A Beginner's Guide To Essential Oils

A powerful healing modality, aromatherapy has recently blossomed into a thriving section of herbal medicine. Aromatic plant medicine involves working with some of nature's strongest powers and is about much more than limiting one oil to a single therapeutic benefit (i.e., lavender essential oil is for sleep).

This is where everyone should start. Why do you want to start using essential oils? Do you have a physical problem? Is it chronic or acute? Perhaps there is no pain-point, and you’re looking to evoke a state of being, like relaxation. Or maybe you're looking to use essential oils to scent cleaning products. 

Once you get to the crux of the issue you want to address, it’s much easier to whittle down the thousands of essential oils you can use.

It’s easy to fall into the aforementioned "there’s an oil for that" mentality because many people use similar oils for common ailments. But with aromatherapy, it’s equally important to consider your personal smell preference. For example, spikenard’s sedative effect makes it a go-to for insomniacs. But I know some people who just cannot stomach the smell and would prefer to use lavender or vetiver for sleep.

For those who turn to essential oils for a specific therapeutic goal or health benefit, considering energetics may seem baffling. While you need not work on an energetic, soul level to reap the benefits of aromatherapy, it’s useful to understand the chemistry.

Evidence from Ancient Egypt tells us that aromatic oils were likely being used before 4500 B.C. The ancient Egyptians are renowned for their knowledge of cosmetics and fragrant ointments—with their most famous herbal preparation being "Kyphi," which was a multipurpose spiritual blend of 16 ingredients.

As the Egyptians knew so well, oils have different properties that we don’t always consider. Some are heating, others cooling, and some resonate with us in different parts of our bodies.

For example, 1,8 cineole, also known as eucalyptol, is a chemical found largely in eucalyptus and rosemary. Additionally, the chemical menthol triggers the cold-sensitive TRPM8 receptors in the skin and is responsible for the cooling sensation1.

Peppermint essential oil is intensely freshening and invigorating, in part due to its high menthol content—so much so that many aromatherapists suggest working with the hydrosol to avoid safety issues (particularly in children).

As some oils cool, some can also bring on the heat. Oils high in phenols, containing chemicals like carvacrol, eugenol, and thymol, are known to be hot. These oils should be used with caution and include oregano, thyme, cinnamon leaf, and clove. More warming oils include yarrow, sweet marjoram, ginger, basil, and black pepper.

Synergy is everything. While individual oils are potent, combining the aromatic molecules of different essential oils allows them to work together and results in greater benefit than the sum of individual effects. From a holistic perspective, I often blend synergies with 3-5 essential oils. At the very least, this blending technique allows me to have a core of the blend, enhancer, and harmonizer.

On essential oil bottles, though, small, high-quality suppliers will always tell you the Latin binomial (indicating the plant genus and species), where and how the oil was distilled, and whether it’s organic or wild-harvested. The Latin name is important because there are many species of certain plant families, like lavender.

Unfortunately, the scene has been set for unethical business practices as large corporate players drive raw material prices to low levels, often forbidding profit to be made.

With rampant adulteration of oils (e.g., cheaper essential oils substituted and falsely labeled—like lavandin for lavender, or a completely synthetic laboratory-made oil labeled as wild-harvested), it’s crucial to be in the know about realistic essential oil prices—particularly for unadulterated, pure, and rare oils. For example, rose, jasmine, and sandalwood being sold in ½-ounce and 1-ounce sizes should raise some eyebrows. A single ounce of rose otto retails for $400 or more!

Given current industry practices, you should also be wary of popular, gimmicky claims. Perhaps the most egregious is using the label "Therapeutic Grade." There is no such thing as "therapeutic grade" or "certified pure" essential oils. There is no regulatory body that scientifically evaluates and certifies the purity of essential oils.

Making your own all-natural product? There’s more to it than just essential oils. Many DIY aromatherapy recipes also call for carrier oils and butters, which are just as important to consider. Products have shelf lives—with many energizing citrus essential oils only lasting a year when kept refrigerated (in fact, most essential oils are happiest when cool!) and some common carrier oils are best used before six months to a year after purchase.

An easy way to integrate aromatherapy into your everyday life is through diffusing. I turn to my diffuser for a multitude of reasons—when I want to use essential oils to reduce stress, set an ambience, support sleep, and increase alertness or motivation.

Diffusion refers to a method of transmitting essential oils into the air within a specified area. Diffusing supports a multitude of goals, but it mainly serves two purposes: reducing air microbes and altering mood and emotion. Clinical research shows that diffused lemon essential oil is an affordable intervention that has a positive effect on test anxiety. Additionally, diffusing cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary is an uplifting blend.

There are many diffusers on the market, but I recommend purchasing a jet style nebulizer made out of glass. If you can, avoid diffusers made from plastic that use water as a carrier. Not only are these diffusers harder to clean, but repeated use also leads to degradation as some essential oils eat away at plastic.

Whenever I come down with a nasty cold, I make an aromatic mix with a synergy of three gentle, cooling oils with potentially beneficial respiratory effects that are high in monoterpenes and oxides.

Every night, I anoint my pulse points with a rollerball blend that supports restful sleep and deep relaxation. Therefore, I look for oils high in esters, monoterpene alcohols, and sesquiterpene alcohols that calm and soothe the nervous and endocrine systems and release muscular and nervous tension. This is a daily blend that allows me to drift off into sleep, so loving the aroma is a must!

I have thin skin that’s prone to dryness. I want my beauty products to help keep me moisturized and prevent environmental damage and premature aging. I take a holistic approach to my face-care routine, always using essential oils high in esters that soothe dermal inflammation, monoterpenes that enhance dermal penetration, and monoterpene alcohols that are mild and generally well-tolerated by most skin types.

While I always promote and see the value in essential oil synergies, for my daily face serum, I only use two oils: Helichrysum italicum and rose. Sometimes, I’ll add sandalwood to round out the aroma.