My top 5 essential oils
One of the biggest misconceptions in the aromatherapy/essential oil world is that you need a lot of oils. This is a common myth that is brought on by essential oil companies, mostly to get people to buy more product. Along side some questionable advice on how to use essential oils, these companies encourage a buyer to collect oils rather than treat them as a medicine or therapy. This isn’t to say essential oils replace medicine, just that they should be treated as such. We don’t go to a store and clean out every type of medicine they offer, we don’t collect each brand or type. And we certainly don’t stock pile bottle after bottle of every single kind available for purchase.
First, oils have a shelf life. Stockpiling them is never a good idea. It doesn’t make sense to have hundreds of oils, multiples of the same oil just in case. They would more than likely go bad before a person even got to them. Second, they are a finite resource with many of them hard to find because of over harvesting. If you don’t need it then don’t get it, but buying something just to have it or have a pretty bottle or to even add to a collection is detrimental to the environment and plant life. So as an aromatherapist, here are the top 5 essential oils I would choose if I had to only use 5 of them.
1.) Tea Tree(Melaleuca alternifolia): Tea tree is all around a super useful oil, great for dandruff, skin issues, head lice, cold/flu season and even fungal infections. It’s also a good cleaning oil, great for diffusing to clean up the air a little bit. It has so many uses I could make an entire blog post on this oil alone. This is one of my top oils I recommend to people and its one of the few I actually use up relatively quickly.
2.) Roman Chamomile(Anthemis nobilis): My love of Chamomile is never ending, one of my go to for first aid. It helps sore muscles, it’s good for bruises and its a wonderfully calming oil so it’s amazing for bedtime. I find I like Chamomile so much more than lavender essential oil. And it’s great for kids since some children do not respond well to lavender oil.
3.) Lemon(Citrus x limon): I had to have a citrus oil in the mix, great for cleaning and great for the mood. Citrus oils tend to be a mood lifter and can brighten up the day. I love diffusing lemon while cleaning for a fresh scent, and its a good boost for for cleaning products if you make your own. I would mix lemon with tea tree in some castile soap for a great hand soap option as well. While lemon isn’t one I turn to super often it is one I would still miss if I didn’t have it on hand always. On top of that lemon essential oils is good for getting sticky things off, certainly not the most cost effective method but it’s definitely a more natural method. I use it as a residue remover when absolutely nothing else has worked, usually in cleaning out old oil bottles or my diffuser.
4.) Rosemary(Rosemarinus officinalis): Rosemary has helped me many times when it comes to my back pain, specifically with nerve pain. Its great for the muscles, hair, memory and digestion. This would be a great one to use for a massage with some carrier oil. It is often overlooked but I think it has a lot of potential. However this is the only one on the list that isn’t traditionally kid safe so be wary of that. Pay close attention to the chemical make up of the rosemary that you chose, I know that plant therapy has one that is a cineole 1,8 and its certainly not kid safe. If you’re wanting a similar kid safe options a spearmint would be great for sore muscles/pain, memory/alertness and digestion as well.
5.) Ho Wood(Cinnamomum camphor): My main squeeze in the calming department Ho wood is our go to for bedtime. It comes from the cinnamon family and you can definitely tell. It has a rich, herby/woody scent that I can only describe as being the same kind of heaviness you get when you smell or taste black licorice. But don’t fear, it’s nothing like licorice. This oil is so calming and so wonderful it’s perfect for bedtime or sore muscles rubs. It’s a much better oil than lavender and way more effective in the calming department. I highly recommend this for a good bedtime oil and the best part is, it’s absolutely kid safe.
So those are my top oil picks, I would recommend every get at least Tea tree and ho wood, but having those 5 oils on hand will cover a multitude of issues and really do good. Just make sure that you don’t have any contradictions when using essential oils and when in doubt talk to an aromatherapist or your doctor. But generally speaking the oils on this list are usually mild and safe, Rosemary being the one oil I would be cautious of around children.
What are your top 5 essential oil picks that you can’t live without?
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