Carrier oils are something you may be familiar with if you are an essential oil enthusiast, and carrier oils are important to the topical use of essential oils. However, if you are just breaking into the wonderful world of essential oils, you may be wondering exactly how to use carrier oils and what makes them so important.
Our guide gives you details on carrier oils, including information on the best carrier oils for your skin, how to use a carrier oil and the best way to craft your own topical blends using your favorite carrier oil and essential oil combinations.
Do I Need a Carrier Oil for My Essential Oils?
In the majority of cases, when you are using your essential oils, you will need a carrier oil. The only exception to using an essential oil with a carrier oil is when you are diffusing your essential oil via an aromatherapy diffuser, gaining benefits from the fragrant air. Additionally, you could potentially add a few drops of essential oil to your bath water or the bottom of your shower as part of an aromatherapy method, and you will not generally need to use a carrier oil for this.
Carrier oils are vital for essential oils, as essential oils can be strong and irritating to the skin when used alone. If you are planning on applying your essential oil to your skin or hair, you will need to dilute it with a carrier oil to make the application safer.
What Happens If I Don’t Use a Carrier Oil?
If you don’t use a carrier oil with your essential oils before applying them to your skin or hair, you run the risk of irritating your skin and scalp. Essential oils are strong by nature, and they can be very irritating to your body when applied directly. Additionally, essential oils that are simply added to the skin and hair without a carrier oil may not be properly absorbed into the skin, limiting their benefits.
Carrier Oils for Skin: Your Best Choices
The following carrier oils are all great choices if you wish to add a carrier oil and essential oil combination into your skincare routine. These oils are known to be moisturizing, nourishing, and easily absorbed into skin, in addition to having low or no natural fragrance, avoiding the clash of aromas you might get when mixing essential oils into a carrier oil.
Your best choices for carrier oils for skin include:
- Coconut oil
- Jojoba oil
- Apricot oil
- Sweet almond oil
- Shea butter oil
The above oils all have light natural fragrances and are known for the healthy skin ingredients they carry, such as omega-3s, essential vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. We recommend staying away from strongly scented oils such as olive oil, though some individuals with very dry skin choose to utilize this heavier oil.
Skin-friendly and nourishing essential oils you can blend with these carrier oils include pomegranate seed oil, lavender essential oil, and rosemary essential oil.
How Do I Blend My Essential Oils and Carrier Oils?
Blending your essential oils and your carrier oil is fortunately not too difficult. You can complete this process by taking a small amount of the oil you wish to massage into your skin or scalp and then adding 5 to 15 drops of your favorite essential oil.
Keep in mind that if you are blending multiple essential oils together, you may want to use fewer drops of each individual oil to avoid the carrier oil from being overwhelmed with essential oils. You can also increase the amount of carrier oil you are using if you want to use many different essential oils to create a large batch of massage oil or another type of skin-friendly oil.
It may take some trial and error to find your favorite combination of carrier oil and essential oils, but once you have this recipe down, you can easily remake it and apply it whenever and wherever you want.
Ensure Your Essential Oils are Safely Applied
Essential oils can be a powerful item to add to your skincare and haircare routine, though you need to make sure that you always use your essential oils carefully. Diluting your essential oils makes them skin-safe, and you should never apply essential oils to your skin directly, as this can cause irritation, redness, and other skin issues.
Choose your favorite skin-friendly carrier oil from our list and get blending with your favorite essential oils to craft a customized, skin-nourishing experience.
