Using Essential Oils
Essential oils are fun to work with, but you should always keep in mind how powerful they are. Don't be scared, but do be safe. And please keep in mind that there is no such thing as "Theraputic Grade" or "Certified Pure Theraputic Grade" essential oils. Claims to be
carrying such a thing are bogus--a result of MLM schemes and uninformed (or intentionally misleading) marketing strategies. People who harvest
and sell essential oils do not grade them. There is currently no standardization whatsoever in the essential
oil industry, nor does the FDA grade or certify essential oils.
It is the Wild West out there in essential oil land, folks, which means
greater freedom but also a greater need for awareness. "Therapeutic
grade" is an imaginary categorization that is the product of marketing. For instance, a multi-level marketing company that we'll call "Yuck Living" claims that
AFNOR, a regulatory organization in France, grades oils or somehow
certifies their oils. According to AFNOR, they do neither. Instead, they provide specifications for "industries to use as a guide to essential oil compositions so that new batches could be utilized with minimum alteration in flavor or fragrance to the finished products." Likewise, claims to have "verified" an
essential oil with gas chromatography or a mass spectrometer are
baloney. Here's why: if an isolated component of an essential oil is
created in a refinery and added to a natural essential oil to make it
have a certain scent profile, there is no way for even mass
spectrometry to ascertain whether that component came
from a plant or a refinery. Unfortunately, this means that the way to find good,
natural essential oils is the same way you find good produce
or well-made clothing--shop and compare. Get experience with the scent
of a particular oil from different sources. Use your nose. Remove all synthetic scents from
your life; once you do, synthetic additions to oils and "amber" will
jump out at you. You will also find that you are more sensitive and receptive to natural scents, whether they be in your garden, the forest, or your own apothecary.
At Alchemy Works, we oppose to the use of synthetics, especially in any product having to do with magic or ritual. Plant scents help us tune in to the currents of the unseen. Living creatures themselves, plants hold within them the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Unlike factory-produced fragrances, scents made from actual plants change with climate and location, so each ingredient has a past that is unique. And unlike synthetic ingredients, plants co-evolved with the various forms of life on this planet. When our ancestors made offerings to the spirits, they didn't use parabens or phalates, they used tree resins, dried herbs, pressed or steam-distilled oils, and and fragrances extracted using the enfleurage method.
For further information on the question of adulteration,
check out Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt's book, Advanced Aromatherapy or
read the essay entitled "Therapeutic
Grade Essential Oils Disinformation".
Don'ts
Don't apply them directly to the skin or drink or eat them.
Don't use them on animals or children--they don't have enough body mass to process them, and some animals can't handle essential oils in even the tiniest amounts. Children shouldn't be allowed to play with them at all nor to work with them without direct supervision.
If you are pregnant, get the advice of a qualified aromatherapist before using any of them, especially if the pregnancy is four months old or less.
Working With Them
When you're working with bottled essential oils, it's a good idea to wear gloves, especially if you are working with oils that don't come with a built-in dropper top (so the fluid could spill on you). Wear gloves and keep a bottle of vegetable oil and an old towel handy. If the essential oil spills on you, pour vegetable oil on the spill and wipe it off with a towel. Do this three times. Work fast if you have a spill, because it takes only 7 seconds for an essential oil to start circulating through the body. Remember that essential oils are not soluble in water but they are soluble in fats. If you get some in your eye, flush it with whole milk or vegetable oil. Work with a fan blowing the evaporating oils away from you. Don't sniff from a bottle. Instead, put a drop of oil on a piece of paper and wave it in front of you to get a sense of the scent. You can clear your nose after each smell by taking a whiff of coffee grounds.
Dilutions
Always mix an essential oil in a carrier oil or in alcohol before using it on the skin. A rule of thumb is 10-18 drops of essential oil for every ounce of carrier oil. Good carrier oils are coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, and an oil that is really a wax, jojoba oil. We like fractionated coconut oil because it doesn't oxidize (get rancid).
1% dilution = 1 drop/5 ml or 6 drops/ounce or 3 drops/tablespoon
2% dilution = 2 drops/5 ml or 12 drops/ounce or 6 drops/tablespoon
3% dilution = 3 drops/5 ml or 18 drops/ounce or 9 drops/tablespoon
Start with a low dilution and don't go any higher than 3% for any oil that will be a rub. With dab-on, you can go higher, but 20% should be the absolute tops. Essential oils smell harsh when they are in too high a concentration and they can be dangerous at that level. You can poke a hole in a vitamin E gelcap and squeeze out the stuff inside to use a preservative for carrier oils (one drop per ounce is plenty), although jojoba won't need it. In order to get the full impact of an oil you have created, let it age for a few weeks at least. This really does improve the scent. Store your essential and fixed oils in a cool, dark place, and keep them well capped.
Cautions
Don't go out sunbathing after putting anything containing essential oils on your skin--some essential oils greatly potentiate the Sun's power and you can get a sunburn.
Instead of using the same oils every day, vary them. This decreases the likelihood of developing a skin reaction to them.
If you want to use them in the bathtub, drop them into the running water.
Remember that essential oils are flammable.
If you get seizures, don't use any sort of camphor, hyssop, wormwood, mugwort, pennyroyal, or tansy. Always be careful with essential oils, since you don't know if you personally might react strongly to a particular oil. If you have epilepsy, especially don't use essential oils internally or ones that might lower the seizure threshold in the tub.
Some people have sensitive skin that can be easily irritated by an essential oil, even when it's diluted. Test by first diluting the essential oil with a carrier and then rubbing it on a small bit of skin on your wrist. Check for a reaction after 24-48 hours. If there is none, it's probably safe for you to use.
Other people--and there is no way to know this in advance--become sensitized to particular essential oils. This is very much like an allergic reaction and can begin with itchy skin. We know folks who have had the experience of using an essential oil for years and then suddenly becoming very sensitive to it, so much so that just smelling it was enough to set off a reaction. But this is rare. Just be aware of how you react to any mixtures you make.
If you have ever had any damage to your liver, use essential oils only in very small amounts, because it is your liver that processes them.
© 2009-2024 Alchemy Works; No reproduction without permission
Alchemy Works essential oils are offered for use in spiritual, ritual, meditative, and magical practices, not for medicinal purposes. The information on this website is provided for its folkloric, historic, and magical value. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.