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Ways to Use Essential Oils and Personal Aromatherapy Uses
The main ways to use essential oils are inhaling them, applying them to your skin, taking them orally, and making products for use around the home. However, within that context, essential oils have many versatile, practical, and holistic uses.
Important: Consult an aromatherapy or health care professional before ingesting essential oils. Because of the controversial nature of (and caution needed for) using essential oils internally, I do not cover that topic on this site.
Safety is a priority. Always follow essential oil safety guidelines and know how to properly dilute the oils.
Ways to Use Essential Oils
Inhaling the aroma of essential oils can support health and wellness and improve mood, emotions, and general well-being. You can directly inhale the scent in the following ways:
- Diffusing the oils using one of the many types of aromatherapy diffuser
- Sniffing the scent from an aromatherapy inhaler
- Inhaling steam scented with essential oil (steam inhalation)
- Placing a drop of essential oil on a tissue, cotton ball, or smell strip and smelling the aroma (some sources mention smelling oils directly from the bottle, but other sources suggest doing so is not the best way to detect the true scent of an oil)
- Making a room spray to scent a space
In addition to direct inhalation, you indirectly inhale essential oils when you use them on your body; however, much of the benefit comes through skin absorption. You can make a variety of facial, hair, and body care products, including:
- Facial cleansers, toners, moisturizing oils, creams, and masks
- Shampoo, hair rinses, and hair oil treatment
- Bath oils, salts, and bombs and shower gels
- Body butters, oils, creams, lotions, scrubs, deodorants, soaps, sprays, roll-ons
- Oral care products
- Perfume
- Aromatherapy massage oils
Another way to use essential oils is as first aid. Four examples:
- Lavender to soothe minor burns, cuts, insect bites, and skin irritations
- Tea tree for minor scrapes, cuts, and skin infections
- Peppermint to relieve headaches, muscle and joint aches and pain, nausea, or digestive discomfort
- Helichrysum to help with minor wounds, bruises, and sprains
You can use single essential oils as first aid or make products such as a natural first aid spray. Plus, essential oils have many aromatherapy healing uses, including helping relieve pain, support digestion, promote better sleep, and reduce symptoms of cold and flu.
Uses for Essential Oils
Uses for essential oils include a variety of home and personal applications. Here's a list of this site's articles about home, personal, and Indian/ayurvedic uses. For information about how to use a specific oil, see its essential oil profile.
Uses of Essential Oils for the Home
Cleaning With Essential Oils: You can use essential oils for cleaning house and make your own non-toxic products. Essential oils for home care include eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, pine, and tea tree.
Essential Oils for Pest Control in the home and garden to avoid using toxic pesticides.
Essential Oils for Pets: Safely using essential oils with animals.
Holiday Essential Oil Blend Recipes: Diffuse essential oils to create ambience for holidays throughout the year. Includes winter, Valentine's Day, and Easter blends.
Personal Uses for Essential Oils
Astrology and Essential Oils
Tips for combining astrology and essential oils to add a dimension to your astrology practice.
Essential Oil Aphrodisiac
Make an essential oil aphrodisiac, using oils such as cinnamon, jasmine, patchouli, rose, sandalwood, vanilla, and ylang ylang, to add some romance and spice to your love life.
Essential Oil Spiritual Benefits
Essential
oil spiritual benefits can enhance your connection to the divine by
helping you focus, relaxing your mind and body, and opening your heart.
Essential Oils for Meditation
Enhance your meditation or mindfulness practice with scents.
Essential Oils for Prosperity
Raise your vibration with essential oils for prosperity and abundance.
Five Chinese Elements
Using essential oils based on the five Chinese elements.
Indian/Ayurvedic Essential Oil Uses
Ayurveda and Essential Oils
Using essential oils based on the Indian ayurvedic tradition.
Essential Oils for Chakras
Using aromatherapy for chakras can help balance these energy centers.
Essential Oils for Yoga
Diffuse oils during your practice, make a mat cleaning spray, and more.
What Is an Attar?
A look at Indian attars for use in aromatherapy.
Buy essential oils from Aromatics International (recommended).
Rocky Mountain Essential Oils.
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