Essential oils are a natural way to replace many of your beauty products, cleaning supplies, and even medicine. These tips will help you get started on your essential oil journey!
My mom bought me essential oils for my birthday two years ago and I never expected to use and love them so much and end up having almost 20 today. I use essential oils in so many ways around my house–I diffuse them to help me fall asleep, add them to roller bottles and rub on my body for headaches or nausea, make homemade beauty supplies out of them, add drops to my dryer balls to freshen my laundry, and so much more.
I’m still learning new ways to incorporate essential oils into my life and I have many more I’d like to purchase, but I thought I’d share some tips to help you get into using these amazing products, too.
Buy the basics
My mom first bought me this sampler of six basic essential oils, including lavender, eucalyptus, sweet orange, peppermint, lemongrass, and tea tree. Although there are a lot more oils with great uses (I have 18 now), these six are extremely versatile and a great way to start. I only had these few the first six months, but still made cleaning products, blends in my diffuser, and alternative medicines. There are samplers with more oils, too, if you’d like to start out with more! This one has 14 different oils, many of which I ended up buying anyways.
Get the equipment
There are a few products I suggest you buy along with your oils–a diffuser, roller bottles, a carrier oil, small jars, and spray bottles.
Diffuser:
I have this diffuser in my bedroom at home, where I use lavender and camomile, which is calming, and this diffuser on my desk at work, where I use peppermint, lemon, and rosemary, which keeps me alert and focused. I’d actually like to get another for my kitchen or dining room to diffuse smells to make our house smell more fresh.
Roller bottles:
I use roller bottles for different medical problems that might come up. I roll a blend on my temples and behind my ears for headaches, on my stomach for nausea, and on sore muscles for relief. There are many other blends I haven’t tried yet, for acne, immune support, allergies, and cold sores, just to name a few.
Carrier oil:
Because the oils are so concentrated, you really only need a few drops in your diffuser and roller bottles. In the diffuser you fill the rest with water, but in roller bottles you need a carrier oil. I use either grapeseed oil or almond oil, but you can also use castor, avocado, apricot, flax seed, jojoba, sunflower, or coconut oils, among many others. Make sure to research each oil, some may clog pores or work better for your skin type than others.
Mason jars:
If you plan on making homemade beauty products, I would suggest getting some small mason jars, too. I use these for holding facial moisturizer, wipes for my dog’s ears, and a mixture of oils for my hair at night. You don’t necessarily need these exact jars–any jar you have around the house should work.
Spray bottles:
Spray bottles are great for homemade cleaners. I actually purchased bottles like these at our local dollar store. Depending on your preference, you may wish to get glass bottles instead. I’ve made a window cleaner and all purpose cleaner so far, but there are many other cleaners you could make.
Do Your Research
I didn’t take a class on essential oils and I’m not an ambassador for any companies–I’ve learned all I know from doing my research. It really is not complicated–if you have something you’d like to do or make, simply search on Pinterest for a recipe. For example, I wanted a natural way to treat headaches so I searched “essential oil headache” and my feed was filled with different blends and ideas.
Have an essential oil you feel you’re not using enough? Do the same thing! Search “lavender essential oil” and a ton of resources will come up with ways to use it. I mainly use Pinterest, but I’m sure there are just as many resources from doing a Google search and there are a lot of books out there on the topic.
I’ve grown my collection of essential oils and I’m amazed at how many uses each one has. They have replaced many medicines, allowed me to clean more naturally, cleaned up my beauty routine, and helped me with my mental health. I’m happy I got those first few oils, which have led me to become a healthier person!
Your turn:
How do you use essential oils?
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I love this post!! My stepmom bought me some essential oils a few years ago for Christmas, and I have grown to really love them. Reading your post has reminded me that I should be using them more often! I like to diffuse Young Living’s Purification blend in the kitchen, which gets rid of kitchen smells and makes our house smell fresh!
Thanks Devan! I’ve met so many people who have never even heard of essential oils, so I thought at least sharing some basics would be helpful. I definitely need a diffuser in my kitchen! I think I have most of the oils in that Purification blend.. I should try that.
Great article ,I meanly used essential oil for my hair ,I use mostly peppermint oil , God it is so refreshing. I will try get a diffuser soon so i can use them for healing.
Thank you! I’ve used peppermint shampoo before and it is SO nice. I need to try to make my own. Definitely check out those diffusers linked in the post. I love them both!