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.
Essential oil sits as microscopic pockets (or deposits) on the different parts of the plant. This means that essential oil is not 'manufactured', but extracted directly from the plant. The pockets need to be opened so that the oil can be released, collected and bottled.
There are a few different extraction processes for essential oils. Below we describe two of the most common: steam distillation and cold pressing.
Steam distillation:
Another common method is cold pressing. Cold pressing is mainly used to extract essential oil from citrus fruits. Their oils are heat-sensitive, so to get the finest and most unaltered product possible, they are extracted cold.
At Evoroma we have a wide range of essential oils! Discover a world of fragrances now.
Our essential oils are vegan and none of our products have been tested on animals.
All our essential oils are natural and contain no synthetic fragrances or chemicals.
You can read more about Evoroma and our work on our about us page.
One of the advantages of essential oils and a diffuser compared to many other fragrance products is that you can mix them super easily. This way, you can create completely new scent experiences every day if you want!
Take out your diffuser. Fill it with tap water. Choose two to five oils to mix. Add the oils one at a time, and start. It's that simple! Your diffuser will now produce water vapor that carries the scent of your chosen oils.
Usually you mix two or three oils. More oils can of course be tried, but there is then a risk that the scent will be a little scattered.
You decide how prominent you want different scents to be. Perhaps you want a clear citrus scent with a subtle hint of pine? Drizzle in more of the grapefruit or lemon oil, and finish by adding just one or two drops of cedarwood.
With a few essential oils and a diffuser, you are invited to discover a world of fragrances for yourself! Try it out yourself, or find inspiration on our product pages. On each oil page, we have also added a tab called "Combinations". There we list a couple of oils that we think individually go well with the oil whose page you are on.
However, don't be afraid to let your own creativity flow. You can't really go wrong. What can happen is that your fragrance blend won't be as pleasant as you hoped. Then just empty the diffuser into the sink and start again!
Oils can be blended based on both scent and properties, but also combined. For example, grapefruit and ylang ylang are a perfect match in terms of scent, and they are also used in aromatherapy to improve mood. So together, they both provide a sunny fragrance, while helping each other to contribute to a positive atmosphere!
A third factor to consider is the different fragrance notes. Top notes, middle notes (heart notes) and base notes.
Top notes are oils whose fragrance molecules are very light and volatile and therefore quickly perceived.
Middle notes are often where you want to put the emphasis in your fragrance blend. They are perceived fairly quickly, linger for a while and tie together top and base notes.
Base notes are often darker scents with wood, leather and musk notes. Their scent molecules are heavier and in a well-balanced fragrance blend (or perfume for that matter), the base note is a relatively subtle player that adds complexity and is perceived just after the top and middle notes.
Among the top notes we find many citrus oils. Examples of middle notes are lavender, May Chang and ginger. Popular base notes are frankincense and cedarwood.
(Bonus tip! Vetivert is a very exciting base note with hints of light smokiness. Smelling it straight from the bottle, it can easily feel overwhelming and heavy. But a single drop of vetiver together with bergamot and clary sage creates a sophisticated, elegant and complex scent that is wonderful!)
Essential oils are safe to use if you do it properly, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
Although the oils are completely natural products, they are very concentrated and strong in their pure form, and should therefore never be used undiluted on the skin, known as 'topical use' (for more information, see the section 'Can essential oils be used on the skin?)
Essential oils are also not for internal use and should not be eaten or drunk. For this reason, it is important that they are always kept out of reach of children and pets.
Some oils may contain naturally occurring substances to which some people are hypersensitive (allergens). On each of our product pages you can click on an allergen sheet.
A diffuser is a perfect tool to use to enjoy the essential oils. By dripping essential oil onto the water in the diffuser, very little oil at a time is dispersed along with the water, safely scenting your room. We recommend 15-20 drops in our diffuser product manual, but drop sizes vary between oils and so does scent strength. When trying a new oil, start with just a few drops and you'll soon get a feel for what smells just right and what's too much and too obtrusive. How many drops to add also depends on the size of the room.
If you are sensitive to scents, just reduce the number of drops you use in your diffuser further. You can try as little as a single drop in the diffuser the first time if you are unsure.
Should you experience discomfort from any essential oil, it may be that you are hypersensitive to that particular oil and should stop using it immediately.
A diffuser is the best choice for scenting your home. It turns ordinary tap water into steam, which carries the fragrances you've added to the water in the room. So, unlike many other fragrance products, no synthetic chemicals are used. Just water and all-natural essential oil.
Because you add the fragrance drop by drop straight into the diffuser's water tank, you can control how weak or strong it should smell. A great advantage for those who are sensitive to strong odors and think scented candles or scented sticks can be too overwhelming.
With a diffuser and some essential oils, you can also change the scent as often as you like. The oils are very scent-intensive and therefore rich. A couple of drops of peppermint to perk you up in the morning. A few drops of lavender in the evening when you want to relax. With a diffuser and a few essential oils, you decide how, when, what and how much your home smells!
When the water in the diffuser runs out, it turns off automatically. In other words, you don't have to worry about an open flame, like with scented candles. Just turn on your diffuser and let it run!
A diffuser is the natural and clean way to scent your home, and you're in the driver's seat both in terms of strength and type of scent!