4 Simple and Safe Ways You Can Use Essential Oils

Does aromatherapy seem a little... daunting to you? It did to me before I began studying to become an aromatherapist.

Sure, I knew lavender oil was supposed to be relaxing and eucalyptus good for clearing your airways when you're all bunged up with a cold... but that was about it!

Now, I will begin by saying essential oils are strong. Don't be fooled by the fact that they are 100% natural! They need to be used with caution so here are 4 simple and safe ways to use essential oils as a beginner:

#1 In a diffuser

Okay, so when I first qualified as an aromatherapist, diffusers were hard to come by and much more pricey. Oil burners seemed more readily available at the time, but these are more of a faff and less safe as they use tea-light candles.

Nowadays, you can easily pick a plug in diffuser up from Amazon or your local homeware store for around £20 and it's likely to be of fairly decent quality.

Diffusers are so easy to use, just fill to the line with water, pop in a few drops of your choice of essential oil and switch on. The gentle mist will begin to fill your room with the scent of the oil.

Lots of diffusers come with relaxing lights now too, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere!

#2 On your skin

A really important rule to remember if you are new to essential oils is not to apply them directly to your skin. As I mentioned above, essential oils are strong, this means they can sometimes cause irritation when applied directly to skin. Although there are some oils that are fine to use directly, lots of them do need diluting so it's better to err on the side of caution!

Instead, dilute your oil of choice in a carrier or base oil such as almond, grapeseed or even olive oil or melted coconut oil of that's what you happen to have in the kitchen. You just need 1-3 drops of essential oil to 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.

When you've blended the essential oil with your carrier oil, you can gently massage the oil into your skin. You could just pop a dab on your wrists and neck or you could rub some into your chest or on the bottom of your feet.

#3 In your bath

Essential oils are great for creating a relaxing atmosphere and they can really boost your bathing experience!

Pop some essential oils into some milk or mix with some bath salts (such as epsom) and add to your bath when it's run. You'll get the benefits of the oils by absorption through your skin and the the steam of the hot water will infuse the air with the aroma for you to inhale. It's such a simple yet fruitful addition to any bath!

You can tailor your bath to your needs for example, you could choose relaxing oils to help you get to sleep or perhaps you could select some oils that will help with achey muscles after a day of running errands and chasing the children!

#4 Around your house

Yep, essential oils can also used to replace synthetic nasties around your home.

There are several ways to do this but one of the easiest is to grab a cotton wool ball, dab a few drops of essential oil on and pop it somewhere in your house. This could be in your underwear drawer, in a cupboard or in the downstairs loo.

You could also try putting some in your vacuum cleaner to leave a fresh scent trailing behind you (this can be especially good if you have pets!).

So there we have it, 4 simple and safe ways you can begin to use essential oils and not at all scary! Are you new to aromatherapy but ready to jump in? Let us know how you get on in the comments below!