WHAT ARE CARRIER OILS?
Carrier oils are cold-pressed plant oils that are typically odorless or have a very mild aroma. While essential oils contain many volatile chemical components that give them their beautiful aromatic quality when they evaporate into the air, carrier oils are mostly made up of fats and do not evaporate.
Acting as a base oil, they are used to dilute essential oils and ‘carry’ the essential oil during application. We highly recommend using carrier oils alongside all of our essential oils for a number of beneficial reasons.
FEATURED CARRIER OIL
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It's one of my personal favorites because Hazelnut oil is also Toning to the Skin and Tissues. It's commonly used to stimulate blood flow to the capillaries, which promotes tighter, healthier, more youthful-looking skin. That's why Hazelnut oil is an essential ingredient in my Fat Free Body Oil. It's also in Sweet Smile, as well as Shine and Glow Body Oils. |
Here's an easy recipe you can use for alleviating digestive upsets. This is blended at a 2% ratio of essential oils to carrier oils, which is generally recommended for internal application.
1 oz. Hazelnut Oil
4 drops Ginger Essential Oil
4 drops Fennel Essential Oil
4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
*Mix the oils together and massage the blend onto your belly.
CARRIER OILS HAVE A LOT OF BENEFITS TOO!
High-grade carrier oils contain some of the most nourishing and strengthening properties for the skin. Being high in essential fatty acids, carrier oils can protect the skin and leave you glowing. Many carrier oils can also be used to condition and strengthen the hair, nourishing the scalp and giving hair a healthy shine.
Carrier oils can also make your essential oils more versatile, opening up a whole assortment of new activities in which they can be utilized, including creating your own custom body oil blends, oil pulling for oral hygiene, or using your oil blends for massage.
For instance, Pomegranate Seed Oil is known for its rich and nutritious profile. It boosts collagen production, making it wonderful for mature skin, and can also reduce the appearance of scars and protect skin from the harsh heat of the sun. A carrier oil like this one would be amazing to use on scars, sunburn, eczema, or on delicate facial skin.
Meadowfoam Seed Oil is a very under-appreciated carrier oil. It is very light, and closely resembles our body’s own sebum, making it an amazing choice for a wide variety of applications. It is gentle enough to be applied to the face, but it can also be very protective, shielding us from pollutants in the air and other harsh elements.
Meadowfoam seed oil is also an amazing cover crop for rotational farming, making it a really sustainable choice for the planet. We have many pre-diluted essential oils that are blended in Meadowfoam oil — check out our Bulgarian Rose Otto Dilute, Neroli Dilute, Damiana Dilute, and more!
Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one though, isn’t it? There are also a lot of great carrier oils that probably live right in your kitchen. Unrefined coconut oil is a well-loved favorite for moisturizing the skin or using it to dilute your essential oils.
Olive oil and avocado oil are a bit heavier, but they are also deeply moisturizing and conditioning for the skin and can be used for massage or as a means to dilute your essential oils in a pinch. Just make sure that they are good quality, unrefined oils — too much processing and refining can strip these lovely oils of their nourishing therapeutic properties.
BLENDING ESSENTIAL OILS WITH CARRIER OILS
We love blending essential oils with carrier oils because all the therapeutic benefits of the essential oils and carrier oil get infused together. Since essential oils are so concentrated, many of them are too strong to be applied directly to the skin in their undiluted form.
Blending them into an appropriate carrier oil is also an easy way to extend the properties of the essential oil while being gentle with your skin, and probably saving a lot of your essential oil as well. (You may have noticed that we enjoy a dilution of 10% essential oil in 90% carrier oil for many of our body oils and aromatherapy Dilutes.)
Try a hair mask for the ultimate conditioning treatment: blend 1 tablespoon of carrier oil into 5 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil. Mix together and apply from the scalp down to the ends of the hair. Leave this in for 30 minutes or even leave it in overnight before rinsing.
When blended in carrier oil, essential oils can often absorb into the skin more abundantly because carrier oils do not evaporate the same way that essential oils do. This can be a great tool often implemented in massage therapy practices.
Check out our Carrier Oil blend Sparkle with the option to infuse with any of our Essential Oil blends!
TAKE A PEEK AT OUR VARIETY OF CARRIER OILS
CARRIER OILS HELP US USE ESSENTIAL OILS SAFELY
When using essential oils, we quickly discover that various oils may inspire different reactions in certain skin types.
For instance, it's important to dilute your essential oils heavily before application to any infants or elderly individuals — most aromatherapists recommend a dilution of 1-3%. A similar dilution could also be used for elderly or infirm constitutions, or for those who have extra sensitive skin or a sensitive nose.
Certain essential oils, when applied neat, could cause mild burning or irritation to the skin, and are often considered unsafe to apply to your body undiluted. Generally, it’s the “hot” oils (like Cinnamon, Ginger, Clove, Massoia Bark or Cassia), citruses (Bergamot, Tangerine, Grapefruit, and Lime), and mints (Wintergreen, Peppermint, Spearmint) that fall into this category.
However, the therapeutic qualities of these oils can still be experienced topically, as long as they are diluted properly. We recommend using carrier oils to affix essential oils to the skin for medicinal and aromatic purposes, and for internal remedies.
Carrier Oil Dilution Ratios
| 1oz Size 1% = 6 drops 2.5 % = 15 drops (1/2ml) 5 % = 30 drops (1ml) 10 % = 60 drops (2ml) 20 % = 120 drops (4ml) |
2oz Size 1% = 12 drops 2.5 % = 30 drops (1ml) 5 % = 60 drops (2ml) 10 % = 120 drops (4ml) 20% = 240 drops (8ml) |
| 4oz Size 1% = 24 drops 2.5 % = 60 drops (2ml) 5 % = 120 drops (4ml) 10 % = 240 drops (8ml) 20 % = 480 drops (16ml) |
8oz Size |
WE CAN MAKE CUSTOM CARRIER OIL DILUTIONS FOR YOU
Our Sparkle, Shine & Glow listings are set up with the option to add an essential oil blend of your choice. If you don't see your favorite blend listed, or if you want specific essential oils, send me an email, and I'll get back to you with pricing.
OUR CARRIER OILS COME IN A VARIETY OF CONSISTENCIES, COLORS, AND THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES
Each of our carrier oils has different consistencies, colors, and therapeutic properties. The viscosity of the oil can make a huge difference in how you apply the oil, whether you are using a thick carrier oil, like Foraha Tamanu or Pomegranate, for face and hair masks, or a thin oil, like Hemp Seed, or Rose Hip Seed, to absorb into the skin quickly.
When needing a specific consistency and multiple therapeutic benefits, it is also really fun to blend carrier oils together, much like you would create an aromatic essential oil blend.
I like to use a variety of carrier oils in my blends. For instance, check out my Super Custom Anti-Aging Blend to see the variety of carrier oils I like to employ for soft, supple skin.
A wide range of vibrant, sensual, and therapeutic experiences become available to us when we start playing in this arena. Some oils are thick and dark, with deeply earthy or nutty aromas, while others are silky with light colors and aromas.
If you'd like to get more familiar with carrier oils, but don't know where to begin, you can try using one of our carrier oil blends: Shine, Glow, and Sparkle.
These blends combine some of the finest carrier oils together, providing amazing consistency and benefits for diluting your favorite oils, and for skin and hair health.
Once you try them, carrier oils may quickly become an essential addition to your self-care routine.
I enjoy how they seem to make my skin feel hydrated and nourished.
