Sustainability and responsible usage of essential oils
With the popularity of essential oils growing every day I wanted to address the issue of sustainability and promote responsible usage of essential oils.
Whilst I adore aromatherapy essential oils and think they can be successfully used in our everyday lives, we don’t need to use essential oils all day, every day, and for everything. For me one of the biggest reasons is that it can help us to enjoy them more. I learnt this myself. I always used lemon essential oil in my kitchen to disinfect work surfaces. I ran out one day and it was about two weeks before I ordered some more. In that time, I used some tea-tree and orange, when the lemon arrived I was surprised how much more I enjoyed it those first few days, reminding me of how lovely and refreshing the lemon smell is. I had got so used to using it every day that I had lost my love of it a little bit!
So here are some tips to try to not over use our essential oils.
OILS ARE NOT EVERYTHING
Only use essential oils when you need to. Essential oils are not a magic wand and they are not the only tool in your health toolbox. Remember that holistic health is about treating the whole person, not just throwing essential oils at a problem and hoping it will go away. There are so many other factors to consider – diet, exercise, sleep, relaxation, hydration, etc. If you can’t sleep at night, no amount of lavender essential oil will work if you have 5 coffees before you go to bed!
MORE IS NOT BETTER
If you do use essential oils, always dilute appropriately. Adding more drops will not achieve your objective more quickly, or more effectively. Sometimes a 1% blend is really all you need. And do you really need to keep reapplying throughout the day?
BUY WHAT YOU NEED
Only buy the essential oils you need! I know it’s tempting when there’s a sale on, but do you really need all those oils and in such copious quantities. Remember that essential oils don’t last forever, so there’s no point having dozens and dozens of open bottles.
REFRESH
Think about other ways to refresh the air (such as opening a window) rather than constantly using essential oil room sprays or using diffusing all day.
DO NOT INGEST
Don’t ingest essential oils unless specifically under the instruction of a clinical aromatherapist. Some online “gurus” are advising people can ingest up to 12 drops every DAY. This is completely wasteful and unnecessary, not to mention extremely harmful to your health.
Essential oils are precious natural resources, so it makes sense to take a responsible approach when using them, so let’s enjoy them in moderation.