If you have ever enjoyed the scent of a flower, you’ve experienced the aromatic qualities of essential oils. These naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. In addition to giving plants their distinctive smells, essential oils protect plants and play a role in plant pollination. In addition to their intrinsic benefits to plants and being beautifully fragrant to people, essential oils have long been used for food preparation, beauty treatment, and health care practices. There is plenty of information on the web about the scientific study of the components of essential oils and how they interact with the body, so I won’t reinvent the wheel by covering all of the science jargon here. Instead, I will simply let the oils speak for themselves. Contact me for information on how to get your own oils and how to determine which oils you need.
How Do I Use Essential Oils?
Essential oils are used for a wide range of emotional and physical wellness applications. They can be used a single oil at a time or in complex blends in one of three methods: aromatically, topically, and internally.
Aromatically
Some essential oils, when diffused, can be very stimulating, while others can be calming and soothing. Diffusing essential oils can also cleanse and purify the air. This is an easy way to get a strong effect from your essential oils. The tiny molecules of the oil travel and linger in the air and are inhaled when you smell the scent. Those molecules actually go to your mucus membranes in your respiratory tract and can be directly absorbed into the body this way!
Topically
Essential oils are easily absorbed by the skin and many can be safely applied topically when used in conjunction with a carrier oil, such as Fractionated Coconut Oil. Almost all essential oils should be diluted with a carrier before applied to the skin, as some are “cold” oils that illicit a cold feeling, such as wintergreen oil, and some are “hot” oils which can feel very hot when applied to the skin undiluted, like oregano oil.
When correctly diluted and applied to the skin, essential oils are very effective! One of the most effective places to apply your essential oils is to the soles of your feet. This is because the pores in this area are relatively large and unobstructed by sebaceous glands, so intradermal absorption is maximized. There are different carrier oils that you can use and different dilution ratios for adults, children, babies, elderly and different sized and breeds of pets! If you aren’t sure what dilution you should be using, please go ahead and ask Kristen to find out!
Internally
Certain essential oils have a rich culinary history and can be used as dietary supplements supporting a variety of healthy conditions. doTerra carries a wide range of essential oils of herbs that are traditionally used as seasonings and can be used in your culinary preparations. Oils like black pepper, cardamom and rosemary are especially delicious when used for cooking! doTerra also carries VeggieCaps, which are convenient empty capsules that you can drop your essential oils into.
In addition to VeggieCaps, we also offer several essential oils in a convenient softgel. Please remember that only those oils that are safe to take internally will have a “Supplement Facts” on the bottle. Never take an essential oil internally unless it lists its Supplement Facts!
*Material consideration, text and the name doTerra are provided by doTerra International, LLC, and are copyright exclusively by them, used with permission under rights assigned to Wellness Advocates for marketing purposes.
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