The essential oil business is booming and bigger than ever before! The holistic health aspect of life is up and coming and not slowing down, so if you’ve been waiting for the sign to hop on the train, here it is.
Whether you’ve been waiting to start your own essential oil business or to make your first purchase, here are nine essential oil facts you should know!
1. Sweet and Sour
Lemons and grapefruits and oranges may be sour fruits, but they yield a pretty sweet sensation. Not on the taste front, since you shouldn’t consume essential oils unless instructed to, but on the feeling front!
That’s right, citrus-based essential oils have been proven to increase happiness and promote positive emotions in users. The chemistry of essential oils can have an effect on people because of the strong aromatic features.
Next time you need a pick-me-up, pop some citrus-based essential oil in your diffuser and watch the magic happen.
2. Tip of the Iceberg
An exciting and crazy fact about essential oils is that they make up such a small percentage of the plant world. We’ve barely explored the wonders that plants can give us in the essential oils business.
The ratio of essential oils to plants is far and wide, which means that there’s a lot more experimenting to do. Before we know it, we may have hundreds and hundreds of more types of essential oils that can provide us with benefits we never even knew about.
3. Faux Friends
Here’s a funky fact: essential oils aren’t oils. That’s probably got you thinking then what are essential oils?
Essentially, they are highly concentrated constituents of the plant that they come from. Oil is something that contains fatty acids, and plants don’t really have any of that, so the name essential oil is really a misnomer.
However, the plant concentration is paired with a carrier oil in order to put it into the “oil” form. So in a sense, they do stay true to their name.
4. The Process
The process of creating an essential oil could change whether or not the derived product will actually count as an oil.
The plant chemicals must be distilled from the plant via methods like steam or water, or cold-pressed. Then these extracts get mixed with the carrier oil mentioned earlier, and they’re good to be used.
Deviations on this method, like chemical processing, don’t count as valid methods of creating an essential oil.
5. Concentration
Essential oils make great study buddies. This is because some essential oils can help you concentrate better.
Not only that but essential oils also can do all sorts of things to positively affect your brain, like calming you down after a stressful night or clearing a headache. It depends on which ones you use and how you use them.
Testing the waters by trying one at a time is generally the way to go. There are usually lots of tips on how to use them from store or on the website that you buy them from.
6. The Origin of Thieves
Back when the bubonic plague was killing people left and right, robbers used to rub this oil on themselves before they’d commit their crimes. It probably wasn’t called “thieves” in the 14th century, but now that’s what everyone refers to it as.
Nowadays, thieves’ essential oil is used by people to boost their immunity and also to clean some surfaces. If it could withstand a plague, it sure can help sanitize a kitchen counter or two.
7. A Lot Makes a Little But Goes a Long Way
You’ve heard the phrase a little bit goes a long way.
Every time you think you need more than a few drops of your oil, consider this crazy fact: one half-ounce of lavender oil probably contains about three and a half bushes of lavender that took up eighteen square feet… each!
So a little bit does go a long way, especially considering how plentiful that little bit will be.
8. Test of Time
The shelf life of essential oils is especially remarkable.
While they won’t keep forever, they’re bound to get you through a couple of years if not more. Something that will help with making your essential oils last is storing them in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight.
Most of the time, essential oils come in a darker bottle to help with protecting them, but if by some chance they aren’t (or you’re trying your hand at making them yourself), transferring them yourself can never hurt as long as the container is clean.
9. Fragrance Isn’t Essential Oil
Finally, fragrance and essential oil can get mixed up all the time. But they are not the same.
As previously mentioned, essential oils can only be derived through a specific kind of process, and often the scent in fragrance is chemically created or extracted. If a fragrance contains essential oil, it still should not be used as if it is one.
Essential oils take a lot of time to make so that they can be used the way that they are, so it’s important to respect that process and not to search for a cheaper alternative with fragrances or essences.
Have Fun With These Essential Oil Facts
Now you’ve got nine fun essential oil facts in your back pocket! Whether you’re trying to fit in or working on getting better at using your own oils, you’ve got a little more knowledge you can rely on for a fun fact or for guidance in your essential oil journey.
If you enjoyed this post, check out some of our others and come back again soon for more content.
