The Beginner’s Guide To Using Essential Oils Properly

Your Guide to Essential Oils

Are you new to essential oils or just looking for advice on how to use them properly? Well, you’re in luck! Today’s article is all about familiarizing yourself with essential oils and learning the three main methods to getting started. So consider this your beginner’s guide to using essential oils properly.

By the end of this post you will have learned how to familiarize yourself with your starter kit and any oils that you own. You will also learn how to use your essential oils aromatically, topically, and internally, along with some basic tips and guidelines related to each subject.

Don’t Overwhelm Yourself With The Idea Of How Much There Is To Learn

Before we start, please know that it is complely normal to feel overwhelmed by the world of essential oils. When I first started learning about essential oils, I was so excited, but there was too much to take on without a mentor. Maybe you feel the same way. If so, use this post as a guide and learn small bits at a time. Take as much time as you need to learn about the basics because the basics are the most imporant. 

It might also be a great idea to grab your oils and try these methods as you are reading about the so that you won’t forget what you’re learning. Please use them safely, as we discussed in the post: The Basics and Safety Of Essential Oils For Beginners.

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be talking about and referencing Young Living Essential Oils. If you have another kind, great, but if you’re not sure where to start, I recommend Young Living’s Premium starter kit. The kit has all of the most common and most used oils that everyone loves.

Let’s get started. 

Disclaimer/Terms of use Page

The following content is from my own perspective, experience, opinion, and in my own words. ( Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are taking medication, have a medical condition, are pregnant or nursing, please absolutely consult your physician before using these products.)

Always remember you are using these oils at your own risk and of your own choosing. None of my experiences are professional experiences, and I am not an expert at giving advice. I am someone who has used the oils as a hobby for my own experiences and I am choosing to share my experience with you. By visiting Nurturing Her Roots you are agreeing to all of my terms and disclaimers. Please refer to my disclaimer page and my terms of use page for more details. 

 

Familiarize Yourself: Use One Oil Per Day/Week

What I recommend is to pick one oil each day or week, whatever you have time for. Familiarize yourself with that oil: how it smells, how it makes your skin feel, how it makes you feel emotionally, mentally, etc. Continue to use it until you’ve learned when and why you need to use that oil without hesitation. Then, try a new one.

Suggested Tips 

Look down at your pile now. Is there an oil that interests you or that you’re already comfortable with? Grab that oil and bring it to eye level. 

• Examine the bottle, the oil’s name, and it’s color.
• Pull back the sticker and read the label: the warning (if the bottle has one) and it’s detailed information.
  
• Look up that particular oil in your reference guide or preferred search engine to see what others are using it for. (Try searching for “the benefits of (name of essential oil)”.)
  
• Decide what you would like to use this oil for today (e.g. you might use lavender at night before you go to sleep).
  
• Ask your friends and family who use oils what they use that oil for. You might be surprised about how many uses one oil may have. 

Extended Suggestion: Ask your friends for their favorite resources and share your resources with other. Such as this resource you are currently reading: The Beginner’s Guide To Using Essential Oils Properly. The more resources and tools at hand the more comfortable you will feel. 

 

The 3 Basic Methods To Use Essential Oils

Aromatically. Topically. Internally.

If at anytime: You dislike an oil, simply wash your hands with some dish soap and water. If you get any into your mouth, nose, or eyes do not apply water, instead apply a carrier oil. Or if you experience some discomfort, apply a carrier oil and hopefully the sensation will dissapate. In case of emergency, go to the ER. 

Aromatically:

Aromatically means to inhale an essential oil through the air. I enjoy this method the most. The benefits are incredibly benefitial no matter what method you choose. Some aromatic ways to use essential oils include:

Straight From The Bottle

Open any bottle of essential oil, and keep the bottle low around your chest whenever getting your first smell of a chosen oil. Gently take your hand and guide the smell up to your nose with a swiping motion of your hand from your chest to your nose (also known as wafting). Once you have had a pleasant experience with the chosen oil, you can then choose whether or not to bring the oil closer to your face and nose to get a better smell. Keep in mind that oils are strong.

Cupped Palms To Nose

Another way to aromatically smell the oils is to place a drop or two of carrier oil into the palm of your hand.

Carrier oils include:

• liquid coconut oil
• jojoba oil
• grapeseed oil
• almond oil
• v6 oil 

Any of these can be found at your local health store, healthy foods store, or Amazon. Except the v6 oil, which can only be purchased at YoungLiving.com.

Choose a beginner essential oil from your starter kit such as lavender, frankencense, or Stress Away. (Be aware that some oils are “hot” oils or spicy oils, like the peppermint family or spices like cinnamon. Citrus oils should only be applied topically at night because they can have a photosensitivity effect when exposed to the sun. See below.) Put a drop or two of your chosen oil on top of a carrier oil, place your other hand flat on top of the oil and rotate your top hand in a clockwise motion while your other hand stays still. You can now, with some distance between your face and your hands, cup your hands and bring them closer to your nose, and take in a few slow deep breathes to experience your chosen oil’s natural fragrance.

Enjoy. 

A Diffuser

Probably everyone’s favorite aromatic method is to use a diffuser. To use a diffuser, fill it with distilled water  up to the line. Then depending on your oil(s) of choice, dispense 3-6 drops of oil into the water, align the lid(s), and turn the diffuser on. (Young Living has some recipes on their Facebook page, and you can always find others on Google or pinterest. There are so many!)

You can learn more about diffusers and the diffuser collection on Young Living’s Website:
What Are My Diffuser Options? Or Take Young Living’s “Meet Your Match Questionnaire to Find Your Perfect Diffuser”. Or obtain a FREE DIFFUSER by Purchasing A Young Living Starter Kit. 

A few awesome examples of diffuser recipes are:

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Beginner Aromatic Questions 

How Many Drops Of Essential Oil Should I Put In The Diffuser?

The answer is based on your preference. This depends on the size of the room and how strong of a smell you want in the room that contains the diffuser. I personally do about 1-2 drops of oil per essential oil and I diffuse a few different types of essential oil at one time, resulting in 5-10 drops in the diffuser and many times even less.

Should I Take Breaks?

Your body knows when to take a break. Occasionally, I will feel that I put too much oil into the diffuser or that I left it on too long. My body tells me when I’ve had enough for the time being: I feel irritable, tired, or achy. Though this doesn’t happen often, you will know when it does. Simply turn it off and take a break in another room or open a window. 

How Can I Find Out The Effects Of An Oil?

Refer to your reference guide (the book or app), look it up on Youngliving.com, or type your question into a search engine. Refer to my previous post: The Basics and Safety Of Essential Oils For Beginners for my favorite reference guide apps and essential oil reference guide book. 

 

Topically

Essential Oils can be applied from your head to your feet. I suggest finding and learning how to use a vita flex chart. These charts tell you where to put the essential oil to benefit a specific area of the body. You will find vita flex charts for your spine, ears, feet, and hands. These are invaluable tools! Use your reference guide to research specific needs; you may find an oil that you have that will do the trick. The oils have many uses and many of the oils can be interchangeable.

If you do not own a reference guide, look it up: “Vita Flex Chart For ____ (spine, ears, feet, or hands).” It is important to only take information from sources you trust. 

“Neat vs Dilution”

According to the Young Living website, “Pure essential oils are far more powerful than the botanicals from which they are extracted.” (This means that one drop of pure essential oil is far more concentrated than the plant form they originated from.)  “Some oils are considered gentle and generally safe to apply directly to the skin, like Lavender and Copaiba. Other oils are considered ‘hot’ and should be diluted before they are applied to skin, like Cinnamon Bark and Oregano. This also goes for our line of Vitality™ oils.” Always refer to individual oil labels for dilution instructions.

You can also refer to your Life Science Reference Guide for which oils can be applied “neat” without a carrier oil and which oils need to be diluted with a carrier oil. 

Many find that they have no sensitivity to applying “Neat” oils without a carrier oil, however, If you are known to have sensitive skin you may need to dilute the “neat” oil anyway. Always dilute a “hot” oil and oils with labels which suggest diluting. 

In Case Of Sensitivity, Always Apply A Carrier Oil! DO NOT Rinse With Water. 

If you ever find that you have a reaction or sensitivity to an essential oil, do not use water to rinse it off. Simply take a carrier oil on hand (or any kind of cooking fat in an emergency) and rub it on the sensitive area, even for the eyes. NO WATER. Water pushes essential oils into the body faster. Carrier oils slow it down. 

Carrier oil, carrier oil, carrier oil. Always keep it on hand.

In case of emergency go to the ER. I am not a doctor and cannot help you with a reaction. 

 

Internally:

The Vitality Line of essential oils is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) to be internalized. Young Living has a separate line for internalization because there are many oils that should never be ingested. This is so no one gets confused about which oils are generally safe and which are on the never list.

However, for the purpose of not confusing what oil bottles are safe to ingest and what oil bottles are not, just use a vitality bottle for ingesting. There are safe and unsafe methods to internalize oils. Be sure to learn about how to ingest the oils directly from Young Living’s Website or your reference guide before taking action.

 

I am excited to announce that the vitality line of Young Living is officially verified as a part of the non-gmo project!

The advice I use for myself: Tiny, tiny amounts are best to start. Always follow your instincts. Always dilute.

Personally, I cannot ingest oils with water. Everyone has different sensitivities. I can personally, however, take them sublingually, as in under the tongue or with honey. Our bodies are all different and just because you cannot use one product, oil, or method does not mean that there not a substitution available. 

As a reminder: water speeds up a sensitity if one should occur.

Many people who use Young Living find great benefits from the internal use of Young Living’s vitality essential oils daily. However, if you are worrisome, you can always get phenomenal results simply aromatically or topically. Do what is comfortable for you.

Vitality Essential Oil Uses

There are multiple uses for the many oils in the VITALITY line:

• cooking
• baking
• flavoring water
• supplements
• sublingual
• flavored lip balm
• and more. 

Keep your eyes peeled for future vitality line recipes on NurturingHerRoots.com

Colored (non-internal essential oil) vs White (vitality line essential oil). 

Be advised, a colored bottle (non-internal oil) can sometimes also be found in a white bottle (the vitality line) and you may have some confusion. Let’s use lemon as an example. Lemon can be found as a yellow (colored) bottle AND in a white (vitality) bottle. Although the yellow (colored) lemon is not intended for ingestion, the lemon essential oil for both bottles (white and colored) is very much the exact same oil. This is so no one gets confused about which oils are generally safe and which are on the never list. 

Learn more about the Vitality Line at Young Living’s FAQ page on their website.

For more general safety tips read my the post, The Basics and Safety Of Essential Oils For Beginners.

 

Conclusion

You now know how to familiarize yourself to your essential oils, and how to use your essential oils aromatically, topically and internally. Which methods were most helpful to you? Do you have other questions? Feel free to pop in a comment or any questions below or sign up for my 101 class below as well! I am excited to hear from you!

You can now successfully and safely use your essential oils daily using The Beginner’s Guide To Using Essential Oils Properly. Good luck and have fun!! 

 

Happy Nurturing,
Amanda

 

Find more on Essential Oils from Nurturing Her Roots on the Essential Oil Index.

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Still Concerned About The Basics And Safety Of Essential Oils For Beginners?

Sign up for my 101 class. I will help you get more comfortable with using essential oils as a beginner in no time, answer your questions, and we’ll have a lot of fun! 

Watch this quick video intro and sign up for my 101 class today! 

Sign up for a Young Living 101 Class or a Young Living 101 zoom meeting. (Copy and Paste one of the above options and paste it into the email’s subject box).

 

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Nervous about signing up? We can do it together – email me – [email protected]

 

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