15 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Using Essential Oils

There are many tips we’ve learned over the years from using our essential oils. Some from firsthand experience while others were learned from research and talking to more experienced oilers. But, it all comes down to the same thing…we want YOU to know these essential oil tips as well.

So whether you are an experienced oily person or brand new to the world of oils, here are 15 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Using Essential Oils. 

Essential Oil Tips & Tricks

#1. Don’t Combine Blends with Blends

This one is not really a big deal. It’s not dangerous or anything, it’s a good tip when you’re just starting out and experimenting.

It’s really best to only mix blended oils (essential oils that are already blended together with other oils) by themselves or mixed with only a single essential oil. That sounded a little confusing. I think an example will help.

You might be tempted to mix Valor essential oil with Peace and Calming. But that would be two blends mixed together. So in our 11 Relaxing Diffuser Blends we chose to mix Valor, a blended oil, with Palo Santo, a single-source oil.

You can find other great diffusing tips in our free starter guide for diffusing.

One reason to avoid combining a blend with another blend is that each blend was created and developed with very specific care to the top, middle and base notes of each oil as well as the frequency of each oil. By combining blends together, you can disrupt the frequency and the overall aroma. In short, keep it simple while you are experimenting with different combinations.

#2. Should I Dilute All My Topical Oils? In Short…YES!

I hear you. You don’t HAVE TO dilute every single oil you apply to your skin. Lavender essential oil is pretty gentle, right?

Yes, of course it is. I’m definitely not saying it would be dangerous to apply lots of different essential oils neat (aka without a carrier to dilute them).

I’m simply advocating that using a carrier oil with your topical applications keeps the oils from evaporating into the air as quickly. I use a carrier oil to keep the essential oils on my skin longer which keeps them from being wasted. Every drop counts, right?

An added benefit is that quality carrier oils can actually benefit you in more ways by nourishing your skin and beautifying at the same time. We use coconut oil for everyday large areas and I love jojoba oil on my face (great for oily or sensitive skin!). Check out all of our carrier oil tips here.

Bonus Tip: You can also use warm, damp cloths applied over a diluted essential oil to help it penetrate the skin for deep relief. The heat helps drive in the oils. This is a perfect way to make our (already diluted) muscle rub cream and muscle relief massage oil even more effective after a hard workout.

#3. It’s Fun to Introduce Kids to Essential Oils

I’ve had a great time working with my kids in finding out which oils they love. Yes, it’s fun!

They might have been cautious at first, but now my kids ask for their oils by name. You can find out more about introducing children to essential oils in our ebook – Essential Oil Ebook for Toddlers to Teens. It’s full of safety tips and easy recipes you’ll love to try. It’s also okay if your kids don’t fall in love with essential oils just because you did. Sometimes the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Let them try a variety of different ones at different times to find their own combinations that appeal to them.

#4. You Don’t Have to Love Every. Single. Oil.

I felt really confused about oils at first. I’d hear people talking about the oils they loved the most and then I’d order that. It made sense. My dear friend loves this oil…Surely, I’ll love it, too.

Then when the box arrived and I opened the bottle I actually couldn’t close the bottle fast enough. What was wrong with me? Am I wrong or is my friend off her rocker?

Well, neither is true. My friend likes what she likes and her body responds in a certain way to oils. My body is different. I have different natural responses to oils and that’s completely okay. It’s good actually. This helped me see that we’re all different and while I might love something and it really helps my family support our wellness, another family has a completely different group of oils they depend on.

It’s good to experiment and be open minded. But don’t think there’s something wrong with you just because the oil everyone raves about makes you turn up your nose.

(I gifted my friend the open bottle of her favorite oil. She didn’t care that it was opened and I was sure glad that it made her happy.)

Bonus Tip: Sometimes a particular essential oil won’t appeal to you on one day and then seriously please you another day. That’s okay, too! Our bodies can tell us a lot about what we need when it comes to essential oils, so don’t be afraid to listen. Don’t give up on an oil after trying it once. Give it time.

#5. All Your Oils (and homemade recipes) Don’t Have to Be Stored in Dark Glass Containers

Many people think that you must store all essential oils and recipes using essential oils in glass containers with no plastic elements. That’s simply not the case. Sure, pure undiluted citrus oils need to be stored in only glass, but that’s not the case for recipes using citrus oils such as our simple household cleaner recipe. It uses citrus oils and is perfectly fine to be stored in glass or plastic.And, keep in mind that there may be plastic components in your glass bottle even. And those might degrade over long, long periods of time. But it’s not likely that you’ll even notice. I’ve used the same dark glass spray bottles with plastic tubing inside for over three years with no issue.

The colored part of the equation is actually a little more important. You’ll want to store your oils in the dark. Dark locations or dark colored containers protect your oils from UV damage that degrades their effectiveness. I know you paid a pretty penny for your quality essential oils so you should protect them by storing them in dark containers (or always storing them in a dark place).

There are a few more things to consider when storing your essential oils:  Get our best storage and organization details and safety tips here.

#6. Don’t Throw Out Your Old Bottles

If you’re like me, then you go through your starter kit oils pretty quickly. Did you throw those away?

Well, don’t do that anymore if you did. You can wash and reuse them and it’s actually pretty simple.

Find out 7 ways to we reuse our empty essential oil bottles here. And be sure to let us know how you reuse your empty bottles. We’d love to share your tips. My favorite tip is this one:

Before washing the empty essential oil bottle, add a little bit of distilled water (or water appropriate for your diffuser) to the empty EO bottle, and then pour it into your diffuser. This is a great way to get the last little bits of the precious oils out and still be able to get some aroma benefits from them! Use 2 or 3 different bottles to create a great EO combo. We’ve got a number of amazing Diffuser Blend Recipes here!

#7. What Oils to Buy After You Fall in Love with Your Starter Kit

There are so many oils to choose from and we started exactly where you did. What in the world do I order next? How do I decide?

These two posts will help you decide your next oily steps:

• 10 Must-Have Essential Oils
• 10 Unique Essential Oils To Try This Year (aka what to buy after the PSK)

#8. It’s Easy to Replace Extracts in your Food

After I wrapped my head around how to safely ingest essential oils, I moved on to adding flavor to my life.

Follow these tips to replace your extracts with pure essential oils for great flavor and then try some of our favorite essential oils for baking. (Hungry yet?)

Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze, anyone? I’m just going to put this right here…

#9. There are So Many Places in your Life to Use Oils

I began my oily journey using essential oils for beauty. That was my main goal and I rocked it. (If you’d like a huge collection of recipes to jumpstart your beauty overhaul then check out our Healthy Hair and Skin Care eBook!)

Then my eyes began to be opened to all the ways essential oils can affect my everyday life. It’s really pretty amazing.

Now I use essential oils to:

• maintain wellness
• clean my house
• enhance my natural beauty (vavaVOOM!)
• support a healthy weight
• keep my emotions in check
• and so much more!

They’re in every room of my house:

• laundry
• bedroom
• kitchen
• bathroom
• and even in my closet and car!

#10. Safety Tip – Don’t start using oils before you know these Safety Tips

Whatever you do, keep carrier oils on hand wherever you use oils. This is because it’s imperative that you NEVER use water to dilute essential oils. If you spill some or use too much essential oil on your skin, always dilute with carrier oils to resolve the issue. Water will only make your problem worse.

Jenn here: I use Tea Tree essential oil on my face every night before bed, and one night I was apparently too tired to pay attention when I was getting ready for bed. I did my normal routine: washed my face, brushed my teeth, added my tea tree (diluted) to my face and rubbed it in.

Within 30 seconds, I realized something was wrong. My face started feeling hot and irritated. I looked around my bathroom counter and sure enough, I found the culprit. Instead of using Tea Tree, I used Thieves essential oil. Um, yeah. That wasn’t pleasant.

So I pretty much doused my face with carrier oil and waited for everything to settle down before rewashing my face and applying the right oil. The carrier oil anointing on my face very quickly took the sting away. Water would have driven in the oils further causing more panic. Keep your carrier oils handy. 🙂

Of course, it’s highly recommended to avoid contacting sensitive areas such as eyes, ears, genitals, and mucous membranes with essential oils. If you do choose to be a rebel and apply essential oils to these areas, then HIGH dilution is required. Not 1:1. But more like 10:1 (10 drops of a carrier to 1 drop of essential oil). But we are not responsible for anything that happens. Be careful out there, friends.

#11. Do Not Just Add Essential Oils to the Bath

This one seems simple, but hear me out. You can’t just drop some essential oils into your bath and think you’re going to have a spa experience. Your oil will float on top of the water and could possibly splash into your eye, and nobody wants that (see above).

The best way to use essential oils in your bath is to combine them with Epsom salt so the oils are dispersed and you get the added benefit of the soothing minerals in the salts. Try our sore muscle soak or add milk (another emulsifier) instead of Epsom salt to a lavender bath for a start.

#12. Thousands of Ways to Use Oils

Not only can oils be used in every room they can each be used in multiple ways. Shocking, right?!

• Tea Tree essential oil isn’t just for clean skin. It’s great for clean kitchens, spotless dishes, and sparkling showers, too!

• Applying Geranium essential oil can lift your mood as well as beautify your gorgeous complexion.
• I put Peppermint essential oil in my foot scrub and my mouthwash.
• Frankincense essential oil is wonderful for soothing your mind from daily stresses and your skin from minor owies.

I could go on and on with examples. Every essential oil can be used in multiple ways. Research and have fun!

So get to know your oils and explore their uses whether they be topical, aromatic, or internal.

Follow our Getting to Know Your Essential Oils series to learn more.

#13. Easy Ways to Wear Your Favorite Oil Every Day

Do you have a favorite oil that you wear often? We know a quick and super easy way to make your favorite oil last longer and always be ready:

Add a roller fitment to it so you can apply it quickly and easily.

This post will tell you all about using those awesome roller fitments from Young Living and we even have a few more tips that you might not have considered.

Oh, and go ahead and grab one of these super handy tools. They’re amazing for removing the orifice reducer (that pesky plastic piece that tries to break my nail every. single. time.)

#14. Normal People Use Essential Oils

Compared to my friends, I’m quite the crunchy hippy type. Yet there are many more people much more off-the-grid than me. And the funny thing is that all over the spectrum, new users, old users, young, and experienced…there is such a wide range of people who all enjoy enriching their lives with essential oils.

I didn’t know that so many people loved oils like I did. It’s comforting in a way to meet other people (even if just through my computer) and learn together and even share tips on how oils have impacted our lives.

We meet a lot of people on our Facebook page and we’d love for you to join us there and learn along.

You can like us here on Facebook to keep in touch and follow along.

It’s also a great place to see all of our educational videos where share our favorite tips and tricks.

#15. People in My Town are Interested in Oils

Women in metropolitan areas, suburbs, and even in the mountains love essential oils. It’s something we can all share in common despite our distance apart. And Young Living makes it easy for us all to have access to our favorites.

An easy way to find more people in your area that are interested in learning about essential oils is to host a Make and Take Party. Get to know each other. Make a few recipes. Just sharing each other’s knowledge and experience is such an invaluable way to connect with oils and even make a few friends along the way. We’ve put together Make and Take packs to help make throwing a party easier.

You can check out all of our Make and Take recipe packs here along with our ebook and several free resources.

Share These Tips

We hope that you’ll spread the love and tell others about these great tips. Pin it, share it on Facebook, bring up these tips at your next oily event, and then come back and tell us what you think. We’d love to hear the tips you’ve gathered so we can all share and educate ourselves more about the wonderful world of essential oils.

There’s so much to explore, learn, and know about essential oils, and we’re so thrilled to be on this journey with you.

If you are coming from Facebook, then thank you for watching our Facebook live video! If you haven’t seen our video yet, then click HERE to view it.