Essential Oils - Where To Start

Many people are turning away from room fresheners, fragrance and aerosols and turning to essential oils. Navigating the essential oil market can be challenging. It is vital to find trustworthy brands to purchase your oils from because many essential oils are not regulated. That being said, low quality essential oils can contain synthetic fragrances or even rancid carrier oils to make the production cheaper for the manufacturer.

I've put together a small list of three things that I wish I knew about essential oils before spending fortunes on them.

1. Find a High Quality Brand at a Lower Price Point

It can be easy to get sucked into the mindset that a high quality essential oil HAS to be expensive to be effective. This can be the case at time- especially when buying generic EOs from places like Amazon or TJMaxx. But it doesn't always have to be the case! Pranarom is my personal favorite brand because it is just that- high quality and fairly priced. Pranarom is not a pyramid scheme style business which matters because it does not have to pay a middle man before getting their products out to consumers- making the price point much lower. Pranarom has a large line of Certified essential oils which is hard to come by in the EO industry. Pranarom also offers an extensive array of other products such as vitamins, beauty products and the highest quality plant oils.

A few of my favorite Pranarom oils:

• Love Tonic

• Mental Clarity

• Frankincense (Boswellia carterii)

2. Don't expect synthetic performance from a naturally derived oil

Many people get into essential oils because they want to replace their perfume. While EOs make incredible scents to wear throughout the day, it is important to note that the scents from these oils will not stick around for many hours like perfume does. This is because the oils evaporate off of your skin quite quickly.

One great way to make your essential oils last a bit longer on your skin is by pairing them with a carrier oil like jojoba or coconut to help keep that oil from evaporating so quickly off of your skin.

3. Know the difference between intentional aromatherapy versus diffusing oils for pleasent smells

just to clarify- there is NO wrong way to use oils as long if they are helping you to relax and decompress but it is important that we don't expect intense aromatherapeutic benefits by simply adding oils to a diffuser.

Step by step Aromatherapy:

• Choose one oil (check out my blog "oils and what to use them for" to get inspiration for your aromatherapy session)

• Add a drop or two to the bottom of your palm & rub together

• Create a tent with your hands, bringing them up to your nose and take 3-5 deep inhalations with your eyes closed.

• Repeat as needed but only ever using two oils at a time. (EO tip for using oils on your skin: some oils may make the skin feel a hot or stinging sensation. If this happens, use a drop or two of a carrier oil to dilute the EO)