Essential Oils: What Can You Use Them For?

Essential oils...if you’ve seen them in stores you know that there are rarely any instructions or directions that lay out the possible uses and benefits of these little bottles of fragrance. Whether you own a few bottles of essential oils or you want to start using them soon, I hope this article can help further your journey towards a more natural and healthy lifestyle. Below are 5 ways that essential oils can be used in everyday routines and how they can replace the toxic products we may be currently using.

Aromatherapy

Candles are typically thought of when we want to make a room smell homey, but according to Green America, some made with paraffin wax can release toxic chemicals into the air. With all natural oils, it’s so simple to create a refreshing atmosphere that both smells great and is safe. All you need is a diffuser and your favorite smelling oil. Diffusers can easily be found by doing a quick Google search due to their increasing popularity. They come in all shapes and sizes, and if you find the essential oils section of a store, the diffusers will be close by.

Air Purification

In addition to diffusing oils to make a room smell great, certain oils have purification properties that can make our environments more clean to breathe. What makes these oils a great alternative to air fresheners and traditional cleaners is because they are all-natural extracts from plants and herbs.

Topical Application

You heard right, these oils can be used on our skin.

Now, most of the oils must be diluted in a carrier compound of some sort before you apply it to the skin. My personal favorite is coconut oil. Lavender just so happens to be one that you can put on small areas of your skin. You can dab a little on your wrist for an all-day scent without it causing irritation. Speaking from my own experience, lavender also works wonders on bug bites. My aunt told me to rub lavender and coconut oil on my legs in the itchy spots and soon, the itchiness was gone.

Beauty Care

Something that I found very interesting when first starting out my essential oil journey was that a few drops of tea tree oil could fight bacteria and therefore, I could use it to spot treat acne and add it to my shampoo for treating dandruff.

Relaxation

Whether you are adding a few drops to your bubble bath or your pillow at night, lavender oil is one of the best ingredients I’ve found for relaxation.

There are too many benefits of essential oils for me to list them all out here, but be looking for my next article “A Beginner’s Guide to Essential Oils”, where I will be going in depth on a few essential oils and their uses.