How To Use Essential Oils?

There are many ways to enjoy the benefits of essential oils. Languishing in a luxurious aromatherapy bath or enjoying an oil-infused massage are two popular methods. You can also disperse oils in the air, dab an oil balm on a pulse point, or sprinkle a few drops of oil on a tissue and inhale the scent deeply, don’t be deceived by those gentle, lovely aromas—essential oils pack a serious therapeutic punch.

Here are the main ways to enjoy your essential oils.

 

AROMATIC METHODS

Your sense of smell will be pleasantly engaged by the aromatic methods of using essential oils.

Essential Oils for Direct and Indirect Inhalation

What could be simpler than removing the cap from a bottle of essential oil and breathing in the oil’s aroma? With this method, known as direct inhalation, you get the oil’s beneficial effects immediately, whether you’re seeking to sharpen your concentration with peppermint, myrrh, sandalwood, or frankincense oil, or boost your immune system with thyme oil, or calm your nerves with chamomile oil.

When you use the method known as indirect inhalation, you apply undiluted essential oil to a piece of fabric, a cotton ball, a shirt collar, or a pillow case—a practice known as using the oil neat—or you place the oil in a heating or air conditioning duct or use a cotton ball to dab it on the slats of a car’s air vents.

WHAT TO DO ?

For direct inhalation, hold an uncapped bottle of essential oil close to your nose and take a few deep breaths, or place a few drops of the oil on a cotton ball and inhale three or four times. For indirect inhalation, apply the undiluted essential oil to fabric or cotton right from the bottle.

 

Essential Oils in a Humidifier

A humidifier keeps the air in a room moist by dispersing a fine cool mist or releasing puffs of steam. This device can relieve dry skin as well as dryness of the mouth and nasal passages, especially in desert climates or areas where winters are cold and dry. A humidifier can also alleviate symptoms of a cold or the flu, and when it’s used with an essential oil, it can even improve your mood and sharpen your mind.

WHAT TO DO?

Open your humidifier’s water chamber, which is just what it sounds like—the part of the humidifier where the water goes. After you’ve filled the chamber to the specified level, add the recommended number of drops of essential oil (usually between 3 and 9), and turn the humidifier on.

 

Essential Oils in a Vaporizer

A vaporizer is essentially a humidifier that has a single purpose—to release warm, comforting steam. Vaporizers designed for use with essential oils often have two chambers, one for the water and one for a heat source, whether that’s a candle or an electrical heating element. Some also include what’s called a medicine well, or cup, which rests above the water and holds the essential oil.

WHAT TO DO?

Fill the vaporizer’s water chamber to the specified level, and either add 6 to 8 drops of essential oil to the water or place the oil in the medicine well. Then turn the vaporizer on. For a blocked nose, use 4 drops of Eucalyptus oil in the Vaporizer and Unblock it!

 

Essential Oils in a Diffuser

Like a humidifier, a diffuser creates mist and sends it into the air, but a diffuser has no heating element. Hundreds of different styles are available for use with essential oils, to scent your environment, help you focus or relax, change your mood, and even boost your immune system.

WHAT TO DO?

Fill the diffuser’s reservoir with filtered or distilled water, and add 8 to 15 drops of essential oil. If you just want to enjoy the scent, run the diffuser for 15 to 30 minutes, the period during which your nose can still discern the fragrance.

 

TOPICAL METHODS

Although massage is probably the best-known topical use of essential oils, they’re also used topically in acupuncture and acupressure, in hot compresses and cold packs, in bathing and showering, and sometimes in direct application to the skin.

 

Essential Oils for Massage

In massage, an essential oil is diluted with a single carrier oil or a blend of several carrier oils before being applied to the skin. The person receiving the massage benefits from the oil’s absorption into the skin as well as from the release of the oil’s aroma into the air.

WHAT TO DO?

See “Mixing Oils for Massage,” on this link

 

Essential Oils in Warm Compresses and Cold Packs

If you have a muscle injury, a wound, or arthritis pain, adding essential oil to a warm compress can increase the known benefits of heat, moisture, and gentle pressure. This treatment can also relieve menstrual cramps, stomachache, intestinal cramping, boils,toothache, and chronic pain from old injuries. The benefits of a cold pack—pain relief for injuries along with reduction of swelling and inflammation—can be enhanced by the healing properties of essential oils.

WHAT TO DO?

See “How to Make a Warm Compress,” on this link. Follow the same instructions to make a cold pack, but use refrigerated water or an ice bath (ice mixed with water) instead of hot water.

 

Essential Oils for Bathing and Showering

In the shower, combine your chosen essential oils with an unscented body wash, or with sugar or salt to create an invigorating scrub that delivers the oils’ benefits right to your skin. At the very least, this approach will help relieve such skin conditions as dryness and loss of elasticity. Any broader benefits will be determined by the essential oils you choose.

WHAT TO DO ?

To prevent essential oils from simply floating on top of your bathwater and potentially irritating your skin, add 5 to 10 drops of your essential oil or essential oil blend to half a cup of bath salts, milk, or sesame oil, and then pour that mixture into your bath.

For a shower, add 5 drops of your chosen essential oil for each ounce of liquid body wash. Be sure to blend the oil completely with the wash before applying the mixture to your skin. If you’re using a sugar scrub, thoroughly combine 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of a carrier oil, and 8 drops of your selected essential oil. Apply the mixture in the shower, and rinse it off thoroughly.