Beginner’s Aromatherapy Tips

I was fascinated by essential oils from the first time I saw them mentioned in a magazine. I then came across them in my job and was recommended to go on a course with a nearby hospice and then an aromatherapy school and I never looked back, it was worth every penny.

Essential oils can be used to improve your well being, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Essential oils are now easily available online and in shops but few people realise how potent they are and exactly what you need to be looking for when you buy them. I have broken this down into 9 tips:

1. Buy one or two good aromatherapy books, there is a lot of incorrect information about. Authors I recommend are; Julia Lawless, Patricia Davis, Christine Westwood, Shirley Price, Penny Price, Valerie Ann Worwood, Robert Tisserand and Gabriel Moray. It’s always worth a look in second hand book shops, perfect recycling.
2. Join aromatherapy discussion forums online and social media and learn from more experienced people.
3. Don’t go and buy a lot of essential oils without knowing why you need them, some such as the citrus oils do not last long once opened and they can be expensive. You can get by with a few oils and I would recommend between 5 and 10 for a basic kit.
4. Make sure that you are buying pure essential oils not fragrance oils. Fragrance oils do not have any therapeutic qualities. Sometimes oils are adulterated, making them cheaper to make for a high price so only buy from reputable aromatherapy oil stockists. Red flags are cheap prices and if all the essential oils a stockist sells are the same price. Some oils are relatively cheap to produce while others are very expensive.
5. Buy at least 1 carrier oil. Aromatherapy oils are very concentrated and need diluting before they are used on the skin. Common carrier oils are grape seed oil, peach kernel oil, sunflower oil and almond kernel oil. A massage oil with a 2% dilution will have 12 drops of essential oil in 30ml of carrier oil. Some essential oils are not safe to be used at 2% concentration and could cause a skin reaction, you need to know how to safely use each essential oil that you buy.
6. Store your oils in dark bottles out of sunlight in a cool area. Carrier oils will go rancid eventually so only buy small quantities.
7. Learn how to do a patch test, some people think that because a product is natural it cannot harm you but some people have sensitivities and allergies to certain oils so it is best to check that you are not going to react to an oil.
8. Only use essential oils on children or pets if you have been trained to do so and are aware of the safety risks. Do not use essential oils if pregnant or breast feeding and keep out of the reach of children. With pets, cats in particular may be adversely affected by essential oils.
9. Do not take essential oils internally. You will see conflicting information regarding this but you should avoid doing this. Some essential oils that are used safely on the skin can be toxic if taken internally. In addition to this, essential oils may interact with any medication you take, prescription or over the counter.

As you learn more about essential oils you will become more confident with using them safely.