brands I would agree. However with Young Living, the oils are so pure and natural they are able to be used topically, diffused and taken internally with amazing results! Of course everyone is different and should always be cautious, but YL is committed to excellence and purity. Please do your research before using just any essential oil as they will not all give you the same results http://www.youngliving.com
Diana says
FYI – there is no such thing as a therapeutic grade essential oil. It is a trademark used for marketing purposes. Purchase your oils from a reputable company you trust. Also, most aromatherapists along with the NAHA do not promote ingesting essential oils. Yes, they are GRAS by the FDA , but the FDA intended their use for flavoring not thinking that folks would be drinking drops of essential oil! Why do MLM companies promote ingesting oils? Sniffing the oils goes a long way and your tiny bottle of oil will last many months, but if you ingest a few drops daily you’ll need to re-order another tiny bottle of oil much faster.
Synthavanh Thompson says
I agree!
Stacy Alexander says
PLEASE be careful using essential oils if you have CATS!!! Cats do not possess a necessary liver enzyme to properly metabolize oils. The oils build up in their system over a long period of time and can cause all kinds of medical problems, even death!!! This is especially true for tea tree oil, cinnamon, all citrus oils, etc , but it applies to all the oils!! It does not have to be used ON the cat for it to be harmful!! I was very interested in using essential oils until I found this out!!!
Here is one article: http://www.57aromas.com/kb/display/193 Also look up Lavender Cat for a more in depth explanation….
If you google it you will find some people think they have ‘successfully’ used oils with cats, but this is simply because the toxic effects have not hit the cat yet…
Other animals do great around the oils because they have the proper enzyme to metabolize them….
I really wish anyone writing articles like this would put a small disclaimer in there about this. So many poeple think it will be safe because they are all natural…. but they are not really…. they are processed and highly concentrated!! …… Also, natural does not mean safe… Cocaine is natural too!!!
lori powell says
Looking forward to looking at your other posts, I agree with your stance on essential oils and the marketing, I to use Aura Cacia although I’ve never heard of plant therapy, I also use NOW, and Wyndmere, that I purchase at the local natural food stores. The only one that i use internally although I know it’s not recommended is Lemon, I add it to my homemade vitamin water to give it an extra zing, been doing it for 2 months now with no problem, I to like the complete book of aromatherapy,(It’s the only one I own) but I also want to get a book that lists the oils and their properties, like the essential oil encyclopedia or somthing like that, I’ve checked out several books from the library and those have also been some of my favorites, keep up the good work of not promoting the overpriced highly marketed oils,, Oh where do you get your Plant Therapy oils.