Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic extracts that are distilled or expressed from flowers, leaves, resins, roots, and other plant materials. They harness the healing power of nature and have an ability to transform mind, body, and spirit that transcends their chemical nature. Learn more about essential oils here.
How to use essential oils
There are two main ways that we recommend using essential oils - through inhalation and topical application. Essential oils can be inhaled by dropping onto a tissue, applying to the skin and breathing deeply or through a diffuser, which combines water and essential oil molecules to create fine, cool mist that is dispersed into the air. Essential oils can be applied topically through any products that are applied to the skin, like body lotions and butters or our roll-ons, which have been formulated in safe concentrations and with carrier oils for direct application to the skin.
How are essential oils made?
The main method we use to obtain essential oils is through a process called steam distillation. Steam distillation is when steam is passed through large amounts of plant matter that’s been added to a still,in combination with a small amount of gentle pressure. This causes the essential oil (or ‘essence’ of the plant) to be released. This vapor then flows through to a condenser where it is cooled, and this produces a layer of essential oils that float on the top of the water. The essential oils are separated from the water and are ready to be used in aromatherapy.
What are the most common essential oils?
Some of the most well known essential oils in aromatherapy include lavender, renowned for its ability to induce a state of calm and relaxation, eucalyptus, known in aromatherapy as ‘the breathing oil’ for its fresh and clearing properties that encourage deep breathing, peppermint, well-regarded for the cooling and tingling sensation it produces when applied topically to the skin and lemon, which is cleansing, deodorizing and mood boosting.
Which essential oils smell the best?
Depending on your personal preference, there are many essential oils that are known for their robust and pleasant fragrance. Orange is a sweet, juicy and soothing citrus that helps you to feel cheerful and uplifted, lemongrass is tangy, zesty and helps to provide a naturally invigorating feeling in the body, rose, the most precious of all flowers is known to help balance the emotions and soothe the skin and sandalwood, which is woody, earthy and warming, known to support feeling grounded and at ease.
Learn more about pets and essential oils
When it comes to pets and essential oils, it’s best to speak to the professionals. We always recommend checking in with a trusted animal practitioner before introducing any of our products to your pets, and ensuring you’re following common sense guidelines for using essential oils with pets in the home. Read our blog here for more information.
Essential Oils Buying Guide
When considering the purchase of essential oils, it’s important to take a few factors into consideration. To ensure you’re purchasing pure, high quality and high efficacy essential oils, you’ll want to look for a few key pieces of information:
The bottle should be tightly sealed and ideally made from amber or dark colored glass, to preserve the essential oils inside and prevent exposure to light.
The bottle should state the common and Latin name of the plant (for example, lavender and lavandula angustifolia) - this is a recognized practice in reputable aromatherapy products. If the Latin name is not listed on the bottle, you shouldn’t purchase the essential oils.
The label should specify that it is 100% pure essential oil. Other terms like ‘essence oil’ or ‘essential oil blend’ indicate that the essential oil is likely mixed with other oils, carrier oils or fragrance oils that would render it as a diluted or adulterated oil.
The price should align with other reputable distributors, meaning if the price is very low and seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Best Sellers in 2022
Did you know there are more than 90 different types of essential oils? Sourced from different plants and different plant parts and offering many different properties and benefits to support your health and well-being, here are some of our best sellers in 2022: Lavender essential oil: Probably the most well-known of all essential oils, lavender is sweet, floral and herbaceous in scent. It’s used in aromatherapy to help support a calm and peaceful body and mind, which is why you will commonly find it included in preparations indicated for support of relief from stress and to help you sleep better.
Peppermint essential oil: Sharp, minty and refreshing are some of the words used to describe the scent of peppermint essential oil. Known to help cool and soothe the body when applied topically, peppermint helps you feel lifted and adds a natural pep to your step.
Eucalyptus essential oil: Commonly referred to in aromatherapy as ‘the breathing oil’, eucalyptus has a fresh, medicinal and herbaceous aroma that is known to help support deep, open and clear breathing. Widely recognized as a scent used in spas and aesthetics clinics, this fresh and light oil can help you feel calm and at ease.
Orange essential oil: Sweet, citrusy, uplifting and naturally mood boosting, orange is one of the essential oils used most frequently in our product formulations at Saje. Orange blends well with most other essential oils and helps bring balance and harmony to both the body and the mind.
Frankincense essential oil: An essential oil revered for its use in ancient ceremonies and rituals, frankincense has a rich, warm, earthy and woodsy aroma and is indicated for use in helping create a meditative state. Frequently used to support self-care practices like journaling, yoga and meditation, this grounding essential oil can help create an oasis of tranquility when diffused in the air.
Enhance Your Living Space
Essential oils can be used to enhance your living space through the practice of diffusion. Diffusing pure essential oils and water helps create fine, cool mist in the air that is then inhaled and absorbed through the nose and mouth.
Different essential oils provide different scent profiles and different benefits when diffused. Some people reach for woody, fresh and outdoorsy scents like balsam fir or cedarwood when they’re feeling stuffy or looking to help refresh the air.
Other popular essential oils that can be diffused to enhance your living space are citruses, which help to create a naturally happy, positive and uplifted feeling in the home. Some of our favorites for diffusion include lemon and grapefruit.
Essential Oils Resources
Many essential oil resources exist at Saje that can help support and encourage you on your learning and discovery journey.
We have an Ingredient Garden that features a deep dive into many commonly recognized essential oils and plant ingredients, designed to provide more thorough education for those who seek it.
We also offer an extensive collection of blogs, offering more than 250 different articles written to help you learn more about essential oil-based products, their benefits and how to use them.
Some of the blog articles we’ve written include:
The 5 Best Smelling Essential Oils
Our Favorite Floral Essential Oils
What Are The Best Essential Oils?
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are compounds that have been extracted from plants through something called a distillation process. Through the distillation process, the plant’s unique scent, flavor or ‘essence’ is captured, thus becoming the essential oils we know and love today.
Made from a variety of plant parts like leaves, twigs, roots, flowers and barks, essential oils offer us the properties and benefits of the unique plants from which they are created.
Do Essential Oils Have Therapeutic Benefits?
The therapeutic benefits of essential oils extracted from plants are vast and expansive. Some people prefer to use essential oils in support of their physical wellness, such as to support relief from pain, stress or to support better sleep. Others use essential oils more specifically for their mental, emotional and spiritual benefits, helping to encourage inner reflection, stillness and introspection.
Aromatherapy has been used for centuries in support of physical, mental and environmental wellness and when used properly and safely, essential oils can have a positive impact on your overall health and well-being.
Everyday Favorite Essential Oils
Because there are so many to choose from, everyday favorite essential oils can vary from person to person. Here are some of our best suggestions and recommendations for essential oils loved by all:
If you want a tart, zesty and uplifting essential oil, try lemon.
If you want an herbal, grassy and refreshing essential oil, try lemongrass.
If you want a rich, floral and ritzy essential oil, try rose.
If you want a warming, stimulating and herbaceous essential oil, try rosemary.
If you want a sweet, woodsy and grounding essential oil, try sandalwood.
How to Use Essential Oils
There are two main ways that we suggest and recommend the use of essential oils, inhalation and topical application. To inhale essential oils, we primarily suggest the use of a diffuser and a 100% natural diffuser blend of your choice. You may also choose to inhale products directly from the bottle or add 1-3 drops on a tissue and inhale deeply as required.
At Saje, we do not recommend the ingestion of essential oil in any form at any time.
Apply to the Skin
Topical application means that you apply to the skin the different essential oils and product preparations for various reasons.
Our most popular products for topical application are our roll-ons, formulated to help support relief from pain and stress, to support sleep, natural energy and more. These products are blended at safe dilutions with carrier oils that allow them to be applied safely directly to the skin. Common suggested areas to apply roll-ons are the temples, along the forehead and jawline, on the throat, chest, wrists and in the elbow creases.
Other products including essential oils that can be applied topically to the skin are lotions and body butters, deodorants, mists and skincare preparations.
When applying essential oils topically, we don’t recommend applying 100% pure oils without the use of a carrier oil to help ‘carry’ the product safely to the skin. We recommend blending 1-3 drops of a preferred essential oil with 1-2 tsp of carrier oil like coconut oil or jojoba and then applying as desired to the body.
Simply Inhale
One of the simplest ways to experience the positive effects of essential oils is to simply inhale them. This can be done directly from the bottle, essential oil can be dropped onto a tissue and then inhaled as desired, or essential oils can be applied topically to the body and inhaled directly. If applying topically for the purpose of inhalation, we suggest applying to a part of the body like the wrists for simple ease of experience.
Steam Inhalation
Another less common way to experience essential oils is through the act of steam inhalation. Typically, this entails filling a bowl with steaming water, adding a couple of drops of essential oils, (the recommendation varies based on the specific oil) covering the head with a towel and breathing deeply to inhale the essential oil vapors. The benefits include helping support deep, clear breathing and overall feelings of well-being in your respiratory system.
Use an Essential Oil Diffuser
One of our very favorite ways to experience the benefits of essential oils, essential oil diffusers break down water and 100% pure essential oils into fine, cool mist that is then inhaled and absorbed through the nose and mouth.
Using an essential oil diffuser has three main benefits. First, diffusers create negative ions that mirror the experience we have when enjoying water in nature, such as clear breathing and feelings of alertness when standing next to crashing surf, a waterfall or during a rainstorm.
Second, diffusers help you to personalize the scent experience you want to have in your home. Choose scents you love like citruses, florals, woody or spicy notes to create your perfect scent experience.
Third, using an essential oil diffuser allows you to create a vibe or mood you want to feel in your home. Choose essential oils that are awakening and uplifting during your workday, essential oils that are calming and relaxing during your wind down time, or choose essential oils that are restful and peaceful before bed each night.
Use in a Bath
Using essential oils as part of a self-care ritual like a bath is another great way to experience the benefits of various plant oils. When adding to the bath, it’s important to remember that less is more. Only a few drops of essential oils can have a big impact when added to a bath, so always err on the side of caution and start with 1-3 drops, ensuring you’re swishing around the water to encourage dispersion.
Certain essential oils that can be particularly sensitizing to the skin are not the best options to use in a bath, like cinnamon, clove and wintergreen. Try instead to choose gentle, soothing essential oils like lavender, chamomile and rose.
Aromatherapy Massage
Massage is beneficial to the body for so many reasons. Whether partnered, solo or performed by a professional, massage helps to reduce stress, reduce muscle pain, soreness or tension and can help to increase feelings of relaxation and peacefulness.
Aromatherapy massage is the addition of essential oils, typically suspended in carrier oils like coconut oil, jojoba or grapeseed oil to help ‘carry’ the oils to the skin for maximum benefit. Many people choose essential oils like marjoram or rosemary, known to be warming and stimulating, if they are using massage to help relieve tension or soreness. Other popular choices for aromatherapy massage designed to more specifically address stress or difficult emotional feelings are lavender, geranium, chamomile and rose.
Essential Oil Storage Tips
Avoid Heat and Light
In order to preserve the integrity and efficacy of essential oils, it is strongly recommended to avoid exposing them to heat and light. Simply, rather than storing them for example on a window ledge or on a shelf above your stove, try keeping them in a cool, dark place like a medicine cabinet in the bathroom or a specially purchased slotted storage container.
Do Not Change Temperature
Essential oils are volatile, which means that they are easily evaporated at normal temperatures. To ensure the efficacy of your products and to keep them performing at their best, we suggest keeping them in a temperate area of the home, like a medicine cabinet or toiletry closet where they will not be exposed to excess heat, light or drastic changes in temperature which can affect their lifespan.
Limit Oxygen
It’s important to limit excess exposure to oxygen (for example, leaving the cap off of the bottle for a prolonged period of time) because this will increase the likelihood of oxidation. Simply put, in reference to essential oils, oxidation means that frequent and prolonged exposure to oxygen will deteriorate the quality and efficacy of the essential oils and will increase evaporation of the product.
Essential Oil Storage Boxes
If you prefer, you may purchase storage boxes or cases to keep your essential oils in at home or on the go. Many people who work in the aromatherapy industry or those who have large collections of essential oils may choose to use these cases to keep their essential oils organized and protected from exposure to temperature changes and light or oxygen exposure.
