You know essential oils are powerful and work
but how do you actually use them in your everyday life?
Guidelines for Using Essential Oils
Young Living’s pure, therapeutic grade essential oils have wonderful properties that infuse your body, mind & spirit with their many and varied benefits. Essential oils are very concentrated and powerful so one must use common sense when using them and be sure to treat essential oils as you would any other therapeutic product in use in your household.
- Be sure to keep them out of reach of children.
- Always have a bottle of a pure vegetable oil handy when using essential oils. Vegetable oils dilute essential oils if they cause discomfort or skin irritation.
- Be aware that reactions to essential oils, both topically and orally, can be delayed as long as 2-3 days. Go slow and use caution until you know how your body reacts when introducing a new essential oil.
- Be extremely careful when applying any oils on the face, so as not to make contact with the eyes; flush the eyes with vegetable oil. DO NOT FLUSH WITH WATER! This will only intensify the oils actions. Essential oils are oil soluble, NOT water soluble.
- Be sure not to handle contact lens with fingers that have essential oils on them.
- Also, never put essential oils directly into the ear canal. You may use a cotton ball or cotton swab with essential oil(s) diluted with a carrier oil and dab or swab inside the ear, but not the canal.
- Pregnant women, epileptics, and those with high blood pressure should consult with their doctor regarding the use of essential oils. Those with high blood pressure should avoid using sage and rosemary.
- Those prone to allergies should test a small amount of an essential oil on an area of sensitive skin, such as the inside of the upper arm, for 30 minutes, before applying the oil elsewhere.
- Do not add undiluted essential oils directly to bath water; rather add the oil(s) to Epsom salts or a bath gel base for dispersing the oils into the bath water.
- Some essential oils, including orange, fir, pine and peppermint are potentially flammable, so keep them away from open flames, sparks, or electricity.
If you are new to using Young Living therapeutic grade essential oils, please start slowly. Apply one oil or blend at a time. When layering oils that are new to you, please wait 3-5 minutes before applying the second oil in order to see how your body responds to the first.
Young Living’s essential oils have powerful properties, so treat them as such. As your body becomes accustomed to using oils, you will be able to continue to add more as you go along.
Our skin is our largest organ and will absorb whatever is put on it… including chemicals found in cosmetics, personal care products, soaps, and cleansers so be cautious when applying essential oils to skin that has been exposed to such products. Petroleum-based chemicals especially can penetrate and remain in the skin and fatty tissues for days or even weeks after use. Essential oils may react with such products causing possible skin irritation, nausea, headaches, or other uncomfortable effects. Essential oils can also react with toxins built up in the body from chemicals in our food, water, and work environment. So remember to start slowly and use caution when beginning.
Should you experience a reaction to an essential oil, it’s wise to discontinue its use temporarily and begin an internal cleansing program before resuming use of essential oils. It is wise to double your intake of water while using essential oils, to assist the body in flushing out toxins in it.
If your body pH is low, meaning your system is very acidic, you could also have a negative reaction to the oils. Therapeutic grade essential oils contain many valuable properties and can be extremely beneficial to those using them however, common sense would tell you that if your body is “out of sync” then you should do all that you can with good nutrition and proper exercise so that using essential oils will not cause you any irritations.
TOPICAL APPLICATION
- Carefully tip the oil bottle and place 2–3 drops in the palm of your hand or directly on the desired application area.
- If dropping oil in your hand, drop 2-3 drops onto non-dominate hand, then rub palms together in a clockwise circular motion and massage oil onto the desired point of application. If applying directly to the desired area, use your hand to massage the oil in a circular motion into the skin. Repeat if desired.
- The longer essential oils stay in contact with the skin, the better they are to be absorbed. Apply a high quality lotion on top of the essential oils to reduce the evaporation of the essential oils and enhance their penetration.
- When applying to yourself, use 1-2 drops of oil on 2-3 locations twice a day. If needed, increase to 4 times daily. If applying oils for the first time, do not apply more than 2 singles or blends at one time. Remember, as stated above, to start slowly and use caution until you know how your body responds to them.
- When diluting oils with a carrier oil in a container be sure to always use glass or earthenware, as plastic particles can leach into the oil and then into your skin when applied.
- After applying topically, always cup your hands a few inches from your face and inhale deeply, holding briefly for a second or two, and then exhale. Repeat 4-5 times. (Caution: some oils like peppermint are very strong- hold hands a little further away from face.)
- For deeper penetration of an oil, use warm compresses after applying the oils. Dip a cloth in warm water; wring it out and place on location. Cover loosely with a dry towel or blanket to seal in the heat. Allow to stand for 15-30 minutes. If any discomfort, remove immediately. An exception to applying heat- if you have nerve related issues don’t use heat, use a cold compress, as they tend to respond better to applications of cold or cool compresses!
- Sometimes you will find yourself wanting to use several oils at once. Apply one oil at a time, massaging gently into the tissue until the area is dry; then apply the next oil in the same manner and so on.
- For even dispersion of essential oils in bath water, mix 5-10 drops of essential oil in 1/4 cup of Epsom salts or unscented bath gel base and then add this mixture under a running faucet.
- Caution: Essential oils are very potent and some may be irritating to the skin. If irritation occurs, immediately apply pure vegetable oil such as V-6™ Enhanced Vegetable Oil Complex to the area to dilute. Please read label directions for each individual oil before using.
The bottom of the feet is one of the safest and most effective places to use essential oils. Using a carrier oil such as cold-pressed grapeseed, olive, wheat germ, or sweet almond oil, or a blend of any of these extends essential oils and provides more efficient use. While most essential oils can be applied neat (no carrier oil used) to the soles of the feet, better application of essential oil to all areas of foot occurs with use of a carrier oil. Applying to the feet allows the body to acclimate to the oil.
DIFFUSING
Using a cold-air diffuser creates an atomized microfine mist of essential oil(s) going into the air where they remain suspended for hours. Diffused oils not only emit a lovely scent into your environment but they alter the structure of molecules that create odors, rather than masking them.
They also increase oxygen availability in the air, produce negative ions, and release natural ozone. Many essential oils such as lemongrass, orange, grapefruit, Eucalyptus globulus, Melaleuca alternifolia, lavender, frankincense, and lemon are extremely effective in supporting ones immune system.
Research shows that cold air diffusing of certain oils may:
- Eliminate unpleasant odors, not just mask them.
- Relax the body, relieve tension and clear the mind.
- Help with weight management
- Improve concentration, alertness, and mental clarity
Start by diffusing oils for 15-30 minutes a day. As you become accustomed to their benefits, you may increase the diffusing time to 1-2 hours a day.
Do not use more than one blend at a time in a diffuser as it may alter the chemistry and therapeutic benefit. A single oil may be added to a blend when diffusing. Always clean the diffuser according to manufacturer before using a different oil blend.
If you don’t have a diffuser, add several drops of essential oil to a spray bottle, add 1 cup purified water, and shake. Mist your entire house, workplace or car.
If you are interested in diffusing essential oils, check out several different styles of diffusers here.
INGESTION
Many essential oils make excellent food flavorings or dietary supplements. When using essential oils for internal consumption, try these methods using our Vitality line of oils:
- Place several drops of oil into an empty capsule and swallow the capsule with water.
- Add 1–2 drops to a glass of water or rice milk.
- Put 1–2 drops onto a piece of bread or add to your meals when cooking.
- Add 1–2 drops onto a teaspoon of Young Living Blue Agave and swallow.
- Drop directly onto the tongue and swallow. Exercise extreme caution when using this method. Many essential oils are potent and should be tested by pouring a single drop onto a spoon and tasting a small portion to determine the amount of oil to be used.
- Essential oils are so concentrated, that 1-2 drops are often sufficient to achieve significant results. Remember that when using therapeutic grade essential oils.
- NOTE: When ingesting powerful “HOT” oils like OREGANO I prefer to take with 1/2 cup or more of yogurt as it keeps me from burping it back up and is soothing to the tummy.
CAUTION: References to the use of essential oils refers SOLELY to Young Living THERAPEUTIC-GRADE Essential Oils and products. The IMPORTANCE of using PURE, unadulterated essential oils cannot be stressed enough. Young Living essential oils are NOT your average, run of the mill “scents” you will find at your local drug or health food store. Most of the essential oils on the market are adulterated and are considered “perfume” or “aromatherapy” quality or “fourth & fifth quality” oils despite their claims of being “100% pure”. I trust Young Living’s essential oils because of their SEED-TO-SEAL committment to producing the highest quality essential oils in the world and they are the ONLY ONES that I would ever consider ingesting. Please DO NOT attempt with inferior brands as it could be harmful or even toxic!
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