Aromatherapy: How to Choose a Carrier Oil
Carrier oils are almost as important as the essential oil. The quality of the carrier affects the quality of the blend or product.
Foundation Oil A carrier oil is a base for essential oils. By blending them into the base we achieve the correct strength and prevent any skin irritation.
Pure and Natural A carrier oil is made with only pure, natural vegetable oils. Different vegetable oils have different qualities and uses. Elegant carrier oil blends are made from more than one vegetable oil .
Fatty Acids Quality vegetable oils are cold pressed. The liquid fatty acids are pressed from the fatty portions of the plant. Unlike essential oils, these oils will not evaporate. Oils that do not have a strong scent are preferred for aromatherapy.
The Skin Barrier Carrier oils carry the essential oils into the skin. They are absorbed by the skin and are nourishing and moisturizing. The essential oil also aids penetration. Use only healthy, natural vegetable oils, no synthetics, chemicals, additives or mineral oils.
Aromatherapy Grade Be sure to buy only cold pressed oils for carriers, otherwise the base oil will lack therapeutic value. Also oils extracted with solvents have chemical impurities. Get your oils from a health food store or qualified aromatherapist.
Proper Storage Because aromatherapy carrier oils are pure vegetable oils with no preservatives, they can go rancid. Keep them in the refrigerator and tightly capped. They are sold in smaller bottles than the big jugs found for cooking. Stored properly they will stay good for nine months.
Different Carrier Oils Choose your aromatherapy carrier oils for their different therapeutic benefits and based on how you intend to use them.
Sweet Almond This carrier oil is light and golden, with a very light nutty scent. It is soothing to the skin, relieving itching, inflammation and irritations. It nourishes and lubricates well and does not absorb too quickly. This makes it a good ingredient in massage oils.
Grapeseed This carrier is often used in aromatherapy facials due to its lightness and therapeutic properties. It tones and tightens the skins, and its light silky glide make it perfect for the face. The oil must be solvent expressed and not cold pressed.
Avocado The rich, emollient moisturizer is used for dry and mature skin. Avocado is laden with moisture rich fatty acids and vitamins A and E which nourish and heal aging or dry sin. Your skins will look and feel moist and supple as youth after this treatment. Severe dry skins conditions also benefit.
Olive (Olea europaea) This light green or yellow-green oil is well known as a culinary oil, but less so for its therapeutic properties. This oil is so gentle on tender, delicate skin. It is used for soak making for baby soap and it can soothe and heal dry, cracked, ore skin. It softens and soothes both skin and muscles making is a great massage oil base. One of the more stable oils, it can keep outside of the refrigerator for one year.
Macadamia Nut (Macadamia intergrifolia ) This oil, like all nut oils, is high in fatty acids. Nut oils are very god for again or dry skin, being very emollient. They soften and nourish the skin. This nut oil has a light amber color and a nutty scent. The key active component is the essential oil palmitoleic acid.
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) This natural plant wax closely resembles the natural sebum produced by our bodies to protect our skin and hair. Because it is a liquid wax and not really an oil, it does not go rancid and it has no odor. It is readily absorbed by our skin and hair and like sebum, softens, nourishes, protects and soothes. Because it contains no oil, I is ideal for aromatherapy acne treatments and for oily skin and scalp. As an antioxidant, it is good for blending with other oils to extend lie..
Evening Primrose Essential fatty acids are great for your health, inside and outside. This oil is loaded with gamma-linoleic acid. It is superb for dry and mature skin. The fatty acid is soothing to inflammatory skin conditions like eczema. Psoriasis and dermatitis.
Wheat Germ Oils Wheat germ is honey-colored and thick with a strong nutty, grainy smells High concentrations of vitamins B, A and E make it a healing balm for painful cracked skin, and it heals stretch marks and scars., The strong vitamin E content makes it a good antioxidant oil. Antioxidants are natural preservatives. Although not as strong as a chemical, it can afford some protection and extend the shelf-life of other oils when blended with them.
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