Enjoy the ancient and powerful benefits of plants in everyday life
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are found in many parts of a plant—including seeds, bark, stems, roots and flowers. This natural oil helps to protect the plant, is what gives a plant its scent, and it can be extracted using distillation.
“Since ancient times, the plant kingdom has provided us vast amounts of powerful extracts and essences offering us beauty-enhancing, medicinal, spiritual, aromatic and therapeutic value,” says Sally St. John, Director at the George Wellbeing Center.
Using essential oils topically
One of the most common ways to use essential oils is topically—or by applying it to your skin. Essential oil can absorb into skin—especially when diluted with a carrier oil, like fractioned coconut oil (FCO) or grape seed oil.
Diluting essential oils is recommended since on their own, essential oils can be quite potent and might even irritate sensitive skin. Dilution doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of the essential oils. A roller bottle (sometimes called a roller ball) is an easy way to apply essential oil(s) diluted with carrier oil.
Find a roller bottle
There are many different roller bottle options available—here are some things to consider:
- Roller bottles often use clear, blue or amber glass. Essential oils can lose potency when in direct sunlight, so colored glass options can help extend the life of your essential oils.
- The “roll” part of roller bottle refers to a ball at the top that allows you to roll the oil right onto your skin. The ball options are typically plastic or stainless steel, which lasts longer.
Choose you carrier oil
While FCO, grape seed oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, almond oil and olive oil are all options for carrier oil—FCO is one of the most popular choices. FCO remains liquid (compared to regular coconut oil, which solidifies unless its hot), and it can help your essential oils last longer.
Choose your essential oils
Each essential oil has its own scent and benefits and can be used to create a single-scent essential oil roller bottle. Or, with a quick internet search, you can find a seemingly infinite list of suggested blends that mix essential oils—to help increase immunity, promote sleep, settle an upset tummy and much more.
Some popular oils include:
- Eucalyptus, which can help as a decongestant and an energy boost
- Lavender, which can help promote a feeling of calm and reduce anxiety
- Lemon, which can help bust stress and uplift spirits
- Peppermint, which can help relieve nausea and aches/pains
Putting it all together
Once you’ve gathered your roller bottle and oils—the retail space at the George Wellbeing Center has everything you need to get started—you can quickly make your own and start to enjoy the benefits.
- Remove the roller ball from the top of the bottle
- Add drops of your selected essential oil(s)
- Top off the bottle with your chosen carrier oil
- Reattach the roller ball to the bottle, and put the cap on
- Shake well
- Roll on—popular placements include neck, temples, wrists, chest and soles of feet