Storage and use of essential oils

Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile and aromatic. They readily evaporate and change and deteriorate if exposed to light, heat and air.

Hence pure oils need to be stored carefully in brown glass bottles at a moderate temperature away from direct light. They can be stored for one or two years in this way.

For most purposes in aromatherapy, essential oils are used in a dilute form, being added either to water or to another oil, called the base or carrier.

The base is often a vegetable oil such as olive or safflower, which both have nutrient and beneficial properties.

An essential/carrier oil mixture has a short useful life of two or three months and so they are usually mixed at the time of use and in small amounts.