What are Carrier Oils?

Carrier oils are created from vegetable, nut, or seed oils, many of which have therapeutic properties of their own. They do not lessen the therapeutic benefits of essential oils; they spread them further and make essential oils easier on the skin. A carrier oil is a base oil, which is used to help dilute the essential oil.

Common carrier oils are...

• Coconut oil

• Olive oil

• Jojoba oil

• Almond oil

• Grape seed oil

• Avocado oil

• Rose hips oil (great for beauty products)

You can also use Shea butter or Cocoa butter-- it doesn't have to be actual oil!

"Therapeutic grade" oil means the same thing as 100% pure, 100% therapeutic, or any combination of those terms. It just means the oils are pure of contaminants, pesticides, synthetics, and other adulterants, and can be used therapeutically. Any pure essential oil is therapeutic grade. Most of them can be ingested, and all of them are therapeutic.

"Food grade" oil, however, refers to any oil that can be used in food. So that also applies to cooking oils like Olive, Canola, Vegetable, macerated oils, linseed oil, as well as some mineral and motor oils. Most essential oils CAN be used in food, but because the definition of food grade oil is so loose and open, I would really hesitate to use it for essential oils, because the implication is that all the other food grade oils are as good, as essential oils, which is just not correct.

What is a good place to start experimenting and applying the therapeutic value of essential oils?

Here is my Must Have Basic Starter Kit, of Single Oil Essential Oils.

• Number one - Tea Tree - Trusted source of relief for everyday First Aid.

• Number two - Lavender - Soothing and reassuring, calming.

• Number three - Lemon - Fresh, cleansing, and light

• Number four - Peppermint - Revitalizing and refreshing.

• Number five - Eucalyptus - Stimulating and clarifying.

• Number six is Rosemary - Vibrant and invigorating.

• Number seven - Rose - Refreshing and nurturing.

I also suggest trying and working with custom essential oil blends, which take the guesswork out of mixing essential oils, giving you the ideal balance of properties and fragrances for mood boosting and aromatherapy benefits.

Good companies will provide dilution minimums and usage instructions, if they can be used via topical application, aromatic, or via ingestion, on the labels. If there are warnings on the labels-- please don't assume that this is just some fluff warning.

If in doubt about a company's quality, it should always be researched! I suggest contacting the company directly to ask questions.

• Do you know exactly where their oil comes from?

• Does the company share where the product comes from?

• How it's grown? Are there pesticides used?

• How was the oil distilled?

• Can they go to the company farm and see the process for themselves?

• Does the company harvest and distill with many sample distillations to get the highest amount of therapeutic qualities?

• Do they know for certain that the oils they buy are safe to ingest? To put on undiluted?

• Are there ANY toxic warnings that come with their essential oils?

• Is there an expiration date?

 Created by: James Hobart 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/James_Hobart/1890490