Using Essential Oils

Learning how to use Essential Oils is vitally important if we are going to really start taking responsibility for our health. Having a good working knowledge of aromatherapy oils will ultimately teach us how to prevent a lot of the nasty bugs and infections which do the rounds each winter.But, Essential Oils, as the name suggests, are very concentrated oils. If used undiluted, essential oils may harm the user in some instances… and so a basic knowledge of using aromatherapy oils is vital! It’s simple really :: we need to be somewhat knowledgeable when using essential oils if we want to avoid doing more harm than good.

It’s important to start with the ‘scary stuff’ because, all too often, I meet people who don’t take essential oils seriously enough. But, don’t be put off. Essential oils are incredibly safe as long as you use them respectfully, with a bit of knowledge… a lot of which is contained in this article.

So, hold onto your hat as we navigate the worst case scenarios!

An Introduction To Essential Oils

I refer to Tea Tree Essential Oil for athletes foot in the video below in the form of a cautionary tale … I explain how we can become hyper-sensitive to essential oils if we use the same essential oil consistently over a long period of time… My sound recording cut out momentarily, so it’s not clear I’m referring to the fact there’s a lot of advice on the internet which states we can use essential oils, like Tea Tree Essential Oil, undiluted… And, I explain that if we use Tea Tree Essential Oil like this for years we may be asking for trouble… Watch the video to find out more…

Undiluted Essential Oils

Undiluted essential oils can cause the following depending on which essential oil is being used:

• Organ Dysfunction
• Photosensitivity & Burns
• Toxicity
• Emotional Disturbance
• Skin Dryness

Photo-Toxic Essential Oils

*Wild As The Wind do not use citrus essential oils, aside from Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil, in our skincare range as they are photo-toxic. Photo-toxic essential oils can lead to severe burns.

You can read more about this in Essential Oil Phototoxicity. This article will teach you:

• how to recognise photo-toxicity
• what to expect
• what to do about photo-toxicity if you have it

Essential Oil Safety For Babies & Children

Because essential oil safety for the under 14’s is such an important issue, and because the recommended usage amounts of essential oils vary considerably within different age bands among the under 14’s, I have written a separate article dedicated to this subject.

But please read this article before clicking the link below, as it contains all of the basic principles applicable to essential oil usage which generally applies to children as well as adults.

Essential Oil Safety For Babies & Children

Related articles:

• Anti-Viral Essential Oils
• Antibacterial Essential Oils
• Essential Oils In Brief
• Essential Oils For Anxiety & Depression
• Essential Oils For Hormone Health
• Essential Oils For Weight Loss

In This Article:

• Using Essential Oils
• How To Use Essential Oils
• Diffusing Essential Oils
• Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils
• Diluting Essential Oils
• Best Carrier Oil For Diluting Essential Oils
• Essential Oil Usage Rules Of Thumb
• Massage Oil
• Face Oil
• Ointments & Salves
• Internal Consumption Of Essential Oils
• Best Quality Essential Oils UK
• Essential Oils To Avoid During Pregnancy
• General Essential Oils To Be Avoided During Pregnancy
• What Type Of Essential Oils To Avoid When Pregnant
• Common Emmenagogue Essential Oils
• Abortifacient Essential Oils
• Wild As The Wind Supply Essential Oils
• Create Your Essential Oil First Aid Kit
• Diluting Essential Oils

Wild As The Wind Essential Oil Testimonials

What Is The Difference between Aromatherapy Essential Oils & Essential Oils?

The answer to this question couldn’t be simpler :: There is no difference between aromatherapy oils and essential oils. Aromatherapy oils are essential oils.

Essential oils are also known as aromatherapy oils because of the practice of Aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy practitioners are trained in the medicinal and curative benefits of aromatherapy oils and some are also trained to give aromatherapy massages. There are different levels of qualification in aromatherapy, with the most involved qualification taking up to four years to complete, which provides qualified aromatherapists with their practitioner license.

So, aromatherapy oils are essential oils. But, even if an aromatherapy oil is stated on the label this does not mean it is of therapeutic benefit… just as much as the term essential oil, or therapeutic essential oil does not determine the quality of an aromatherapy oil either… But more on this later…

How To Use Essential Oils

Using essential oils for the prevention of illness as well as for helping to recover from illness is going to become a lot more common in the coming years. It is therefore vital we all learn how to use essential oils correctly.

Sadly, I meet many people who are using essential oils incorrectly. Hopefully this article will help educate more people to use essential oils in an appriate and healing way.

It is safe to use all essential oils alongside each other unless you personally have a condition for which a particular essential oil is contraindicated. It is important for you to check first.

Diffusing Essential Oils

Essential oils are only ever used in their pure form in essential oil diffusers and essential oil burners. In fact, you will damage your essential oil diffusers and burners if you use anything other than pure, therapeutic grade essential oils.So, using blended oils which are intended for topical use on our face and body cannot be used in a diffuser. This is because any blended oil containing carrier oils, aka base oils, are not suitable for use in a diffuser.

Adulterated essential oils and fragrance oils, will damage your essential oil diffusers and essential oil burners as well. Plus, they will also damage you, whether diffused or not!Fragrance oils are the worst kind of adulterated oils. They are the most toxic to the user out of all contaminated essential oils and synthetically engineered essential oils.

Toxic fragrance oils and adulterated essential oils will clog up essential oil diffusers and they will leave a nasty residue on essential oil burners, which will build up over time and prevent your essential oil burner from working effectively.

But a couple of drops of pure, therapeutic grade essential oils with a little water in your essential oil diffusers and essential oil burners will soon fill your home with the most satisfying, calming or invigorating, healing aromas, (depending on the essential oil used)..

Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils

Wild As The Wind Essential Oils are pure, therapeutic grade aromatherapy oils… so, you know you can trust the essential oils you source from us.

Diluting Essential Oils

Aside from the dangerous side effects of using undiluted essential oils, the reality is that all we need is a 1-5% essential oil dilution to achieve the health giving benefits of any essential oil.

Essential oils are expensive. The making of essential oils requires an awful lot of plant matter, and so there’s an environmental cost to making the oils as well as a human cost. Why would we want to waste our money as well as cause negative environmental consequences by using too much essential oil even if it were safe to do so?

It is always sensible to follow the instructions on the bottle of essential oil you are using as directions can vary from one essential oil to another.

For example, it is only safe to use Rose Otto Essentil Oil in very small dilutions, but other essential oils, like Frankincense Essential Oil are much safer to use in higher dosages.

Essential Oil Usage Rules Of Thumb

However, these rules of thumb are useful guidelines for essential oil users.

1 ml of essential oil = 20 drops of essential oil

The absolute maximum dilution of essential oils to base oil, which is considered safe, is a dilution of 7%

The following measurements are based on the teachings of Jen O’Sullivan, who always makes it clear the measurements are not treatment advice, and are simply a statement of safe usage of essential oils.

The use of 12 drops or less of essential oils per day is considered generally safe.

Up to 40 or 50 drops of essential oil can be used acutely for one or two days without adverse effects, but then must be stopped.

One drop is usually considered a single serving of essential oils.

What works for one person may not work for another so it’s important to experiment within the bounds of safety, as above.

Read the label to see what the advice is re servings for internal use, if available.

Massage Oil

When blending an oil for use on your body you should aim for a 1% dilution or less. This means the solution should be no more than 1% essential oil to 99% carrier oil or base oil.

Face Oil

When blending an oil for the exclusive use on your face you should aim for a 2% dilution or less.

Ointments & Salves

When treating an infected wound or scarring, or you are looking to exert a very potent healing effect on a small area of skin you can mix an oil blend containing up to 5% essential oil content.

No oil blend should exceed a 7% dilution, meaning no more than a 7% essential oil concentration.

Ingesting Essential Oils

It is perfectly safe to ingest certain essential oils, but it is strongly advised that you do not attempt to ingest the many oils for which internal consumption is not advised. 

In addition, some essential oils must be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

It is crucial to have a good working knowledge of an essential oil before attempting to take any oils internally.

You can begin your learning journey by reading this article :: Essential Oils For Internal Consumption

Allergies To Essential Oils

Many people profess to being allergic to essential oils who are actually only allergic to synthetic fragrance oils. But, because the toxicity levels achieved from being exposed to excessive amounts of synthetic fragrances, via toxic perfume ingredients and toxic hormone disrupting conventional skincare ingredients, often cause extreme reactions, there’s quite a few people out there who are running scared of essential oils as well as everything else.

Sadly, this is undeserved, and is simply a case of people lumping everything which is aromatic into the same category. But, this makes about as much sense as people putting fresh organic fruit in the same category as decorative plastic fruit made from a bunch of petrochemicals and colorants, and never intended for consumption, all because they are all “FRUIT”.

People are allergic to synthetic substances, and don’t tend to have a reaction to plant based products unless they are inherently poisonous, or unless they are exposed to severe toxic levels.

However, the exception to the rule is the stress factor! Essential oils do not mix well with high Cortisol levels. And, whilst there’s a few essential oils which reduce Cortisol levels, if Cortisol levels are excessive an adverse reaction may occur.

Of course, some people are genuinely allergic to a single essential oil, usually due to over-exposure… or a few essential oils if they are really unlucky… but, it’s a whole lot rarer than some people think.

Best Carrier Oil For Diluting Essential Oils

There is no good reason not to dilute oils. But there are very definite benefits to using a carrier oil. Some carrier oils are deeply healing and nutritious and can support the action of the essential oils being used.

At Wild As The Wind we produce hand blended facial oils with a minimum of eight essential oils, and usually with five or six carrier oils.

For example, our ultimate anti-aging FACIAL OIL No. 2 has six base and eight essential oils and our dermatological defence facial oil, FACIAL OIL No. 8, has six base oils and ten essential oils, making it ideal for supporting and improving the condition of all forms of problematic skin.

Essential Oils To Avoid During Pregnancy

It is generally advised that essential oil use should be very limited or avoided during the first trimester of a pregnancy, mainly owing to the higher risk of miscarriage within the first three months of pregnancy. However, it is usually a deficiency in Progesterone that induces this unfortunate outcome.

Unlike men, women use Progesterone to make the stress hormone Cortisol, so it is important to avoid stress during pregnancy.

Moderate use of heavily diluted essential oils, that are not on the lists of oils that should be avoided during pregnancy, should be fine.

General Essential Oils To Be Avoided During Pregnancy

This list is comprised of essential oils that may cause issues for a foetus or embryo, or that have been insufficiently studied to know whether they are safe during pregnancy or not.

This list is NOT exhaustive

• Basil Essential Oil
• Cedarwood Atlas Essential Oil
• Cedarwood Virginia Essential Oil
• Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
• Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
• Clove Bud Essential Oil
• Clove Leaf Essential Oil
• Cypress Essential Oil
• Hyssop Essential Oil
• Lemongrass Essential Oil
• Oregano Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Thyme Red Essential Oil

What Type Of Essential Oils To Avoid When Pregnant

Certain essential oils are emmenagogic, (stimulate blood flow in the pelvic region) and abortificent, which, as the term implies, can cause a miscarriage, or termination of a pregnancy.

Common Emmenagogue Essential Oils

• Angelica Essential Oil
• Organic Chamomile (Roman) Essential Oil
• Organic Chamomile (German) Essential Oil
• Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
• Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
• Clary Sage Essential Oil
• Fennel Sweet Essential Oil
• Ginger Essential Oil
• Jasmine Essential Oil
• Juniper Essential Oil
• Laurel Leaf Essential Oil
• Marjoram Wild Essential Oil
• Myrrh Essential Oil
• Nutmeg Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Organic Rose Otto Essential Oil
• Rosemary Essential Oil
• Star Anise Essential Oil
• Thyme Red Essential Oil
• Vanilla Essential Oil

Abortifacient Essential Oils

KEY:

* toxic

** high in apiol and toxic

*** convulsant

**** carcinogenic

***** neurotoxin

• Mugwort Essential Oil*
• Parsley Seed Essential Oil**
• Pennyroyal Essential Oil*
• Rue Essential Oil*
• Sage Essential Oil***
• Sassafras Essential Oil* ****
• Savin Essential Oil*
• Thuja Essential Oil* *****
• Tansy Essential Oil* *****
• Wormwood Essential Oil* *** *****

Robert Tisserand, who co-wrote what is considered to be the ‘Bible’ of essential oil safety, has written online about which essential oils he believes should really be avoided during pregnancy… They are as follows:

I would recommend avoiding these: anise, birch, carrot seed, cassia, cinnamon bark, fennel, hyssop, myrrh, oregano, pennyroyal, Dalmatian sage and wintergreen.

Read more: FACIAL OIL & Pregnancy

Best Quality Essential Oils UK

Wild As The Wind Essential Oil are sold individually so everyone can experiment with their own recipes for healing their skin conditions and other issues. We passionately support, and strongly advocate, people improving their personal knowledge of complimentary healing methods, especially essential oils.

A good understanding of the amazing healing abilities of essential oils is one of the most important steps we can take in an effort to truly take responsibility for our health.The Wild As The Wind Essential Oil collection is one of the most diverse in the UK and Europe. At the time of publication there are over 130 Wild As The Wind Essential Oils to choose from.Plus, even though our essential oils are bottled and labelled by hand, Wild As The Wind Essential Oils are more affordable than all of the big UK aromatherapy oil businesses who sell genuine aromatherapy oils.

Buy The Best Essential Oils

If you see UK aromatherapy oils for sale at prices below those of Wild As The Wind online, then we advise you to proceed with extreme caution.

If the UK essential oils are being sold at much lower prices then we advise you refresh your browser and mount another search.

If you find UK aromatherapy oils at much cheaper prices in a health food shop or supermarket, then run like the clappers!

Unfortunately, these outlets lack the specialist knowledge required to discern the difference between a good essential oil and a bad one. Plus, they are unlikely to know about and ask for all of the associated paperwork, which certifies essential oil quality…

Buying from a specialist business which doesn’t sell anything else will pretty much ensure the business in question knows their essential oils. However, some businesses, even UK essential oil companies, will knowingly adulterated their essential oils to increase profits at the expense of our health.Beware much cheaper essential oils, and check these business out to see if they stack up.Find more advice on buying UK Essential Oils here:

Essential Oils UK

Organic Essential Oils UK

Best UK Essential Oils

Buy Essential Oils

Wild As The Wind Stake Our Reputation On Our Essential Oils

If a business exclusively sells essential oil based products, then it will be very easy to investigate whether the aromatherapy oils on offer are pure, therapeutic grade essential oils. Customer testimonial will reveal an awful lot about a business like this.

Wild As The Wind feedback is exceptional.

Even though Wild As The Wind sell handmade skincare products we are keen to encourage customers to purchase the individual ingredients to help people in their personal exploration of the healing benefits of essential oils.We also publish a lot of free information to provide people with all of the insights needed to experiment accurately and with confidence.

We hope you are one of the people we inspire to take their personal health into their own hands and begin a healing journey that is rich and enlightening.

Create Your Essential Oil First Aid Kit

One of the best ways of starting your essential oil collection is by starting to acquire the ‘big six’ oils we recommend everybody has in their essential oil first aid kit.

These oils are incredibly versatile and between the six of them they are capable of treating almost all common ailments and issues caused by the average type of accident in the home.