Essential Oils for Beginners: Start simple, start small.
How to get started with essential oils
As someone who has used essential oils in both their profession and personal life for the last decade, I have heard many different thoughts, opinions, and tips on oils and their benefits. The amount of information (and misinformation) available on oils these days can unfortunately be overwhelming and, ironically, stressful to someone new to oils.
My goal in this blog post is to give you a place to start. If you are new to essential oils, unsure where to start, or feeling overwhelmed, you are in the right blog! Using essential oils opens up a world of options that can feel overwhelming:
options on which oil to use,
how to use it,
where to use it, and
how much to use.
Start simple
Start simple. Try not to let the options stress you out. Instead, I suggest starting with one oil and using it one way. Do that several times. See how you like it, and what benefits it brings. Then pick a different oil and perhaps different way to use it when you’re ready.
Before we really dive in, I would like to first note: I am not trying to sell you anything.
No, seriously. I am not trying to sell you anything. I do not sell essential oils, and will not benefit in any way from you using them. Heck, I won’t even know if you do (unless you tell me).
I simply want to give you one more tool to use as you work towards being the healthiest version of yourself. Think of essential oils as a tool - not a bandage, not a cure-all. Throw them in your physical and mental toolbox, next to doctors check ups, therapy, yoga, naps, and anything else you do to create a healthy lifestyle.
There are many uses for and benefits of essential oils, but just like every other tool, they have their place, and they have their limits. For example, if I mildly burn my wrist touching a hot pan, I would put lavender oil on it. However, if I fall and break my wrist, I am not going to put lavender oil on it. I am probably going to the ER.
Benefits of essential oils
Depending on the oil used, there can be many physical and mental benefits to incorporating essential oils into your life. Benefits of using essential oils include:
improve sleep,
ease anxiety,
lift your mood,
boost your energy,
enhance your focus,
help you relax
soothe skin irritations,
clear up congestion,
relieve headaches and nausea,
ease digestive issues, and
decrease inflammation.
Aside from their many physical and mental uses, essential oils can also be used around the house for things like cleaning and insect repellants.
What are essential oils?
So let’s start from the beginning. Essential oils are, simply put, plant extracts. Click to learn more about the essential oil extraction process.
How much should you use?
Start small. Essential oils are very potent, and because of this, a small amount is often all that is needed. You can always add more.
Ways to use oils
For diffusing, you have many options. It is not necessary to have an actual essential oil diffuser (though these can be especially helpful for diffusing in a larger area/group). Start simple. Take the lid off the bottle and breathe in the oil’s aroma. Another easy way to diffuse the oil is to put a few drops on a cotton ball or kleenex and keep it nearby. If you have a spray bottle, you can make a spritzer by putting 5-10 drops in the bottle with water. Remember, start small, you can always add more if you want a stronger aroma.
For application directly on your skin, you can dilute the oil in any carrier oil (coconut oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, olive oil). To dilute, use 1-2 drops of essential oil in 1 teaspoon of carrier oil for adults and 1-2 drops in 2 or more teaspoons of carrier oil for children.
Keep in mind- not all oils are equal. The FDA does not regulate essential oils, so a company can say “pure essential oil” but still add in artificial substances. I suggest looking for a company that provides easily accessible information on where and how their oils are made.
Where to apply essential oils
If you are choosing to apply the oil directly to your skin, you have many options. A great place to start is to apply or massage the oil into the bottoms of your feet. The pores at the bottom of the foot are larger than other areas, allowing the oil to get into your bloodstream faster and start working sooner. The skin at the bottom of the foot is also thicker, so if you tend to have sensitive skin, this can be a great place to start.
Other topical application suggestions are your spine, the back of your neck, your wrist, or your temples (being careful not the get the oil close to your eyes). Of course, if you are using the oil for a specific injury or issue like a scar, or an inflamed joint, you will want to put the oil in that area.
What essential oils to use
Here are a few examples of oils you can try, depending on what benefit you are hoping to see. Keep in mind that every body is different, and aromas can affect our emotions and memory, so an oil can affect two people differently.
Headache? Try frankincense, lavender, or peppermint.
Sleep Issues? Try lavender, clary sage, or roman chamomile.
Dealing with stress/anxiety? Try lavender, ylang ylang, or jasmine.
Allergies? Try lavender, lemon and peppermint.
Dealing with depression or low on energy? Try wild orang, grapefruit, lemon or eucalyptus
Muscle tension/pain? Try eucalyptus, melaleuca, or marjoram.
Digestive issues? Try peppermint, clove, lemon or melaleuca.
Fibromyalgia? Try eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass or frankincense.
A word of caution when using oils
If you decide to apply the oil topically, some oils have a heating or cooling affect. If you use cinnamon, or clove oil, it can make your skin feel warm or hot. If you use peppermint, eucalyptus, or melaleuca, it can have a cooling affect on your skin. To lessen any heating or cooling affect, you can dilute the oil with more carrier oil. Citrus oils (lemon, orange, grapefruit) are photosensitive, so you will not want to apply them topically before sitting out in the sun.
In conclusion
I hope you are leaving this blog feeling excited and hopeful about using essential oils in your own life. I'm excited for you! If you are still feeling overwhelmed, or have a question, feel free to shoot me an email. The whole point of using essential oils is to improve your mental and physical well being. Remember to start simple, and enjoy the process of learning what oils work best for you!
Questions? Contact Jessie at jessie@tworoadswellnessclinic.com
About Two Roads Wellness Clinic
At Two Roads Wellness Clinic, we want to help you find the path that makes a difference in your life. We’re an integrative health clinic offering a vast array of services including, mental health treatments such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), expressive arts therapy, family therapy, medication management, primary care, integrative nutritional support including genetic nutritional counseling, life coaching, massage therapy, physical therapy, infrared sauna services, community education and outreach, and more.
The Two Roads Wellness Clinic team of therapists, medical and nutrition staff, massage therapists, life coaches, physical therapists, and emotional support animals are ready to help you find an integrated approach to your wellness. To schedule an appointment, visit our contact page, to get started at one of our convenient locations in Champaign, Danville, or Mahomet.