If you are new to or just starting out with essential oils and are wondering what the difference is between an essential oil and a carrier oil, I’m here to help!
In this post I’m going to share with you what essential oils are, what a carrier oil is, and how to use them together to get the best out of both.
And as a bonus, you can grab a copy of Essential Oils for Beginners to understand a little more about essential oils.
Essential Oils
An essential oil is an oil that has been extracted from a plant, either its flowers, leaves, stems, roots, bark, resin or in the case of most citrus oils, their peel and pith. Where the oil is extracted from depends on where abouts in the plant the chemical constituents are located. This could be in the resin cell, hairs of the plant, cells or tiny reservoirs within the plant.
The oil from each plant has its own individual make-up of chemical constituents, making it unique. It is these chemical constituents that give the plants their specialised healing properties that enable the plant to grow and thrive. And when extracted, can have a powerful and positive impact on the human body too, if used correctly. Where the plant is grown, how it is grown, and when the plant is harvested also has an impact on the level of chemical constituents found within the plant when it is extracted.
A Mini–History Lesson
As a side note, essential oils have been used for centuries and, until relatively recently (the last few hundred years or so), have been used as natures medicine cabinet. Essential oils were used to support the body, so the body could heal itself – which it is remarkably good at, given the best conditions.
In any case, many of the first manufactured pharmaceuticals were derived from the understanding of how beneficial plants are for the body. Of course, those pharmaceuticals are now primarily made of synthetic compounds, much like many of the essential oils used in the beauty industry.
Why the Chemical constituents of a Plant Matter to Our Health
I’m not going to go into too much detail here but when using essential oils to support your body with an ailment, we choose the oil according to its properties and chemical constituents.
Now if the plant is not harvested at the right time, or the plant has been grown in sub-optimal conditions, or the process of extraction, or even when bottling, chemicals have been added (called adulteration), then the end product and the constituents you are relying on, may not be that full of benefits.
In short, when done without scruples, the harvesting and processing of the oil will render it almost useless for the benefits you are looking for, or worse, have an adverse effect on the body.
However, when oils are grown and harvested with care then you will get the best possible benefits from the essential oil you want to use and you will be able to choose essential oils that will support your body as it heals itself. Purity is key here.
Valerie Ann Worwood says in her book, The Fragrant Pharmacy,
“For effective therapeutic use it is crucial that
only pure essential oils are used.”
Extraction
Essential oils are predominantly extracted using steam distillation, very much like the basic chemistry experiments we did in school, only with more skill and refined equipment! 😊
However, some oils such as citrus fruits, are extracted by piercing the peel and releasing the oil from the peel and pith of the fruit.
When it comes to doTerra essential oils, it is possible to find out all about the oils in your particular bottle, find out all about it including showing the naturally occurring chemical constituents within that particular bottle. It is complete traceability. All this from a code on the bottom of the bottle for peace of mind. Plus, it’s very interesting to find out where it comes from.
So, now to carrier oils…
Carrier Oils
A carrier oil is often made from the seed, bean or kernel of the plant. For example, sunflower oil is made from the sunflower seeds in the flower head and apricot kernel oil, comes from, as the name suggests, the kernel of the apricot. These sorts of oils are made in abundance across the world and are often found in the food we eat.
Carrier oils do have their own excellent properties, but as with essential oils, how the oil has been processed and produced will have an impact on its quality and effectiveness both when used on its own and when used to dilute essential oils.
That means that using your sunflower cooking oil is not going to do the job. For starters, cooking oils are highly processed and go through an industrial process to remove traces of pesticides and such like that are used in the growing and production of the oils. They can also be stripped of colour and odour, again part of the production process.
Instead, what you are looking for is a carrier oil that has been cold pressed, is pure, natural (no synthetic additives), and organic.
This is so important when using the oil as a carrier oil with essential oils because of how essential oils work. As mentioned above, essential oils are made up of chemical constituents, and these very small compounds are also lipophilic. This basically means they combine better with oils than with water.
The reason this is relevant here is that skin is mostly lipophilic as well, which makes the essential oils, and whatever they are mixed with, more easily absorbed into our skin and then directly into our bloodstream.
So hopefully you now understand the quality of the carrier oil is equally as important as using pure essential oils.
How to Use Carrier Oils and Essential Oils Together
Essential oils are concentrated, and although a few oils can be safely used neat, it is best practice to dilute essential oils with a carrier oil.
This has the benefit of a few things, firstly it reduces the likelihood of skin sensitivities and secondly it stops the essential oils from evaporating too quickly – a side effect of those volatile compounds! And the longer the oil is on your skin, the longer the effect will last, i.e. it won’t have evaporated before it’s reached the area of the body it needs to reach. Plus, it goes much further! Think of an aromatherapy massage, two drops of essential oil is not going to go far but add it to a carrier oil and it can be used across the whole back!
There are dilution guidelines that it is best to follow when using essential oils but there are no hard and fast rules, you do really need to understand your skin and always start with caution. For example, for some people who have sensitive skin I always start them on a 0.5% – 1% dilution regardless of their age and build up from there.
When using the dilution guidelines below add the drops of essential oil to a clean glass bottle, dark in colour as the sunlight effects the oils, and top up with your chosen carrier oil. Shake well before each application.
See the table below for a simple guide:
ML/ % Blend | 5ml | 10ml | 15ml | 20ml | 25ml | 30ml | 50ml | 100ml |
0.1 % | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1 | 2 |
0.5 % | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
1 % | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 20 |
2 % | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 40 |
2.5 % | 2.5 | 5 | 7.5 | 10 | 12.5 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
3 % | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 30 | 60 |
4 % | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 40 | 80 |
*5 % | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 50 | 100 |
Guidelines for Essential Oil Dilution
- 1% blend – use for face treatments or products, sensitive skin, pregnancy, children or elderly
- 2 – 2.5% blend – Use for body treatments or products, healthy adults
- 3 – 5% blend – use for perfume, acute use & specific areas i.e. arthritic joint
- If you have skin sensitivities, do a small patch test first at a 0.5% dilution
If you would like to know more about essential oils, get a copy of the e-Book, ‘Essential Oils for Beginners’ by completing the form below.
Sending you blessings on your wellness journey,
Rebecca
Complete the form below for a copy of the interesting and informative e-Book, Essential Oils for Beginners