Essential Oils - The Basics

Rate this item
(1 Vote)
Essential Oils blending Essential Oils blending

Here’s the first blog from our in-house Aromatherapist Eugèny Couture. Eugèny will be using her experience to provide blends, tips and recipes as well as keeping you up to date with the latest developments from the wonderful world of Aromatherapy. 

 

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. As the in-house Aromatherapist here at Amphora I’ll be keeping you up to date with all the latest developments from the Aromatherapy scene. I’ll also be offering some tips, advice and blends covering every aspect of Aromatherapy.

Before all of that I thought it would be a good idea to start with some basics. Read on to find out more about creating your own blends using pure essential oils.  

When you begin to create your own blends it can often seem very complicated. The aim is to find a synergy of oils which is both efficient AND smells nice! Here are few tips which could help in the process – especially when you’re first starting to create your own blends:

  • I would suggest that you don’t use more than 3 different oils per blend to begin with. “Less is more” is a very apt phrase in Aromatherapy and if you use only 3 oils to start with it’s a lot easier to keep the blend balanced and smelling good.
  • Oils extracted from plants of the same botanical family usually go well together. For example, Lavender, Peppermint, Marjoram, Clary Sage & Rosemary are from the Lamiaceae family. It’s a good idea to put at least 2 oils from the same family in your blends. You can find more about the various plant families that the oils belong to on our Essential Oil pages. 

Essential oils can be categorized in 3 olfactory groups: 

High Notes - usually light, fresh and uplifting. Citrus oils often fall into this category.

Middle Notes – green and warm, often the herbaceous oils have this aroma note (Lavender, Sage etc).

Base Notes – heavy, deep & intense like those created from barks and resins. (Sandalwood or Frankincense for example).

If you’re using 3 oils, try to associate an oil of each of these families. Base notes are very deep and their fragrance will be smelt the longest so you want to put less drops of them in your blend than your top notes which are very light and volatile.

You can easily find tables classifying the oils on internet, but here are few common examples to give you an idea (not every source agrees on these classifications so you may find different versions of it during your research. This list is based on my years of experience of using these oils as well as my research).

BASE:

Benzoin

Frankincense

Ginger

Jasmin

Neroli

Rose

Sandalwood

Ylang Ylang

MIDDLE:

Chamomile

Clary Sage

Cypress

Geranium

Juniperberry

Lavender

Marjoram

Peppermint

Black Pepper

Rosemary

Tea Tree

TOP:

Bergamot

Eucalyptus

Lemon

Mandarin

Orange

Petitgrain 

If you keep these tips in mind you’ll be ready to hear the most important bit of advice I can give: nothing will ever replace your own judgment! 

These are only guidelines to help you, not ultimate rules. You may find you’ve followed none of them but have created the best smelling blend ever. On the other hand, you may stick to this advice and end up with a blend you’re not so fond of! Most importantly of all, trust your own judgment when it comes to aromas. That is the best guide you could ever follow.

 

 

 

 

Read 8878 times Last modified on Wednesday, 17 December 2014 15:27

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.


Disclaimer:

Please note that Amphora Aromatics Ltd cannot be held responsible for any injury, illness or adverse reaction to any recipes, instructions or advice given. It is the responsibility of the end user to ensure that they have followed the relevant safety protocols and that they are aware of any possible side effects before use. We always advise that a skin patch test is carried out before full usage of any natural product whether purchased from ourselves or elsewhere.

If you are making a water based formulation for yourself or to sell then it’s very important that extremely high levels of hygiene are adhered to. Please also be aware that water based products will require some sort of preservative to ensure that they don’t spoil too rapidly. Once water has been included in a formulation bacteria can quickly form and spoil the finished product if preservatives are not used.

Some essential oils can be particularly hazardous for pregnant women. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant then please ensure that you have carefully checked that the essential oil(s) you plan to use are suitable. We recommend that essential oils are avoided altogether during the first trimester of pregnancy. Products should be stored out of reach of children. If you’re planning to use essential oils during pregnancy or with babies or children then you should consult with a professional Aromatherapist first.

Some essential oils are flammable and can be hazardous to the environment. Please ensure they are correctly stored and are disposed of responsibly. We recommend that essential oils are never taken internally and that they should not be applied to the skin around the eyes and mouth.

Any information provided by us, whether online, verbal, via email or letter is not intended as medical instruction or advice. Please seek professional medical advice if you have any concerns about or problems with your health.