There are many ways you can benefit from essential oils. Some popular methods include taking a luxurious aromatherapy bath or receiving an oil-infused massage. Alternatively, you can diffuse oils in the air, apply an oil balm on a pulse point, or inhale the scent deeply by adding a few drops of oil on a tissue. These are the primary methods to enjoy the benefits of essential oils.
Inhalation
Aromatherapy involves inhaling the aroma of essential oils for their benefits, which can be done easily by using a single oil or a blend of oils. This method is the basis of all aromatherapy applications.
Tissue inhalation
To inhale an essential oil easily, put 2-3 drops on a tissue and take a deep breath. You can keep the tissue in a plastic bag and use it whenever you need it. Moreover, you can put a few drops of a calming essential oil on your pillowcase at night, or on a tissue to prevent staining, to help you relax and sleep better.
How to create a steam inhalation at home.
For rejuvenating steam inhalation, customise your experience by adding 4 to 8 drops of your favourite oil or oil blend into a freshly boiled bowl of water. Afterwards, lean towards the bowl and cover your head with a towel to trap the vapours. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for up to 10 minutes or until the steam subsides. If you prefer, you could also buy a dedicated inhaler cup.
But, always take care if you have asthma, epilepsy, or young children around. Instead of leaning over the bowl, simply place it nearby and let the steam waft towards you.
When to use essential oils for inhalation
Using a steam inhalation with fragrant essential oils can be helpful in relieving respiratory conditions like congested sinuses, hay fever, chesty coughs, and colds. Additionally, steam inhalations can soothe the mind and refresh and cleanse the skin. You may want to try a steam inhalation as a quick remedy to relax or invigorate the mind or to boost your spirits.
Massage
A massage using essential oils not only provides therapeutic benefits but also offers a calming touch. A massage using aromatherapy can ease physical tension and provide the advantages of your preferred oil. While an appointment with a skilled aromatherapist can be indulgent, getting a massage from your partner or doing a self-massage is just as beneficial. It’s an effective means of self-care that can be incorporated into your daily skincare and health routine.
In order to use essential oils, it is important to dilute them in a base or carrier oil. If you have normal skin, opt for a lighter base oil like almond, grapeseed, apricot, coconut, sunflower, or canola. For dry skin, choose heavier oils like avocado, olive, wheatgerm, argan, or jojoba. Certain bases like neem, calendula, or St. John’s wort have therapeutic benefits.
Creating massage blends
To give a body massage, dilute your essential oil with a 2.5% concentration for sensitive or damaged skin and 5% for normal skin. For a facial massage, use a 1% blend. For a full-body massage, pour approximately 2 tablespoons of your base oil onto a saucer and then add 4-6 drops of your chosen essential oil or blend.
Pulse point massage
Applying essential oils on pulse points can help the oils absorb quickly due to the proximity of blood vessels near the skin’s surface.
When to use essential oils in massage
Massage can effectively help with problems that affect a wide area of the body, such as muscle and joint pain, digestive issues, and retaining fluids. Additionally, you can focus on a specific area, such as massaging the abdomen to alleviate period-related discomfort or digestive problems.
A therapeutic massage that incorporates essential oils can effectively induce calmness and relaxation while providing a sense of being nurtured.
For relief from headaches, apply essential oil balm to your temples. You can also relax and unwind by massaging the balm onto the pulse points located on your wrists or neck.
Diffusion
One way of using essential oils that is becoming more popular involves dispersing small molecules of the oil into the air through a fine mist or vapour. In the past, oil burners were commonly used for this purpose. Now, various types of diffusers are available, such as ultrasonic diffusers, vaporizers that use a small fan or water, electronic aroma stones, and reed diffusers. Room sprays can be used to disperse oils.
Using an oil diffuser or oil burner
If you want to use an oil burner, make sure to pour some warm water on the hotplate first. This will prevent the oil drops from burning up too fast. For electric oil diffusers or vaporizers, just add the oils and follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
How to create a room spray at home
To quickly release a concentrated amount of oil into the air, use a room spray. To make one, mix 20-30 drops of essential oils with 2 tablespoons of mineral water and vodka. Then put the mixture in a sterilized aromatherapy bottle.
Essential oils can be used to fragrance a room, but citrus oils are especially refreshing. Cedarwood, eucalyptus, lavender, and tea tree oils, which have antiseptic properties, are suitable for fumigating rooms. Lemon, lemongrass, and citronella oils can be used in a spray to repel insects.
When to use essential oils for diffusion
Essentially, diffusers can serve multiple purposes such as eliminating odours or pests in a room, as well as creating a desired ambience. If you are seeking therapeutic benefits from essential oils, sitting near an oil burner or vaporizer can effectively allow you to inhale the oil vapours.
You can use a room spray to alter the atmosphere in a room. It can help to create a sense of calmness, revitalize the space or even add a touch of romance. Additionally, room sprays are effective in disinfecting and removing unpleasant odours from areas such as sick rooms, and can also be used to keep insects away.
Baths
Adding essential oils to your bath, whether it’s a long soak or a quick hand, foot or sitz bath, is a popular and enjoyable way to use essential oils. The warmth of the water can help to relax muscles and open pores, allowing the essential oils to penetrate the skin more quickly and effectively. Create a relaxing bath experience by adding your preferred essential oil blend, and then enjoy a peaceful soak.
Adding essential oils to a bath
To properly use essential oils in a bath, you need to mix them with a base or carrier oil before adding them to the water, even though they will be diluted. This will help the oils to spread evenly in the water and keep your skin moisturised. For a regular bath, mix 4-6 drops of your preferred essential oil(s) with 1 tablespoon of a lightweight base oil like sunflower, which contains waxes that act as an emulsifier to evenly distribute the oils. You could buy neutral, water-dispersing base oils, or mix the essential oils with 1 tablespoon of full-fat milk. The fats in the milk work like base oil to help disperse the oils evenly. To fully benefit from the oils, relax in the bath for at least 15 minutes. Add the oils after running the bath since they can evaporate quickly in the heat.
Hand and foot baths
Using hand and foot baths can be an effective way to address smaller areas of the body efficiently. If you’re experiencing athlete’s foot or have achy feet, a foot bath targets those specific areas. Hot foot baths can improve circulation if you have swollen ankles, and following it up with a cold foot bath may be even more beneficial. Hot and cold baths can also help with sore and swollen hands. To create the bath, mix 4-6 drops of your preferred oil with a base oil or milk, as you would for a regular bath. Soak your hands or feet for 10 minutes.
Sitz baths
A sitz bath can effectively treat conditions like thrush, haemorrhoids, urinary infections and stitches after childbirth. You can add tea tree oil to a sitz bath to treat thrush. Here’s how to make the bath: Fill half of the bathtub with warm water and dilute tea tree oil in the same way as for a large bath. Sit in the water for 10 minutes.
When to use aromatherapy baths
Taking aromatherapy baths can be a great way to deeply relax and rejuvenate. Just be sure to allow yourself sufficient time to fully enjoy the therapeutic benefits of your soak.
To get quick relief for conditions like thrush or haemorrhoids, you can try a sitz bath. On the other hand, for conditions such as athlete’s foot, tired hands and feet, or swollen or aching hands and feet, a hand or foot bath would be more suitable.
Showers and saunas
Adding essential oils to saunas and steamy showers can be a great way to enhance your experience. You can try out different blends and aromas based on your preferences and needs. For instance, if you want to start your day with an energizing shower, consider using stimulating oils like basil or rosemary. Alternatively, if you want to boost your mood and create a positive ambience, you can use uplifting oils such as bergamot, rose, and lemon.
Using essential oils in the shower
To create a steamy aromatherapy shower, follow these steps: First, put 5-8 drops of an essential oil or oil blend onto a warm, damp flannel. Next, place the flannel in the area where you will be showering, but don’t use the flannel to wash. If possible, hang the flannel at face level to fully enjoy the aroma. Make sure the shower produces steam by running hot water. Alternatively, you can add the essential oil drops to 2 tablespoons of unscented shower gel.
Using essential oils in a sauna
To infuse the sauna with a pleasant scent, you can add 20-40 drops of essential oil or blend to the water container that is used to splash the coals. Some good options for sauna essential oils are cypress, eucalyptus, and pine.
When to use essential oils in the shower or sauna
To clear sinuses, relieve tension headaches, and soothe hay fever and allergy symptoms, it’s helpful to add essential oils to a sauna or shower. Additionally, using oils in a shower or sauna can invigorate the mind and promote feelings of calm and relaxation.
Balms, ointments and creams
An effective way to nurture and heal the skin is through the use of essential oils in ointments, balms, and cream bases. Ointments are typically oil-based, while balms and creams have additional ingredients for a creamier texture. If you need to promote healing or combat skin dryness in specific areas, apply a balm or ointment to that area.
When to use essential oils in balms, ointments and creams
Cream with essential oils can be used for skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, bruising, and varicose veins. It can also be applied to wounds to promote healing. You can include it as part of your daily skincare routine. For first-aid purposes, you can use ointments containing tea tree and manuka.
Personal scents
To use oils as a scent, most oils (except lavender, rose, chamomile, jasmine, vanilla, and ylang-ylang) need to be diluted in a base. You can create a custom scent with a single oil or blend of oils, which can have different “notes”. When you smell a perfume, the first scent you detect is the top note, followed by the mid and base notes.
How to create a scent with essential oils
It is recommended to try different blends to discover your preferred fragrance. However, it is suggested to limit the number of oils used in a blend to 4-7 and allow the blend to settle for a day or two to accurately assess its aroma.
When to use essential oils as perfumes
A great way to create a personal fragrance is to add essential oils to a base solution. This allows you to customize the scent according to your style and preferences and create perfumes for daytime and evening wear.
Haircare
One way to care for your hair using natural products is by combining essential oil blends with herbal infusions or by mixing essential oils with nourishing bases like coconut oil to create conditioning hair oils. Using essential oils for hair can help restore shine and lustre without the extra ingredients found in commercial products.
When to use essential oils in haircare
Revitalise dry and lacklustre hair with nourishing essential oil hair treatments.
Compresses
Using a compress that contains therapeutic essential oils is an uncomplicated and efficient method for addressing localised issues like bruises, burns, scalds, headaches, and varicose veins.
Hot or cold compress
It is a personal choice to use hot or cold water, but it depends on the condition being treated. Cooling is sometimes needed, while heating may be better for certain conditions. If you have skin infections like boils and abscesses or muscular or joint problems like backaches, strains, rheumatism, or arthritis, then a hot compress is best. For instance, if you mix ginger, cypress, juniper, pine, and lavender essential oils, a hot compress made with them will provide warmth and relief for your painful muscles and joints.
To alleviate sprains, sports injuries, and headaches, it is beneficial to use a cold water compress, particularly if the affected area already feels warm and swollen. Using essential oils such as lavender, neroli, peppermint, or eucalyptus can improve the cooling process.
How to make a compress at home
To create a compress, add 3-4 drops of essential oil to a shallow bowl of water – either hot or cold – and mix it well. Take a flannel, soak it in the mixture, and then squeeze out any excess water. You can now place the flannel on the body part that needs treatment. If you want to use a hot compress, cover the flannel with a towel or cling film to keep it insulated and prevent water from dripping onto your clothes. Leave the flannel on until it reaches body temperature and then repeat the process three times.
When making a compress with essential oils that could irritate the skin, it’s crucial to dilute them beforehand by adding them to a carrier oil like almond or sunflower oil before adding them to water.
When to use essential oils in a compress
If you feel sore and exhausted after exercising or engaging in physically demanding activities, using a hot compress can help relieve your muscle pain. On the other hand, when dealing with eye fatigue from staring at computer screens for extended periods, a cold compress can be particularly effective at reducing discomfort.
Conclusion
To summarise, essential oils have numerous health benefits for both physical and emotional well-being. They can be used in various ways such as inhaling, massaging, and diffusing. Inhaling can assist with respiratory problems, whereas massage can relieve muscle and joint aches and promote relaxation. Using a diffuser is a great way to provide a pleasant scent and freshen a room. However, it’s essential to dilute essential oils in a carrier oil and be cautious if you have specific health conditions. If used safely, essential oils can be an excellent addition to your daily routine, offering natural health benefits and enjoyment.
