Do you know how to use essential oils safely? If you are just starting out using essential oils they need to be used with caution, especially with children.
Although essential oils are natural and are extracted from plants, flowers, seeds and bark, they can be extremely dangerous if not used correctly. If you are going to use ANY essential oil, please follow these very important safety instruction to ensure that you use essential oils safely!
Essential Oils Are Powerful
Essential oils are incredibly potent! To make a 15ml bottle of pure therapeutic grade essential oil, you need 30lbs of Lavender! Did you know that one drop of peppermint essential oil is equivalent to 25-28 cups of tea?
With essential oils, less is always more! You should never need to use more than 1-3 drops of an essential oil. If you are trying to apply essential oils to a large area such as your back or your shoulder, mix it with a carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil or jojoba oil. In a pinch you could even use olive oil to help apply the essential oil to your skin.
Since essential oils are so potent, they need to be diluted when being used on children. You can learn more about how to dilute essential oils in this post about why you should use essential oils.
How to Use Essential Oils Safely
Applying Essential Oils
Always, always wash your hands after applying/touching essential oils! You may have just put a few drops in your diffuser but the residue from the cap could be on your fingers. Often you forget and will end up touching your face or rubbing your eye and it will be horrible!
That being said, life and accidents happen! If you happen to get essential oils in or around your eye take a few drops of fractionated coconut oil and apply it to your eyelid and around your closed eye. This will make the burning stop in a matter of seconds.
Essential Oils & Sunlight
Some essential oils such as citrus oils are photosensitive. This means that if applied to your skin, you should not have that part of your skin in direct sunlight for 12-24 hours after using. Photosensitive oils could actually create a burn on your skin if exposed to direct sunlight.
This post shows essential oils which are photosensitive and gives tips for using these oils to avoid a burn!
Ingesting Essential Oils
Some essential oils say that they are safe to be ingested, others do not. There are different reasons why essential oil companies may not say their essential oils can be ingested (some oils such as eucalyptus can never be ingested, the oil may be a blend and contain a carrier oil, the oil may contain synthetic fillers or the company may have decided to just have their oils for aromatic and topical use). If the bottle does not state ‘for dietary use’ or ‘supplement facts’ then please do not ingest! If you would like to ingest that oil then see if there is another company who says their oil is safe for ingestion and buy that particular oil.
Now it is time to start using your oils! Please be sure to remember, save or pin this post so that you can refer back to it to ensure that you use essential oils safely!
Interested in essential oils? Be sure to check out:
DoTerra Natural Solutions Kit – Is it Worth the Cost?
DIY Essential Oil Gifts for Mother’s Day
Spikenard Oil: Why this Plant is Making a Comeback
Which essential oil safety tip surprised you most?
Essential oil photo courtesy of Praisaeng at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
