Yes and no. While essential oils are completely natural, they are also very concentrated. A single Evoroma bottle of lavender oil contains essential oil from about one kilogram of lavender flowers!
Therefore, the main rule is that essential oils should not be used directly on the skin. They need to be diluted first.
This is done by using a vegetable "carrier oil" (also known as "base oil"), such as coconut oil or jojoba oil.
Add a couple of drops of essential oil to the carrier oil and make sure they mix well. The oil blend can then be applied to the skin. A rule of thumb for the concentration of your oil blend is 2% essential oil and 98% carrier oil (in other words 1 to 50). As the viscosity and drop size differ between different essential oils, it is difficult to give an exact recommendation on the number of drops per unit of carrier oil. But to give an indication to start with: about 1 drop of essential oil per tablespoon of carrier oil.
Please note that some people are sensitive to certain essential oils. We therefore recommend that you first test your oil blend by applying a small amount to a small area of skin and waiting 24 hours. If irritation occurs, you should not use that oil on your skin.
Cold-pressed citrus oils (e.g. bergamot, orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit) are photosensitizing, which means that they naturally contain chemicals that react with UV light. Skin applied with any of these oils and exposed to sunlight can therefore become irritated, red and blistered. Therefore, to keep it simple, our recommendation is that skin areas applied with essential oils should be kept out of the sun for 12 hours after application.