Mixing essential oils can be tricky if you don’t know what essential oils blend well together. If you are new to aromatherapy and just starting with essential oils, you will need to get some things sorted out first. You have to learn about the different essential oils, how to blend them, and use them to improve your health and beauty.
Once you know which oils to work well together, you won’t have a hard time making your special home-made recipe. The secret to essential oils is in the mix. Whether you are using it in a balm or ointment, the oils have to be in the right proportion.
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Why Blend Essential Oil?
You may argue that it is best to apply essential oils without mixing them. The truth is no one will bat an eyelid if you do. The fact still is that essential oils contain compounds that are beneficial to health. When added in a mix, essential oils are more potent and produce the desired result quickly when combined with other compounds.
Before You Blend Essential Oil
You must know that aromatherapy works differently based on the individual. Your perfect citrus mint blend may not be pleasant for your partner. So you have to understand what scents are appealing to the individual, before blending essential oils as a gift.
Grouping Your Essential Oil
The best way to ensure you don’t miss the scent is to group the oils accordingly. You can easily do this by pairing them according to their actions or scent. You can also categorize them depending on their chemical composition. By chemical composition, I am referring to the compounds contained in the oil.
To achieve the best result, you may need to blend up to five different essential oil, and you should endeavor to get the mix right.
I will be sharing with you the grouping method I employ for essential oil. I am sharing this with you in case you don’t know how to go about it. You want to go through the list carefully to confirm that you are not allergic to any of the oils. You can classify your essential oils according to:
The Effect
You can group essential oils based on how they affect you. Some essential oils have a calm and soothing effect. Some others are great at energizing and relieving anxiety. You can also use essential oil for detox. Grouping your essential oils based on how they make you feel gives you the freedom to set your mood. All you need do is to use the right oils each time you need to improve your mood.
Calming
When I am stressed out and need to relax, I made use of any of the following essential oils:
- lavender
- Geranium
- Mandarin
- Bergamot
- Ylang Ylang
- Neroli
- Jasmine
- Melissa
- Palmarosa
- Patchouli
- Petitgrain
- Sandalwood
I make use of Lavender, and a bit of Mandarin, Ylang Ylang, and Sandalwood for relaxing after a warm bath. I also add some jasmine from time to time when I am finding it hard to concentrate. It is best to adopt a mix that works best for you.
Anxiety
It is common to feel depressed at certain moments, especially when you are anxious or things aren’t going your way. During these times, I throw in some lavender, chamomile, lemon, and black pepper for a quick revigorating fix. Some other essential oils you can try include:
- Geranium
- Marjoram
- Sandalwood
- Valerian
- Bergamot
- Jasmine
- Tangerine
- Orange
- Melissa
Energizer
Essential oils also work as an energy booster for days when I am too tired to get any work done. I find essential oils with a touch of mint to be relaxing. Add some Peppermint, spearmint, and rosemary with a hint of lemon whenever you feel too tired to lift a finger. The best essential oils for use as an energy mix are
- Rosemary
- Clary sage
- Bergamot
- Lemongrass
- Eucalyptus
- Peppermint
- Spearmint
- Tea tree
- Cypress
- Pine
- Lemon
- Basil
- Grapefruit
- Ginger
Detox
You can also group essential oils according to the effect when it comes to detox. You can mix any of these oils for use in a detox mix.
- Peppermint
- Juniper
- Grapefruit
- Rosemary
- Laurel
- Mandarin
- Lemon
- Patchouli
- Hyssop
- Helichrysum
By Scent
You can also group essential oils based on scent type. Once you know the scent type you want to achieve, you can easily decide on which oils to include in the mix. We all perceive scents differently, so what works for me may not be acceptable by you. So you will need to carry out your scent test and group your oils personally. You can take a look at how I group my essential oils according to scent.
Herbal Scent
- Basil
- Chamomile
- Clary Sage
- Eucalyptus
- Marjoram
- Oregano
- Peppermint
- Pine
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
Flowery Scent
- Geranium
- Ylang Ylang
- Jasmine
- Palmarosa
- Rose
- Vanilla
- Lavender
Spicy Scent
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Pepper
Woody Scent
- Cedarwood
- Coriander
- Cypress
- Fir
- Frankincense
- Helichrysum
- Juniper
- Myrrh
- Patchouli
- Sandalwood
- Vetiver
Citrus Scent
- Bergamot
- Citronella
- Grapefruit
- Lemon
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Melissa
- Neroli
- Orange
- Petitgrain
- Tangerine
Based on Essential Oil Notes
You can also group your essential oil based on how quickly it evaporates. Essential oils with a top note evaporate in under two hours. Middle notes essential oils evaporate under five hours. It is the essential oils with a base note that evaporate slowly. They can still retain their potency after a day or more.
Top Notes
- Bergamot
- Citronella
- Eucalyptus
- Grapefruit
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Orange
- Peppermint
- Spearmint
- Tangerine
Middle notes
- Carrot Seed
- Chamomile
- Cinnamon
- Clary Sage
- Cypress
- Dill
- Fennel
- Geranium
- Jasmine
- Marjoram
- Neroli
- Palmarosa
- Rose
- Rosemary
- Rosewood
- Spruce
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
- Ylang Ylang
Base notes
- Angelica Root
- Balsam
- Cedarwood
- Frankincense
- Ginger
- Helichrysum
- Myrrh
- Patchouli
- Sandalwood
- Vanilla
- Vetiver
Blending Essential Oil
Now that you are familiar with categorizing essential oils, you can now learn about some of the rules of blending essential oils.
- Always make use of carrier oils to blend your essential oils. They reduce the negative effect of the essential oils and make them more potent.
- Make use of not more than five essential oils in a mix. Start by adding a drop each and then adjusting it to suit your desired scent.
- Use essential oils that belong to the same group only. So you can get the best possible results from the mix.
Is there any essential oil blend you will like to share with us? Let us know in the comment section. We are happy to hear from you.
