How to Use Essential Oils at Home

essential oils can be used in a number of ways at home

Essential oils are often used in spa treatments - but how do you use essential oils in your own way at home? Essential oils, when pure, are therapeutic in their powers and are used in aromatherapy to heal and treat specific problems. However, because essential oils are powerful, they should never be used neat, i.e. directly onto the skin, unless specifically directly to do so by a qualified aromatherapist, and even then, with extreme caution.

Essential oils are often used in carrier oils in aromatherapy blends. As discussed previously, carrier oils may not necessarily be an oil and may take the form of lotions, water, milk and honey too. But once you've mixed your appropriate essential oils in a carrier, what do you do then? Here's some suggestions:

- use essential oils in the bath in a bubble bath base, bath oil, bath salt - or with milk or honey, very luxurious!

- use essential oils in the shower in a shower gel base

- use essential oils in a shampoo base

- to treat your hands or feet to a soak (like in a manicure or pedicure) add some essential oils to a foot or hand bath

- if you have a injury, pain or inflammation, use essential oils in a hot or cold compress, depending on the situation

- some essential oils are good for treating coughs and colds; add essential oils to a tissue, on your pillow at night time (but remember to dilute in water or you will end up with an oily mess!) or to a bowl of water and inhale deeply

- use essential oils in your everyday skin care routine - add essential oils to lotions for hands, feet, face and cleansing lotion

- are you allergic to or get headaches from commercial perfumes? Make your own perfume sprays with pure essential oils

- use essential oils in a diffuser to fragrance a room and 'create' a certain mood

- essential oils can also be used in cleaning products (another topic to be discussed at a later date) .

Essential oils are extremely versatile and as you can see are not just a 'pretty smell'! All of these suggestions can easily be expanded on and I will come back to some of them in future postings. If you have any other suggestions for using essential oils at home, or I have missed something, please leave me a comment at the end of this post!