What You Should Know About Essential Oils

Essential Oils have become quite trendy. You can purchase various grades of essential oils now in health food stores, grocery stores, bed and bath establishments and drug stores - not to mention online and through mail order. How can you know what to purchase or how to use the tiny vials? Here are some suggestions on how to use essential oils and what you should know before incorporating them into your personal care routine.

Essential oils are distilled from various plants. All parts of plants can be used including leaves, seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers and fruit. The plant parts are cooked down and the essential oils are the distilled result. Essential oils can be 50-100 times more potent than the plant they are derived from.

Unlike “base oils” such as olive oil, almond oil, peanut oil, etc. which feel filmy and greasy and stay on the surface of the skin, essential oils can be absorbed quickly into the skin and the essential oil can evaporate at room temperature. Within twenty minutes of applying essential oil to a person’s skin, evidence of the chemicals within that oil can be found in every cell within the body. That is just one of the ways essential oils can be so powerful in fighting illness and improving the immune system.

Essential oils are used as herbal and medicinal supplements, as aromatherapy, and cosmetically and domestically for various uses. It is important to use pure “therapeutic grade” essential oils, not oils that are watered down. It can be tempting to buy the least expensive versions, but often these are not “therapeutic grade,” so use a reliable source and supplier and investigate for quality. Check with a specialist at a health focused merchant or an informed medical specialist.