Welcome to the wonderful world of Essential Oils! If you got here, you are probably brand new to oils. You may feel like you’re ready to take on the world of essential oils head-on, or you may be feeling a little overwhelmed by how much information there is online about essential oils.
Have no fear, because by the time you’re done with this blog post and have downloaded this Essential Oils For Beginners e-book, you will feel a lot more comfortable using essential oils and will be able to use them safely!
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are not a fad. They have certainly gained popularity in recent years, but plant medicines in general have been around for millennia. When the Three Kings delivered their gifts to Mary, the gifts included Frankincense and Myrrh. There is evidence that ancient Egypt and other civilizations extensively used plant medicine.
Steam distillation wasn’t invented until the 10th century, so these ancient civilizations wouldn’t have used what we now have as essential oils. However, they found other ways of accessing the plants’ healing properties (e.g. infusing the plants in hot oils).
Essential oils are highly volatile aromatic compounds. And, while not all plants have essential oils, all essential oils come from plants. Essential oils are highly concentrated drops of the plant’s potent chemical compounds. As an example, one drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea! Because they are so concentrated, a little goes a long way. You only need 1 – 2 drops of oil to feel profound effects!
Each essential oil’s chemical make-up is unique to the plant from which it comes. And even within the same plant, the chemical compounds will vary depending on when, where and how the plant has grown. A lemon grown in Florida will not be the same as a lemon grown in Italy! You will learn more about this in the Essential Oils for Beginners E-Book.
How Do I Use Essential Oils?
There are so many ways to benefit from essential oils. As it will be explained to you in your Essential Oils for Beginners E-book, historically oils have been used aromatically, topically and internally. When you use dōTERRA oils, you can always look up the oil on their website and review which oil is meant for each usage. Though, be aware that dōTERRA is limited in what they are permitted to say. That’s why, once you are my customer, I plug you into all kind of free learning resources, including an extensive essential oil usage guide that enables you to find protocols to support your health no matter what you are dealing with.
Using certified pure oils in these three ways is the ultimate toolkit for wellness: aromatically, topically, and internally.
Aromatically
All essential oils have will have a positive effect on you by just you smelling them. But, instead of sniffing out of a bottle all day, there are more creative and effective ways to use them aromatically. Put a few drops of essential oils in water and use a diffuser to get powerful aromatic benefits, while making your house smell amazing! Or put a drop in your hands, cup them together around your nose, and inhale deeply. I also love wearing some of my favourite oils behind my ears.
Topically
Using oils topically means your skin – which is the largest organ in your body – can easily absorb the beneficial properties of the oil. However, because essential oils are volatile (meaning they jump off the surface), and because some oils are “hot”, it is good to use a carrier oil, like fractionated coconut oil (my favorite) or sweet almond oil. Using a carrier helps the essential oil stay on the skin longer to aid in absorption. It also helps protect the skin from sensitivity to harsher oils like Peppermint or Oregano oil. Essential oils can also be added to your shampoo, conditioner, body soap, lotion, and more!
Internally
I only recommend using essential oils internally if they are dōTERRA’s. Although many in the aromatherapy community discourage the internal use of essential oils, that is primarily based on tradition rather than science. Tradition informs them to not use essential oils internally since there is no governing body certifying the safety of essential oils.
doTERRA’s founders started the company with the goal to produce the world’s top-quality essential oils and they are the only company that has every litre of oil tested and certified by a third party. For this reason, dōTERRA fully stands behind their recommendation to use most essential oils internally.
I say “most” because there are few oils where you want to avoid internal use altogether. For example, Wintergreen is an oil that can be taxing on the liver. You will notice that dōTERRA’s wintergreen oil has a child-safety cap for that reason.
However, the liver loves Lemon oil! A great way to both get the benefits of lemon oil and help you drink more water is to add a few drops of lemon oil to each glass of water you drink. (Be sure to use glass, ceramic or stainless steel glasses when using citrus oils!)
Another easy way to use essential oils internally is to fill an empty veggie cap and swallow. The oils you would take will depend on what you are seeking to support.
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