How To Safely Dilute Essential Oils Using Carrier Oil
Aromatherapy can be effective simply by inhaling the aroma of the essential oils directly from the bottle or in a diffuser. Sometimes aromatherapy can involve massaging the essential oils onto your skin or adding oils to a steam bowl or bath. Essential oils can be quite potent, so before you put any essential oils on your skin you may need to dilute them first using a carrier oil.
Note: Most of Aromatherapy Clinic’s natural remedy blends are already diluted and ready for application to the skin. You can dilute these essential oil blends further if required.
How to dilute essential oil
Oil and water don’t mix so if you drip a few drops of oil into a steam bowl or bath water then the oils will remain floating on the surface. Oil floats in water because it’s lighter than water.
To prepare essential oils for application to the skin you will need to mix the oil in an oil-based solution, usually called a carrier oil. This is because oil-based solutions dissolve in oils while water-based solutions dissolve in water.
The essential oils should be diluted in a ratio of 2% essential oil and 98% carrier oil (approx. 30-40 drops of essential oil per 100ml carrier oil).
Carrier oils that you can use for dilution
Choose a carrier oil that has the properties that suit your skin type. If you have a preferred carrier oil you can use that to dilute all of your essential oils before applying to skin.
- Apricot kernel
- Sweet almond
- Avocado
- Coconut
- Olive
- Evening primrose
- Jojoba
- Wheatgerm
When to dilute essential oils
- When using essential oils on a large area of skin, such as during aromatherapy massage.
- People with sensitive skin, children and babies will require essential oils to be diluted before using on skin.
- There are some very strong oils that everyone will need to dilute before applying to the skin.
Some essential oils are gentle enough for use on a small area of skin in small amounts, without the need for dilution. Please ask the advice of a certified aromatherapist before applying oils to the skin without dilution.
Caution: It is not recommended to ingest essential oils, even when diluted, unless otherwise specified.
View our range of therapeutic blends as natural remedies or browse through our list of individual oils to find your favourite essential oil. If you need an oil that’s not on the list, send us an email at info@aromatherapyclinic.com.au and we’ll do our best to source the highest quality oils for you.
