Ep. 91: How To Dilute Essential Oils Like A Pro - Part 1
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to the first episode of our three-part series on safety in essential oil use! Co-hosts Nikki Fraser and Rachael Dean are thrilled to dive into an essential topic that every aromatherapy enthusiast should understand: dilution.
In this episode, we introduce our listeners to the importance of diluting essential oils properly to ensure safe usage. We discuss the common pitfalls of using too much oil, particularly in personal blends, and highlight the dangers of skin sensitization that can occur from applying undiluted oils directly to the skin.
We emphasize the significance of our free dilution charts available for download at https://www.schoolofessentria.com/en/free. These charts serve as a handy guide for anyone looking to create their own blends safely. We walk you through the specifics of dilution percentages, explaining how to calculate the appropriate number of drops for various bottle sizes, including the popular 10ml and 30ml roller bottles.
Rachael and Nikki share their personal experiences and tips on how to use these charts effectively, including the importance of rounding down when measuring drops to avoid exceeding safe dilution levels. We also touch on the necessity of considering the age and health status of individuals when determining dilution ratios, especially for children and those with health concerns.
Throughout the episode, we stress the mantra: "dilute, dilute, dilute!" We provide practical examples, such as how to create a 2% dilution in a 10ml roller bottle, and discuss the implications of using higher percentages for specific needs, whether emotional or physical.
Additionally, we introduce a simple math equation for those who prefer to calculate dilutions without relying solely on charts. This equation helps listeners understand the relationship between drops, milliliters, and desired percentages, empowering them to create their own safe blends.
As we wrap up, we remind our audience that less is often more when it comes to essential oils. We encourage everyone to download our charts and utilize the information shared in this episode to enhance their aromatherapy practices safely.
Thank you for joining us on this journey into the world of essential oils. We hope you found this episode informative and inspiring. Be sure to tune in for part two of our series, where we will delve deeper into dilution considerations for different age groups and health conditions. Until next time, stay safe and happy blending!
Subscribe where you listen!
Never miss an episode
-
00:00:00 - Welcome to Vetiver Vibes
Introduction to the podcast and hosts, Nikki Fraser and Rachael Dean.00:00:14 - Sponsored by Essentia
Information about Essentria an online school for aromatherapy.00:00:25 - Kicking Off the Safety Series
Introduction to a three-part series focused on safety in essential oil use.00:00:40 - Free Download: Safety Charts
Details on how to access free dilution charts from the website.00:01:02 - Understanding Dilution
Discussion on the importance of proper dilution in essential oil use.00:01:59 - The Importance of Dilution
Emphasis on the necessity of diluting essential oils to prevent skin sensitization.00:03:07 - Skin Sensitization Risks
Explanation of skin sensitization and its long-term effects.00:04:27 - Dilution Guidelines for Adults
Guidelines on how much essential oil to use for healthy adults.00:05:17 - Dilution Examples
Examples of dilution percentages for different bottle sizes.00:06:21 - Micro Dilution Chart
Introduction to the micro dilution chart for lower percentages.00:08:32 - Rounding Drops Carefully
Importance of rounding drops correctly when measuring for blends.00:10:11 - Making Larger Blends for Safety
Discussion on creating larger blends for safety, especially for children and sensitive individuals.00:10:36 - Using the Dilution Math Equation
Explanation of the math equation for calculating essential oil drops based on dilution.00:12:18 - Practicing the Math
Encouragement to practice the dilution math and verify with charts.00:13:03 - Final Thoughts on Dilution
Recap of dilution recommendations and application tips.00:14:04 - Closing Remarks
Thank you for tuning in and a preview of the next episode. -
Rachael: Welcome to the Vetiver Vibes podcast, where your hosts, Nikki Fraser and Rachael Dean, certified clinical aromatherapists. We are excited to have you here on today's episode, where you know that you'll get the best essential oil scoop.
Nikki: This episode is brought to you by Essentria a leading online school for aromatherapy. If you want to learn more about how to become a clinical aromatherapist, check out the courses at www.schoolofessentia.com. Welcome to this week's episode of Vetiver Vibes. Nikki Fraser here with Rachael Dean and we are kicking off a three-part series all about safety.
Rachael: Yes, our safety charts. So we have these as a free download on our website. So just go to schoolofacentria.com slash free. and you can download those charts and we have there's multiple charts so today we're this first one we're going to go over the dilution chart so the essential oil blending guide chart and that is where we take different size bottles so a lot of people have like roller bottles this one's blue but this one's clear it may be easier to see and you are going to create your blends kind of in the bottle because it's just usually for personal use so people are using their oils everywhere and we want to make sure that you're using them safely so there's unfortunately a lot of bad recipes out there that might have let's say 40 or 50 drops in this one little roller bottle which is only 10 milliliters and That's a lot of oil. It's too much oil. Yeah, absolutely. Way too much oil. So we're here to talk a bit about that and kind of, and we'll kind of elaborate and expand over the next couple of episodes about kind of how much oil you want to be using for each. But this one specifically we're going to talk about is the dilution chart. So if you want to chat about that, Nikki, for a second.
Nikki: Yeah. So like you said, Rachael, if you haven't downloaded our dilution charts, go online. I usually have a copy laminated. And it's still around when I teach. I have it available for students there to come look. A lot of them take pictures. And I'm like, just go to the website, download them. So many, because there's more than just these ones also.
Rachael: And I post reminders weekly as well on our Facebook and our Instagram and our socials, wherever those are. of where the link is to get that and where you can kind of grab that chart when you're on the go as well.
Nikki: Yeah. And so when we're diluting oils, one, like we all, we've mentioned in past episodes, please dilute your essential oils. If there's one thing that you will learn, dilute, dilute, dilute any, anything. Rachael has a fractionated coconut oil up, jojoba oil, olive oil, sesame oil. Avocado oil, castor oil, so many different carrot oils. Just dilute.
Rachael: Just dilute.
Nikki: Please dilute.
Rachael: Don't put them on neat. We don't want that. And neat means you're just taking them straight out of the bottle and putting it right on your skin.
Nikki: Yeah, okay. And this is because we don't want skin sensitization to happen. And once you are sensitized to an oil, that means that that oil, you will start to react to it for many, many years to come, typically. It's hard to desensitize yourself afterwards once you've been sensitized to an oil. And anything with a similar chemical constituent will also get a reaction from you. So it's not just the one oil, but if chemically, when we're looking at the molecules of the oil, if they are similar to another one, you could react to the others. And so we just want to keep everybody safe. And to do that, we dilute. So how much to use? That's always the biggest question, is how much carrier oil to essential oil? Should I use and we are always talking in our podcast about you know a healthy adult so not if you're pregnant not if you're a child We will get into that actually in in this three-part series. We'll get into children and all of that Don't worry, but as a rule of thumb we're typically talking about healthy adults no complex health history, things like that. And so in that situation, starting around a 2% is typically what I do, even 1% sometimes, depending on if it's emotional, if it's physical. It's never the same thing. It depends on what you're diluting for.
Rachael: So if I'm looking at this chart, just to give an example, so this 10 milliliter roller bottle, which I think a lot of people are very familiar with, 2% would be four drops of oil. So four total. So whether that's, it's not like four lavender, four you know, peppermint for something else, it's four total. So maybe one of three different oils, plus a second drop of one of the other oils. Or if you have a very complex blend that you want to make, that might maybe has like different ratios, you're going to have to make a bigger batch of oil. So if you're like, I only need 10 milliliters, well, that's great, except for in order to be safe, you actually need to make more. So, you know, keep that in mind. So yeah, so 2% in a 10 milliliter roller bottle is only four drops of oil.
Nikki: And if we go up to 30 milliliters, right, this is the nice thing with the dilution chart, all the drops are right there, so you can see exactly what it is. But in 30 milliliters, if we wanted 2%, that would be 12 drops. And then if we wanted 3%, 18. If we wanted 4%, 24. And then 5%, 30. Now, on the chart, it does say 0.5 to 5%. And the 5% is really the absolute max that you want to use on a regular basis. Even on a regular basis, I wouldn't do it. Still, that's more of that acute versus chronic. And again, depending on if it's emotional, if it's physical, what it is. Emotionally, when I'm working for you know, not even just happiness, sad, anxiety, anything like that, even spiritually, things like that, I'll even do a 0.5% often or 1%. You don't need a lot.
Rachael: Yeah, very true. So these charts show you both how to use it as kind of a five milliliter, which I think this is close. This one might be a four milliliter, actually, if I remember correctly. Just as a tiny little amber bottle I'm holding up for those not watching the video. And kind of goes from there up to 60. But we also have a second chart, which is handy for people who are maybe using them for younger people, younger people, or you just want to be able to figure out smaller percentages, depending on what it is. So we have that also called the micro dilution chart. And that goes from point 1% up to point 5.75%. And the thing that's important to remember on both of these charts, but it definitely shows up a lot on the micro dilution chart is that there's like it might say 1.2 drops or 4.8 drops. Obviously, if we're doing a drop, we can't do a point anything drop. You can only do four drops or five drops. So if you're putting essential oils into a blend and it calls for 1.2 drops, if you put two drops in, the percentage is significantly higher. You're now gone up to, where are we at? like you've more than doubled your percentage, right? So you want to make sure that if you're using drops, which we use kind of on these smaller blends regularly, otherwise we kind of go to weight and measurements volume. Thank you. You want to make sure that you're using, you're like rounding down or very consciously rounding up and therefore knowing that your blend is actually not going to be, you know, 1.2% or 1.2 drops equaling 0.1% or something like that. So it's got to be very careful and aware of what you're actually doing and know that drops are still solids. They're only one, two, three, four, you know, that kind of thing. Um, so if you're looking at percentages or half drops that you need to make sure that you are, um, taking that into account.
Nikki: Yeah, and that's why a lot of times, especially when we are working with children or elderly or severely health-compromised people, where we are using these lower dilutions, that a lot of times you might need to make a 60-80ml blend just to get that 10ml roller bottle. So you might have, you know, five, six, seven roller bottles of the exact same blend, but it's always better to be safe than to have too much essential oils causing that sensitization. You know, even with this, remember also a lot of times you don't even need essential oils. Sometimes just carrot oils, especially with children, sometimes carrot oils will do the trick or hydro lats or things like that. But if you are choosing to use the essential oils, this is why we have these dilution charts to ensure that you are diluting them properly. because these micro dilutions are very important for those age brackets, those and health conditions. But, you know, if we need to, if we have a little one and we just want that 0.6% dilution or something like that in 30 milliliters, or sorry, 0.1 dilution in 30 milliliters, that's 0.6 of a drop. So if you want a 0.1 dilution, you have to make at least 60 milliliters of product to get that dilution properly of a 1.2, so one drop. Because at this age too, like you said, rounding up is, the dilution is different and then it becomes unsafe. So please always round down to the last full drop. It is very, very important.
Rachael: And just, you know, if you're worried about having like lots of product, then when you're making it, thinking about what else you could use it for, you know, if you're making something for a child and you need to make this big blend, you know, great. What else is in there? Maybe you can repurpose that now for a different blend for an adult and therefore maybe add some more oils and, you know, either resell it or, you know, work with your other clients, et cetera, on, um, on that.
Nikki: Yeah, and we understand that we can't cover all the different dilution amounts, the size bottles, all of that. So if you want to figure out how to do it yourself without needing the charts, there's also a math equation that you can use. So we do teach this in the course and we will share it with you. But if you take 20, and the 20 never changes, the 20 is because it takes 20 drops of essential oils to make one milliliter. of essential oil. So the 20 equals one milliliter. So the 20 always stays the same and you multiply it by the milliliter bottle that you are using. So if we are using a 10 milliliter bottle, we would do 20 times 10, and then we would multiply it by the percent that we want the dilution to be. So if we want a 2% dilution, then we would multiply it by two, not 2%, just the number two. So 20 times 10 times 2, and then I don't have a calculator, and that should be very simple math. But that'll give you a number.
Rachael: 20 times 10 times 2 equals 400.
Nikki: Equals 400. And then we divide that by 100, which gives you 4, which gives you 4 drops of essential oils to get a 2% blend in a 10 milliliter roller bottle. So again, that was 20 times The amount of milliliters times the number of percent, not the actual percent though, and then that full answer then divided by 100 and that gets you the drops that you want to use for the amount of bottle milliliters that you are using.
Rachael: And if you're like wanting to practice that math yourself so that you become more familiar with it, you can also use our blending charts to like spot check. Cause like, you know, looking at this, you know, 10 milliliters, 2% equals four drops. Right. So you could do the same math and you want 4% on a 60 milliliter. Well, you should be getting the number 48 when you do that same math. So, you know, you can also just double check to make sure that you're understanding it correctly.
Nikki: Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, so this episode is really all about introducing these dilution charts. Less is always more. Please, please, please dilute. Dilute appropriate for your age, which we will get into in the next part, depending on your age, is how much you want to dilute. But healthy adults, around that 2%. If it's for something, I mentioned emotional, but I forgot to mention the physical earlier. If it's for something physical, apply it to where the physical hurt, need, whatever it is, is. If you're applying for aches and pains on your knee, please put it on your knee. If it's on your lower back, please put it on your lower back, not the bottom of your feet or anywhere else. If it's for something physical, put it to where it's actually needed on the body. And then you could go up to three, 4% very easily. But I never start at that 5% because it doesn't give you any wiggle room. And a lot of times it's not needed. And that's more for short term versus the long term. So I typically start around that one, 2% even for adults.
Rachael: Yeah. And once again, you can download these charts at www.schoolofessentria.com/EN/free.
null: Yes.
Nikki: All right, thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Vetiver Vibes. Nikki here with Rachael, and we'll see you in part two next time.
Rachael: Bye. Bye. Thank you for spending your time with us here at Vetiver Vibes. This episode was brought to you by Essentria a leading online aromatherapy school. Don't forget to check out some of our free resources at www.schoolofessentia.com.
Nikki: If you love this episode or you got a lot of value out of it, please make sure you share it with someone in your community who you think would enjoy it too. If you haven't already subscribed or reviewed the show yet, you can go on over to your preferred streaming platform and hit subscribe, then leave a review. This is the best way to help support us and we appreciate it. Email us with a screenshot of your review and we will send you a free guided meditation as our way to say thank you.
Rachael: This podcast is for information purposes only. We are certified clinical aromatherapists and holistic health professionals. If you have a medication concern, please refer to your health team. Everyone's health is unique to themselves, so the topics and suggestions stated may or may not apply directly to you.
Helpful Links
Join the free introductory to aromatherapy course at https://www.schoolofessentria.com/en/free-online-aromatherapy-course
Get Free Safety Labels https://www.schoolofessentria.com/safety-labels
Email us any questions you might have and we will answer them in a future Q&A episode info@schoolofessentria.com
Join our Facebook group Love Essential oils with Essentria https://www.facebook.com/groups/loveessentialoilswithessentria
Follow Essentria on Instagram @schoolofessentria
This podcast is for information purposes only. We are certified clinical aromatherapists and holistic health professionals. If you have a medication concern, please refer to your health team. Everyone’s health is unique to themselves, so the topics and suggestions stated may or may not apply directly to you. Please reach out to an aromatherapist to work with or consider training to become one yourself!
Show music: Happy Dreams - By David Fesliyan
Did you enjoy the podcast today? Please let us know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or your preferred streaming service. Every month we will draw one lucky reviewer to receive their choice of either all 77 safety labels for free OR a mini-course of our choice.
Also, remember to subscribe wherever you’re tuning in from so that you always catch the next episode.
Check out our other episodes too!
