Essential Oils – A Simple Guide For How To Use Them

Have you heard about essential oils?  Lately it seems like everyone is talking about them.  I started using essential oils a few months ago, and I love how they have helped me.   I have to admit though, I was a little confused as to how to use the oils when I first opened my box from Young Living.  I thought – OK, what do I do now?  Soon I’ll be starting a series of posts about the 11 oils that come in the Premium Starter Kit, and how I use each of them.  Today I will be giving you some guidelines for how to use Young Living’s Essential Oils.

This is not a comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts, just some tips I’ve picked up since starting to use the oils.  These guidelines apply only to Young Living Essential oils, which are 100% theraputic grade oils and have no additives.

Before we get started I wanted to recommend  two  books that are great resources for how to use essential oils.

Gentle Babies by Debra Raybern is a book that explains how to use Young Living essential oils if you are pregnant, or have young children.  Women who are pregnant or nursing, babies and young children need to follow different guidelines for using the oils.

The Quick Reference Guide for Using Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley is a great resource for using essential oils.  It’s over 400 pages long.  In the first part of the book, there is a lot of information about essential oils – what they are, how they help the body, and how to use them.  The rest of the reference is a guide to specific ailments, and which oil or oils to use to help each ailment, and how to apply them.  If you purchase the Premium Starter Kit through me, I will send you a copy of this reference guide free of charge.

3 Ways To Use Essential Oils

1.  Inhalation:  

~You can diffuse the oils, either one at a time or a couple at a time if they are not blend oils.  I use about 8 drops in my home diffuser.  (The diffuser is included in the Premium Starter Kit).

~When you diffuse many of the oils, they don’t mask odors, they actually purify the air.  I’ve had great results getting the smell of paint and oil primer out of a room that I’ve been painting by diffusing Purification.

~Another easy way to inhale the oils is to just open the bottle and take a deep breath.  Or, put a drop in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together and then put your hands up to your nose and take a deep breath or two.

2.  Topically:  

~Applying the oils topically to your skin is another way to use them.  Put a drop or two in your hand and then apply to the body in a circular motion.  Essential oils are not a fatty oil, so they feel a little different than a fatty oil would when you apply them to your skin.  You can add a carrier oil (coconut or olive oil) to the essential oil to help smooth the esential oil over your skin.

~It’s a good idea to use a carrier oil when you first start using the oils- especially for children whose skin is more delicate.  ( Again – the Gentle Babies book is a good resource for using the oils on babies and young children)  The back of the bottles will say whether the oil should be diluted with a carrier oil.

~Just a word of caution – some of the oils are “hot” oils.  Meaning that they can burn if applied directly to the skin.  ( Such as Peppermint, Clove).  These oils should be applied with a carrier oil, such as coconut or olive oil.  If you apply an oil to your skin, and it does burn, apply a carrier oil to dilute the oil, not water.

~Do not put the oils in your eyes or ears.  If you do get some oil in your eyes or ears, don’t flush them with water.  Because oil and water don’t mix, the water will drive the oil into your skin.  Instead apply a carrier oil such as coconut or olive oil to dilute the essential oil.

~Citrus oils, such as lemon, lime and orange, cause sun photosensitivities.  So, it’s best to avoid putting these on skin that will be exposed to sunlight.

~ The feet are a great place to apply the oils.  The pores in your feet absorb the oils very quickly.  The feet are also a good way to apply the oils in specific places for specific ailments.  For instance, you can apply Clarity to your right big toe for best results.

 

~I also apply oils on my wrists, forehead, over my heart, and back of my neck.

~If you purchase the Premium Starter kit, it includes one roller fitment.  I use these on several of my oil bottles, and you can purchase more if you need them.  I recently did a very short video showing how to put on and take off the roller fitments.

3.  Ingesting:

~ VERY IMPORTANT – Many of Young Living Essential Oils can be safely ingested.  I can’t recommend that you ingest other brands of essential oils.  They may not be 100% pure essential oil.

~ On the back of each Young Living bottle it will either say Dietary Supplement or Topical.  The ones that say Dietary Supplement can be ingested, and the ones that say Topical cannot.  Here’s two of my bottles that show an example of each.

~You can take the oils orally using either vegetable or gelatin capsules.

~I have also put a drop of Thieves oil in a spoonful of honey or made a “tea” of hot water, honey, Thieves and Lemon oils when I felt a cold coming on.

~Everyday I add Lemon oil to water, or Young Living’s Ningxia Red, to help with detoxification.

Other important info:

~The oils will last for a long time, there’s no expiration date.  Do try to keep the lids on tight.

~They come in dark bottles, and should be kept in a cool dark place.  When we recently went on an almost two week drive to California, I was concerned about keeping the oils in the car in the hot weather.   I packed the oils in a small cooler with ice from the hotel rooms each morning, which worked out great.

~Everyone’s body is different, so what works for me, may not work for you.  Just try one oil at a time to see what works best.

~Please talk to your doctor if you are taking any medication, especially if you’re thinking about not taking your medication any longer.

Whew!  I know this is a long post, and hope it’s not too overwhelming.  Just let me know if you have any questions.

If you’re interested in ordering your own essential oils from Young Living, I have a Young Living Essential Oils page that will help walk you through the process.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. I’m not a medical professional, I’m just sharing my experiences.