The Rules of Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Usage

People like to put rules around the use of essential oils, but in truth, there are very few absolute rules.

There are guidelines, for safety and efficacy reasons, but very few absolutes.

Some will try and say NO using essential oils neat ever. The truth is, in acute situations, it can be the best approach. Long term it is ill advised, unnecessary and poses more concerns than solutions.

Some will try and say NO using essential oils above 5% dilution. The truth is, in some situations, higher dilutions can be the best approach. Again, not great for long term, but acute situations, a good approach.

Some will try and say NO using essential oils around animals. The truth is there is a field of study called Zoopharmacognosy, and there are many studies that support using essential oils.

Some will try and say NO ingesting essential oils ever. The truth is that they can be ingested in certain circumstances. In water, not the best approach. By drops in a capsule, not the best approach. Again, it is a specialised field of study called aromatic medicine, and requires far more learning than the average aromatherapist has studied. Thousands of hours of study as opposed to hundreds.

I could go on and on with more examples, but you get the gist.

Aromatherapy and essential oil use is NOT black and white, an all or nothing modality. We don’t follow a recipe, we follow established guidelines, use verified research and learn from a variety of resources to come up with a solution to meet the needs of the individual.

If you see people espousing absolutes, all or nothing statements in relation to essential oil usage, please question it. They are more than likely giving you a one sided version of the story.

Keep learning, because when we know better, we do better.