Essential Oils Made Easy!

Essential oils are everywhere. There’s so much conflicting advice about how to use them, and it can be overwhelming. Maybe you’d like to try essential oils in your home but don’t know where to start. Let’s go over what they are, how to use them, and a few things to look for when you’re choosing your first oils.

What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are concentrated extracts from plants. Have you ever crushed a peppermint leaf between your fingers? That minty smell comes from aromatic compounds in the leaf. You can smell those compounds when you peel an orange, too. That’s one of my favorite ways to explain essential oils because you’ve probably already done it without thinking about it!

If you enjoy that minty scent, I share how I use the oil in Peppermint Essential Oil: My Desert Island Pick.

How to Use Essential Oils

Aromatic use is simply enjoying the aroma of an oil. A room diffuser is an easy way to get started. You can try an oil on its own or put a couple of scents together. Lavender and Cedarwood are a nice combination if you like something floral with a little woodsy scent.

Want to try lavender in your diffuser? I share three blends in my How to Use Lavender Essential Oil post.

Topical use is using an essential oil on your skin. We use a carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil, to dilute the essential oil and make it easier to spread. This is handy when you want to use a little on your hands or feet as part of your self-care routine.

If you’re curious about using oils around the house, I share some of my favorite recipes in Cleaning With Essential Oils: Simple Recipes & Swaps.

Carrier Oils

Fractionated coconut oil (FCO) is my favorite. It’s simply coconut oil with some of the fats removed so that it stays liquid. It has very little scent, so you can still smell the essential oil you picked.

Here are a few other options if you’d like to try something different:

• Sweet almond oil has a mild scent and is easy to spread.
• Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax. You’ll see it in a lot of skin care products.
• Argan oil feels light on the skin and is also used in hair care products.

What Should You Look For When Buying Essential Oils?

You may have noticed that essential oils are everywhere: the grocery store, gift shops, even Amazon.

Here’s the thing. Where the plant grows, how it’s harvested, and how the oil is extracted can all affect the finished oil. When you’re comparing bottles, take a look at the plant name, the ingredient list, and the directions. If you’re looking at a blend or roller, check whether it already has a carrier oil in it.

I use doTERRA essential oils. You’ll see Certified Pure Tested Grade (CPTG) on their bottles. That’s doTERRA’s unique testing program ensuring purity of every drop of essential oil.

Where Can You Buy doTERRA Essential Oils?

I am a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and I would love to help you get started. A starter set is an easy way to get a few oils together, especially if there are several you’re already curious about.

I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase through my shop link. You can read my full affiliate disclosure.

Have questions? Send me an email. You can also visit my Essential Oils page or shop doTERRA essential oils.