How to use essential oils

Posted by Jo Harris on

how to use essential oils

Have you been buying essential oils (or maybe having them gifted to you) but you don't really now what to do with them? Well I would like to share my favourite ways of using essential oils.

1. Using up to 10 drops in an essential oil diffuser. These are not cheap but they are great. They are cold mist diffusers so the chemistry of the essential oils do not alter as they are being diffused. You just need to put some water in the top of the diffuser and then the essential oils. The diffuser turns off automatically when the water level drops too low. This is great for creating mood, scenting a room, purifying the air or for killing germs (read the next blog for which oils).

2. Using up to 10 drops in an oil burner. The old fashioned oil burners are perhaps not as good therapeutically as the new cold diffusers, but a beautiful clay burner is a lovely home decoration and there is the ambience of the candle burning as well. This is a great way to create mood or to scent a room. You need to make sure the water is refilled otherwise the burning of the oil gets a little nasty.

3. Using 12 drops in a personal diffuser. You can get these in plastic as well but you can get aluminium ones that are better for the environment. They can be used over and over and over. You just unscrew the aluminium outer piece, take the cotton wick from the bottle inside and let it absorb the drops of your essential oil and then put the diffuser back together. You can buy extra wicks for different oils or blends. This is great when you personally want a certain effect from the essential oil, like when you are on the train, at work and so on. Click here for personal diffusers.

4. Using 4 or 5 drops on the shower (this works best in a shower which has doors). If you have a shower which does not have tiles on the bottom it is better to use a small plate/saucer so as not to stain the bottom of the shower (mini terracotta pot saucers are fantastic for this). Drop the essential oils into the saucer and then put the saucer under the stream of shower water. This is a great way to create an effect with the essential oils used, such as feeling energised in the morning, or relaxed and ready for bed if you have a shower at night. You might want to use citrus in the morning and lavender at night.

5. Using 30 drops of essential oil in 100ml of macadamia oil to use after showering. I leave my skin wet and then pat the mix of macadamia oil & essential oil onto my skin and rub it into my skin, moisturising my skin for the day.

6. Using 3 drops in a steam inhaler- put 3 drops into a glass bowl of recently boiled water (although not just boiled as it will be too hot for your delicate facial skin) and put a towel over your head and breathe in. This is a great method if you have a cold (eucalyptus, peppermint and rosemary are favourites) or can also be a lovely way to clean your facial pores with an oil like lavender, or palmarosa or geranium. 

7. Using 7-8 drops in the washing machine. I now use soap berries in my washing machine and I add essential oils to a cotton handkerchief and put that in the washing machine along with the soapberries, for their natural fragrancing power as well as deodorising and antibacterial qualities. Before I started using sopaberries though, I would put some distilled vinegar into the fabric softener compartment and and then add the essential oils to the vinegar. 

8. Using 5 drops in the mop bucket. I use the cheaper essential oils like eucalyptus or orange for this, again for the natural fragrance but also antibacterial properties. After mopping the floor, when I close the house up and leave it to dry I come home to a beautiful smelling house. 

9. Using 3 drops of lemon essential oil on the dish sponge or paper towel for when I wipe down the cutting boards and the bench tops. It makes my kitchen smell clean and fresh but also kills germs. The same is also good for the toilet for the same reason.

10. Using 1 drop of essential oil for my weekly facial routine. I put 1 drop of lavender essential oil into my exfoliation grounds and into my dry clay mask.

What are your favourite ways to use essential oils?

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