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All About Essentials Oils
Essential oils are highly concentrated versions of the natural oils found in plants. These oils are extracted from the plants by the process of distillation, which is done by water or steam from the bark, flowers, stems, leaves, and roots of the plant.
Following distillation, the product is a highly concentrated extract of the plant—an essential oil—with the healing properties and fragrance of the plant it was extracted from. Essential oils have been used throughout many cultures in human history, often for their therapeutic and medicinal benefits.

Essential oils are most commonly used in the practice of aromatherapy. They are either inhaled, or diluted then rubbed on the skin. Essential oils are not meant to be swallowed. The chemicals in essential oils can interact with your body in a number of ways. When applied to your skin, some plant chemicals are absorbed. It’s thought that certain methods can improve absorption, such as applying with heat or to different areas of the body.

However, research in this area is lacking. Inhaling the aromas from essential oils can stimulate areas of your limbic system, which is a part of your brain that plays a role in emotions, behaviors, sense of smell and long-term memory. Interestingly, the limbic system is heavily involved in forming memories.

This can partly explain why familiar smells can trigger memories or emotions. The limbic system also plays a role in controlling some unconscious physiological functions, such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. Some people claim that essential oils can exert a physical effect on your body in this way. However, this has yet to be confirmed in studies. Bottom Line: Essential oils can be inhaled or applied to the skin. They may stimulate your sense of smell or have medicinal effects when absorbed.
Tips on how to choose a Brand

Purity

Find an oil that contains only aromatic plant compounds, without additives or synthetic oils. Pure oils usually list the plant’s botanical name (such as Lavandula officinalis), rather than terms like “essential oil of lavender.”

Quality

True essential oils are the ones that have been changed the least by the extraction process. Choose a chemical-free essential oil that has been extracted through distillation or mechanical cold pressing.

Reputation

Purchase a brand with a reputation for producing high-quality products.

BOTTOM LINE: High-quality oils only use pure plant compounds extracted by distillation or cold pressing. Avoid oils that have been diluted with synthetic fragrances, chemicals or oils.
Health Benefits
Despite their widespread use, little is known about the effectiveness of essential oils in treating health conditions. Here’s a look at the evidence for some of the common health problems that essential oils and aromatherapy have been used to treat.
  • For the face and body as a natural moisturizer.
  • As a lotion bar stick for easy use.
  • After sun or beach exposure to replenish skin.
  • As a salve to ward off stretch marks.
  • As a natural cuticle cream.
  • As the best under-eye wrinkle remover and bag-reducer.
  • As a massage butter.
  • On sore/raw noses during a cold or flu.
  • On scars to naturally help collagen production.
  • As a base for homemade deodorant.
  • As a natural baby-care product (alone) or as an ingredient in baby care recipes.
  • On the lips or in homemade lip balms.
  • On the eyelids before applying makeup to make it last longer.
  • To improve skin elasticity (some even say it helps with cellulite).
  • On the hair or scalp (in a mixture with other natural ingredients).
Frequently Asked Questions
Essential oils come from plants. Essential oils are an oil which has typically been distilled—usually using steam or water—from the bark, leaves, flower, roots, or other parts of the plant. They are highly concentrated oils that contain both the aromatic and chemical properties of the plant.
Some people believe if an oil smells bad to you, it means your body needs it. Or sometimes they think the opposite is true — if an oil smells bad, you shouldn’t use it. Both are a myth.
So what does it mean? All it means is…you don’t like the smell.
I know that sounds oversimplified, but it’s true. There’s a number of essential oils I don’t care for the smell, but still use them because they’ve been helpful (melaleuca for example — I think it’s STINKY!).
Most of your essential will be good for up to 3 years if stored properly. They need to be kept cool, and the lid should always be tightly sealed. There are some oils that are good for 10 years or more, such as patchouli.
The exceptions to this rule are tea tree oils and lemon oils. You can expect those to be good for a year or two, but again, only if they’ve been stored properly.
Essential oils expire because of a process called oxidation. Oxidation is caused by oxygen and moisture. You’ve probably seen it happen on old metal that’s been left outside a long time.
If the smell changes or gets weaker, or you notice they’re cloudy or viscous, they’ve probably gone bad.
The takeaway here is to keep your oils in a cool place. Don’t put oils in the freezer. Contrary to some myths about freezing oils to check whether they’re real, all oils will freeze!
Note: if you keep your oils in the refrigerator, be sure you put the bottles in a sealed glass or plastic container or your butter might taste like tea tree oil (yuck)!
Some people say that oils are absorbed faster through the soles of the feet because it has a lot of pores — or because the pores are large. Others say oils put on the bottoms of your feet bypass the liver. There is absolutely no evidence to this.
While it is true that the feet absorb the oils very well, it has nothing to do with how many pores you have or how large they are. The pores on the soles of your feet and those on the palms of your hands do not contain sebaceous glands. In other areas of your body, these glands secrete an oil called sebum which acts a barrier.
Essential oils will absorb into any part of your skin, but they absorb more fully where sebum is not present. Because of this, the soles of your feet are an excellent place to apply your oils!
Essential oils is a bit of a misnomer because essential oils are not “essential” to the plant. For this reason, the preferred term by professionals is “volatile oils.” Volatile can mean a lot of different things. In this instance, the term “volatile” refers to a characteristic that the oils possess: they rapidly evaporate in air.
Many people use essential oil sprays to get rid of pests around their homes and in their garden. It’s a great alternative to chemical pest sprays. But, will essential oils kill houseplants?
Plenty of people diffuse their oils in places that have beautiful houseplants in it with no adverse effects. Keep your eye on your plants when you use your diffuser to be sure they’re still thriving, but you shouldn’t have any problem with this!

Not typically. If you are using a dark oil though, it may stain.

You can! There are great ways to use oils without a diffuser.
No, they aren’t. As I mentioned above, essential oils are distilled from plants. Fragrance oils are synthetically created in a laboratory.
A chemist manufactures a scent so it smells like something else. Ever had a candle that smells like apple pie? That was a fragrance oil at work.
Many companies say they sell 100% pure and natural, therapeutic-grade essential oils. They may even say “certified.” However, there is no such standard that is defined and universally applied to essential oils. The EO companies can define for themselves what “therapeutic-grade” and “pure” mean and use those terms in their marketing materials.
That said, it is commonly understood that “pure” essential oils are those that contain only the concentrated aromatic compounds from the plant without any adulteration. Additives and adulteration can be harmful to the body and greatly reduce the effectiveness of the oil. They are typically added to essential oils as a way to lower production costs, and can include: chemical diluents, synthetic oils, mixing cheaper oils with more expensive ones, and alcohols.
Essential oils are generally considered safe to inhale or apply to the skin, as long as they’ve been combined with a base oil. They should not be eaten. However, the evidence for many of the health claims is lacking, and their effectiveness is often exaggerated. For minor health problems, using essential oils as a complementary therapy is probably ok. But if you have a serious health condition or are taking medication, you should discuss their use with your doctor.
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