Using Essential Oils

One of the most common questions I get about essential oils is this: "How do I use them?"

Simple! You can use them one of three ways: aromatically (inhaling or smelling them), topically (putting them on your skin) or internally (ingesting them).

But how do you know which way to use a particular oil? Young Living makes that simple, too! Just check the front of your bottle. If the second-to-last line says "Essential Oil Supplement," like this bottle of lemon essential oil, you use it internally.

If the second-to-last line says just "Essential Oil," like this bottle of lavender, or "Essential Oil Blend," like this bottle of Pan Away, you use it aromatically and/or topically.

Makes sense, right? Anything that is a supplement you take internally, anything else you use externally!

Once you've identified the category of use, you can decide specifically how to use it! Here's a little more information about each way to use the oils:

Aromatic Use

If you've ever smelled freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and been instantly transported to a memory of your grandma's house or smelled a certain cologne and perfume and been reminded of an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, you know there's a link between your nose/sense of smell and your brain! That link is why essential oils are so powerful when used aromatically!

• Open the bottle and smell directly from it
• Add a few drops with some water to your diffuser (suggestions: lavender, R.C., Purification)
• Create a lavender pillow spray by adding water and a few drops of lavender to a small empty spray bottle
• Place a drop or two of Purification on a cotton ball and place in stinky shoes or near garbage cans

Topical Use

Essential oils are quickly absorbed by your skin and put to work by your body systems!

The biggest consideration when using oils topically is whether or not it should be diluted with a carrier oil. Carrier oils are any fatty cooking oil (olive, grapeseed, coconut, jojoba, almond, etc.). 

There are certain essential oils that can feel hot on your skin, such as peppermint, lemongrass, PanAway, etc. For those oils, you'll want to mix a drop or two of the essential oil with a few drops of the carrier oil before applying to your skin. If you forgot to dilute an essential oil and it feels hot, just apply the carrier oil after the fact to remove that heat.

There are other essential oils that are very gentle and don't need to be diluted, such as lavender. If you're not sure whether a particular oil needs to be diluted, check the back of the bottle! It will tell you.

Where should you apply essential oils? I suggest putting them either on location or on the bottoms of your feet.

For example, R.C. supports a healthy respiratory system, so that's a great one to put on your chest and neck. PanAway can be applied over your muscles after exercise.

If you're not sure where to put an oil or if you don't like the smell of an oil, put it on the bottoms of your feet! Your feet have more pores than anywhere else on your body, and those pores are very large. That means the oil will quickly get into your cells and go to work.

Never put essential oils directly into your ears or eyes! If you do get an essential oil in your eyes, don't splash water on it. Instead, apply a carrier oil around the outside of your eye, and that will draw it out.

Internal Use

First, I want to be clear that I'm only talking about Young Living essential oils! Young Living produces 100% pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils. They own their own farms, don't use any pesticides, and don't use chemicals to distill their oils. That's not true for all essential oil companies! Before you put any essential oil on your skin or in your mouth, do your research! You can learn more about Young Living's Seed to Seal promise by clicking here.

Now that we're talking only about pure, therapeutic-grade oils, here are some ways you can use oils internally:

• Add oils to an empty vegetable capsule - these can be purchased from Young Living, Amazon, Whole Foods, etc. (suggestions: Copaiba, DiGize, Thieves) Note: If the oil is a "hot" oil, add a carrier oil to the capsule as well!
• Add oils to your water (suggestions: lemon, orange) Note: Only add citrus oils to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel, not plastic or Styrofoam.
• Add additional oils to your NingXia Red each day!
• Add a drop of Thieves to applesauce, cider, etc.
• Add a few drops of peppermint to brownie batter before baking

How are you going to use your oils today?

If you have more questions about using essential oils, please feel free to e-mail me at erinfletcher111 at gmail dot com.