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.Â
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: Â 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:
#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.
Susan Klatt says
Absolutely love all the wonderful tips, ideas, and recipes!
Beth K says
Thanks for such a kind comment, Susan! 🙂
Anna Hennelly says
Hello, you mentioned using distilled water in the diffuser. Is that a must?
Jenn says
You will want to use distilled water if there’s any doubt about what’s in your tap water and/or if you are going to be making a recipe to store for awhile.
Steph says
The cap on the oil bottle removes the plastic orifice. You don’t need any tool to do that.
Paula Derflinger says
Great tips! Sharing the love!
Sherry McNIcholls says
Thank you for all these great tips! I joined Young Living almost 2 years ago but only now am I really getting into using my oils daily. Up until now I added them to cleaning spray and made my own bug repellent. I have quite a selection of oils but am not totally sure what to do with each of them so I love these types of blogs! Thanks again!
Deborah says
Hate it when one limits things to just women or men. Include men in this essential oils area of interest please.
Jenn says
Hi, Deborah – I’m sorry you haven’t found what you are looking for yet. We do have a number of recipes specifically formulated for men. You can find them here alphabetically under “men”: https://www.recipeswithessentialoils.com/recipes/
Please note that the majority of our readers (as in 98% on our last stat check) are women. So the majority of our recipes are going to be geared towards women, however our own husbands use many of these recipes. And, none of the diffuser recipes or household cleaning recipes are gender specific. Have a great day!
Ann says
Where is the tip on removing a roller ball?
Beth K says
You can find our roller ball removal tips here–> ! 🙂
Carly says
There are a few circumstances where you can mix blended oils. Like Valor, Panaway, and Peppermint for a pain cream.
Val says
Does diluted Thieves cleaner have to be stored in a glass bottle?
Lucille says
So glad I found you. I am a senior. I have started buying oils and most of them I haven’t opened there is SO MUCH to read about them and it is confusing for my old mind. All I have used is Lavender I am trying easy air as I cannot smell anything. Will hopefully learn more from you
Beth K says
We’re glad to have you joining us. We can all learn and grow together!
Helen says
Why does the scent go away before the water runs out. Mine is real strong when I first put them in. But about halfway through can’t smell them anymore.
Diana M says
How many drops of oil are you using? I find that about 5-6 drops is perfect. It depends on the size of the room and the size of the diffuser.
Leslie says
Also, the oil doesn’t “seem” as strong once you have been smelling it for a couple of hours. When someone new came into the house they could smell it right away.
Sheryk says
I also have the same problem. Even if I put 7 or 8 drops of oil in my diffusers the last couple of hours I can’t smell the oil. Even if I put my nose right up to where the most comes out.
CJ says
Try putting the oil(s) in first and then fill up with distilled water.
Janette says
Can I combine stress away, frankincense, lavender and copaiba? Is for stress relief
Diana M says
Hi Janette! Yes, all of those oils would be perfect for stress. Stress Away already contains lavender and copaiba, so maybe try it on its own rather than blending it. I really like copaiba and lavender together, and I do add frankincense from time to time.
Theresa says
Thank you for these great tips. It seems undaunting at first when just starting out.
Susan says
I love the tips!! I started with oils 6 months ago so I’m still exploring all the things you can do with oils! 🙂
Marilyn says
I use a diffuser, what oils are good for dogs. I have heard some are toxic to them.
Erika says
Though I don’t agree with every point made, this is still a nice list. There is some really good information and valid opinion here. I would add the thing I wish I had known when I started out years ago, there are viable therapeutic and aroma substitutes for every oil. I’ve compiled a pretty thorough though not exhaustive list over the years and I wish I had known way back then instead of stressing over every particular oil.
Tina F says
I really love your posts and have gained tons of information. I’ve been into oils (YL) since 8/2014. I will be digging into all the topics you posted in here to share with those I have introduced oils to. Thank you