Recipes for blending essential oils can be found in books, online and through essential oil classes taught through local herb and natural foods stores. Experts in the area of essential oils like Robert Tisserand and Marcel Lavabre are great resources for simple recipes, and the chemistry and history of essential oils. When exploring the topic of essential oils and creating those first recipes, some simple strategies can help keep the process in order and running smoothly.
Know Ingredients
An essential oil blending recipe may list three or more oils and include a carrier or base oil. Although the names of the oils may invoke a particular memory or associated smell, some oils may not bring to mind a particular odor. Nutmeg, birch, caraway and coriander are good examples. Before wasting money on the purchase of the essential oils, find out what they smell like first. Locate oils by visiting stores selling quality oils---herb stores, natural products stores. Most stores will provide testing sticks for a clean, realistic sample of the oils. Apply a drop of each oil required in the recipe on the sample sample stick and take the sample stick home. Live with it a day or two before deciding to create the recipe.
Date Ingredients
When purchasing materials for essential oil recipes, make sure to mark the date in a permanent marker on the bottles. If there is no room to write a date, use small white stickers, write the date in ball-point ink and then apply the sticker to the bottom, top or side of the bottle. Date the , too. Carrier oils can become rancid after about six months (they do not have preservatives in them) and should not be used once they develop a rancid odor. The rancid odor will interfere with the essential oil fragrance. Recipes should be used and not sit on a shelf. Mix only what is needed at the time.
Identify A Need
Understand what is needed before jumping into the mixing process. Create according to need---something for a headache, a gift of fragrance for a friend, a scalp treatment. Record the recipes by making dated notebook entries and then listing the uses for the recipe, its ingredients---including carrier oils used, and the results. Create a spreadsheet document on the computer and keep recipe notes there. The next time someone needs a headache remedy, search the list and find the one that returned the best results.
Tags: essential oils, carrier oils, rancid odor, sample stick, , what needed, write date