The Many Uses of Essential Oils

Essential oils have been used for thousands of years.  Even in our time, the natural healing powers in essential oils are used by thousands of people every day.

Essential oils are fragrances that come from a wide array of plants. It takes many flower petals to yield an ounce of essential oil fragrance which is why aromatherapy quality essential oils can be a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way.  If they are 100% essential oil, then you only need a few drops per use. If the essential oil has already been blended with a carrier oil like apricot kernel, jojoba or even olive oil then you should not be paying the full price of a pure oil. Most 100% straight essential oils will be entirely too strong to put directly onto the skin.

Here are just a few of the many uses that people have found for essential oils.

Essential Oils in The Bath

The easiest and most luxurious way of using your essential oils is in the bath or added to a footbath.  Run the bath first, and then put the essential oils in the water after it is full.  Swirl the water around for a mix, then slip in and soak.  Use no more than 6 or 7 drops of essential oil in your bath or footbath; otherwise it might be too strong for your skin.  Stay in the tub or footbath for at least ten minutes to get the goodness of the oils sink into your body.

Massage Oils

Another fun way to use your aromatherapy oils is with massage, whether just for one body part or all over.  You want the ratio of straight essential oil to carrier oil to be 1 to 10.  So, if you have 10 ml of carrier oil, use no more than 1ml of aromatherapy oil.  It is best to keep a separate bowl to do the mixing of massage oils.  Of course, you can also buy already mixed massage oils.  Make sure your hands are warm or at least body temperature before you put them on the one getting massaged.

Compresses

Never underestimate the power of a hot or a cold compress.  Cold compresses are good for sprains, strains, headaches bruises.  Hot compresses are good for rheumatism, abscesses, toothache and earaches.  Select a clean cloth or towel.  Fill a shallow bowl with the desired temperature of water.  Put in three or four drops of the selected aromatherapy oil.  Then put the cloth in, let it soak, wring out the excess water and place on the area that hurts.  Wrap it with a flexible bandage or plastic wrap to keep it in place.  Replace when needed.

As you can see through this partial list, essential oils have many uses. Explore the site and discover the myriad other uses of essential oils.

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Lavender Oils
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Potpourri Essential Oil
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