How To Start Using Essential Oils To Improve Your Health
People have been using herbs and herbal preparations for their health for thousands of years. While modern medicine has made a lot of advancements and helped improve human health to an incredible extent, that doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to use traditional herbal remedies and preparations to make a difference in our lives.
From treating minor medical complications to just creating a more pleasant home atmosphere, there are a lot of reasons to use essential oils and a lot of different ways to use them.
Let’s talk about some of the different ways to use essential oils, what they’re good for, and where you can get high-quality essential oils to make sure you’re getting the full benefits.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are a kind of plant extract. Some of them are actual oils, depending on the plant they are derived from, but some other essential oils are simply strong extracts, not an oil.
The oils concentrate some of the beneficial components of the source plant into an easy-to-use and potent solution.
Depending on the herb being used, essential oils can have a range of different properties, scents, and even textures. There are hundreds or thousands of plants that can be made into essential oils, and resulting essential oils can also be mixed to create different effects or to combine different herbal properties for better results.
Depending on the kind of plant there are different ways to concentrate an essential oil. Critical to all essential oils is the purity of the finished extract, and how concentrated the component chemicals are.
The purer the essential oil and the more concentrated it is the higher quality it’s generally going to be.
However, many of the essential oils on the market are cut with other oils or solvents to reduce their potency. It’s important to make sure you’re buying from a good supplier to help ensure you’re getting the full benefit of the essential oil rather than just the scent and diluted effectiveness.
How Can You Use Essential Oils?
There are dozens of different ways to use essential oils, and not all essential oils should be used the same way. It’s always important to do your research on different types of essential oils and how they work, including what kinds of uses are safe.
Three of the most common ways to use essential oils are:
- As a scent, or in scented products and diffusers
- Topically, either on their own or as a component in lotions and salves with specific effects
- Ingested in food or tea for direct benefits (rare)
Often essential oils need to be diluted before they can be used because of the high potency of the oils and the risk of chemical burns. That’s why many manufacturers dilute their oils before selling them.
The problem with that is that means you’re getting less of the product you’re buying, and more of the carrier oil or solvent. Purer essential oils can be diluted at home, as needed, meaning that you have a lot more of the product and that the essential oils will last longer.
Essential oils can also be combined to create specific effects. For instance, peppermint and lavender essential oils are often used together to help with relaxation and energy, or as a sleep aid. Eucalyptus essential oils can be helpful for opening your sinuses and making it easier to breathe, especially when you’re congested or sick.
Where To Get High-Quality Essential Oils
While you can buy essential oils at many grocery and metaphysical stores, a lot of the best oils should be bought directly from the people who make them. Melaleuca is one of the companies offering the highest quality and widest selection of essential oils, and they’re always innovating and looking to find new ways to improve essential oil quality and potency.
When it comes to top-quality essential oils, Melaleuca products can’t be beat.
