Carrier Oils

Carrier oils

When used on your body, the healing scents of essential oils can evaporate quickly, meaning less benefit and more expense for you. But combined with a carrier oil, this can be avoided. Carrier oils usually come from the fatty part of the plant and help make the presence and the scents of essential oils longer lasting.

Essential oils are also very potent. A popular way of using essential oils is to apply them to your skin, but applying them directly increases the chances of skin irritations and allergic reactions. Always use a carrier oil or dilute essential oils in water with an emulsifier like vodka before applying them to your skin. In addition, as mentioned in the chapter on safety, do a patch test before using any of the recipes listed here. 

What are carrier oils?

Essential oils are made through the refining of sweet-smelling leaves, blossoms, bark or stems, and roots of plants. On the off chance that these are applied directly to the skin (or neat), they can cause reactions such as irritations, redness, itching, rashes or even welts.

Carrier oils dilute the essential oils and help transport them into the skin cells safely. Some people use aloe vera gels and unscented body creams as carriers.

Carrier oils are generally vegetable oils such as coconut oil, almond oil or avocado oil, derived from the seeds or nuts of the plant.

Cold pressing is a common way to extract these oils. In this process, an individual presses or pulverizes a plant without exposing it to heat. Careful handling in this manner can help preserve the bioactive substances in oils.

While some are unscented, most carrier oils have a mild scent that is sweet and nutty. In contrast to essential oils, they are stable and don't evaporate quickly.

How do you choose the carrier oil that is right for you?

There are numerous carrier oils available. Most are appropriate to use with any essential oil; however, there are several factors to consider before choosing one.

Fragrance: Certain carrier oils have a particular scent. When combined with essential oils, they may change the fragrance.

Absorption: Some carrier oils are better absorbed by your skin than others.

Skin Type/Conditions: Depending on your skin type, some carrier oils might irritate your skin or aggravate certain skin conditions that are inflammatory in nature.

Shelf life: Some carrier oils can be stored for longer periods than others without going rancid.

Be sure to purchase therapeutic-grade carrier oils from a manufacturer you trust. Search for oils that are cold pressed, 100% pure, and free of additives. Should you need to use cooking oil as a carrier oil such as olive oil or grapeseed oil, choose those that are cold pressed, natural and pure.

The accompanying summary incorporates well-known carrier oils used to dilute essential oils for aromatherapy-based treatments, massages, and skin health. Our summary isn’t comprehensive, but it's a good place to begin.

More on carrier oils

Carrier oils, otherwise known as base oils or vegetable oils, are used to dilute essential oils before they are applied to the skin in aromatherapy massage treatments. They are named as such because they help “carry” essential oils into the skin. Diluting essential oils is a basic safety practice. By themselves, essential oils are unstable; as soon as they are exposed to the air and applied, they begin to evaporate. The rate of evaporation will change depending on how light or heavy the carrier oil is. Unlike essential oils, carrier oils do not have strong fragrances; some, however, like olive oil, have a mild, distinctive aroma. Carrier oils do not evaporate quickly like unstable essential oils do. Carrier oils should be as pure and natural as possible. Cold pressing and expeller pressing are the two primary strategies for extracting and producing carrier oils.

Carrier oils have different characteristics that are helpful in various situations. Choosing an oil will depend upon the area of skin it’s being applied to, the purpose of use, and the preferences and needs of the individual. For massage, thickness of the oil is an important consideration. Grapeseed oil is generally light while avocado oil is thicker; sunflower, sweet almond, and jojoba oils have viscosities halfway between these limits. Carrier oils can be handily mixed to consolidate their properties of consistency, absorption, scent retention, and more.

Infused oils are a blend of a carrier oil and plant material and they can either be industrially manufactured or prepared at home. A base oil, generally sunflower, is placed in an impermeable compartment with the suitable plant material for a given period of time. Calendula and carrot oils are created in this manner.

High-end oils sold for culinary use are generally suitable for massage, and those extracted with cold pressing are preferred. All carrier oils should be kept cool and away from direct light to prevent them from going rancid. Rancid oils should be disposed of. Refrigerating oils can help keep them fresh, although certain oils should not be refrigerated (avocado oil, for example). Freezing oils might turn them cloudy, but they will recover their normal state once they return to room temperature.

There is much debate about the suitability of mineral oil as a carrier oil. In the United States, food-grade mineral oil is exceptionally refined and purified to meet the rigid prerequisites of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Mineral oil categorised as "USP" satisfies the guidelines of the U.S. Pharmacopeia.