How to Make a Dilution Using Essential Oils and a Base Material

Diluting essential oils is the best practice to follow when applying your oils topically. A few drops really can go a long way when diluted. Using undiluted essential oils is a quick way to get sensitized or irritated skin.

Essential oils are extremely powerful. This is one reason we love them so much, but with great power comes great responsibility (as Voltaire and Spiderman have taught us). Dilution is a needed step in safely and effectively using essential oils.

To dilute essential oils, first you must choose your carrier oil and dilution rate that fits your application.

All carrier oils can dilute essential oils, making them safe for topical use. You can learn more about carrier oils here.

Why Dilute Essential Oils?

Here are 6 reasons to dilute essential oils with a carrier oil:

1. Essential oils evaporate way slower, giving them time to absorb into skin
2. Lessens chance of skin reactions, irritations or sensitization
3. Saves you money because less essential oil drops are needed
4. Makes spreading essential oils over large areas of skin easier
5. Improves the effectiveness of essential oils
6. You get the added benefits the carrier oil offers. oh yeah!!

After reading these reasons, how can you NOT dilute your essential oils! Oh, and laziness is not a good excuse.

Common Carrier Oils for Essential Oils

Jojoba Oil: My all time favorite! Jojoba is a liquid wax, it mimics the skin’s own sebum. It is odorless, stores well, and doesn’t turn rancid. Jojoba has softening effects on the skin and is a great oil for hair. Works well as a massage oil or for roller recipes. Also a popular ingredient in natural cream, lotions, and other skincare recipes.

Fractionated Coconut Oil: Odorless and colorless makes this a fan favorite carrier oil for using with essential oils. It is stable with a long shelf life, so get the larger bottle so you can use as bath oil and more DIY recipes.

Avocado Oil: High in vitamin A & D, as well as natural proteins. Perfect for dry or irritated skin. Use avocado oil in creams, lotions, lip balms, and body oils.

Sweet Almond Oil: A wonderful carrier oil that has emollient, softening and nourishing properties on the skin. Perfect for all ages, including children and babies. Avoid if you have nut allergies.

Rosehip Oil: A strong regenerative healing oil that has many beneficial properties. Use rosehip oil for mature skin, scarring, and other skin conditions.

When is it OK Not to Dilute?

When using essential oils aromatically (smelling the aroma), there is no need to dilute them. Essential oils are volatile, meaning they easily evaporate at normal temperatures. Carrier oils are considered fixed oils. Fixed oils don’t evaporate the way essential oils do, and they are much heavier.

Diffusing essential oils, you would not want your oils diluted because it can damage your machine. Remember, carrier oils do not evaporate like essential oils do.

Diluting Essential Oils

Here is a general guideline to go by for diluting essential oils. Keep in mind that some essential oils have maximum dermal levels for safe use so that would need to be considered.

Photosensitive essential oils should be noted with topically application, so you can be sure to follow the safety guidelines.

There are also some oils that should be avoided all together regardless of dilution for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and people with seizure disorders or other chronic illnesses.

3% – 5% Dilution

If you just love the Octagon roller bottle holder pictured here (and the “Oils” holder in other pictures), check out the bottom of the post for details on where to buy!

Essential Oil Dilutions

Ready for the numbers? So far we have covered why essential oils need to be diluted, what carrier oils you can use, and what dilution level you need. Now it is time to figure how many drops of essential oil you need.

Here you will see the drop count you need for each common size bottles used with essential oils. It includes 5 ml, 10 ml, 15 ml bottles. These sizes may come in the form of roller bottles, or recycled essential oil bottles you want to reuse to make a diluted EO blend. Sizes 1 oz, 2 oz, and 4 oz are frequently used for facial oils, massage oils, beard oils, bath & body oils, etc.

I also include several measurements, like 5 ml is about 1 teaspoon or 1/6 oz. Maybe you just want to measure out a quick amount to apply without a bottle, the chart will show you that for 1 teaspoon of carrier oil, you need 1 drop of oil for 1% dilution.

Be sure to get our Free Printable Dilution Chart Cheat Sheets at the bottom of the post so you can have them when you need them.

Do you know what dilution number your essential oil recipe is? It is important to determine your dilution percentage when working with essential oils so you can stay safe and avoid undesirable effects. Don’t worry, we made it easy. just use our essential oil dilution calculator.

Whether you are a newbie or an oily expert, you will find these calculators (yes, there are actually two!) very useful.

Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference and share it with your friends!

Diluting Essential Oils

It’s no secret that essential oils need to be diluted before using. Essential oils are extremely powerful, this is one reason we love them so much.

Diluting essential oils is the best practice to follow when applying your oils topically. A few drops really can go a long way when diluted.

Dilution is a needed step in oil safety. Using undiluted essential oils is a quick way to get sensitized or irritated skin. It is also a waste of precious oils and money. Not to mention that essential oils are way more effective when they are diluted in a carrier oil.

Any carrier oil can dilute essential oils, making them safe for topical use. Some favorites are jojoba, fractionated coconut oil, and rosehip oil.

Essential Oil Drops as a Measurement

What is an essential oil drop? It is important to remember that drops are frequently used when making essential oil recipes but they are not an exact measurement. A drop is considered an approximated unit of measure.

Drop sizes can vary based on the device used to dispense the drop, oil viscosity, and other factors. These two calculators are based on the common thought that 20 drops are in 1 ml.

While drops may not be an exact measurement, they are good guidelines for safely making essential oil blends. Use drops when making homemade recipes and blends for personal use or even gift-giving.

When creating large batch essential oil blends (like when making products in bulk to sell), weighing your blend out on a scale would be a more exact method and less tedious than counting out hundreds of drops. Some also prefer to measure in ml or teaspoons.

What Dilution Percentage Should I Use?

Here is a general guideline to go by for diluting essential oils. Keep in mind that some essential oils have maximum dermal levels for safe use so that would need to be considered.

3% – 5% Dilution

Essential Oil Dilution Calculator

You will find two different calculators below and it really depends on what you are wanting to determine. The first calculator will help you figure out how many essential oil drops you will need in your recipe to create your desired dilution percentage.

The second calculator will help you figure out what essential oil dilution your recipe is. This is especially helpful for recipes you may find on Pinterest, like roller bottle recipes, you may be shocked to see the dilution level they are recommending in the recipe.

Katie Morton ・ August 8, 2018

Essential oils are like the pocketknife of wellness tools helping with everything from stress and anxiety, PMS, and serving as a non-toxic cleaning product. Sure, it’s nice to have a few go-tos on hand in the form of a roll-on, but not every essential oil is safe to put on your skin (or ingest). One of the easiest and safest ways to use essential oils is by making a spray.

Even if your DIY abilities aren’t going to win any Pinterest board awards anytime soon, this is one project anyone can master. It’s super simple: All it takes is a little know-how, a bottle, water, and your essential oil (or oils if you want to get fancy) of choice. Keep reading for everything you need to know.

Here’s how to make essential oil spray in five easy steps.

1. Decide on the purpose of your essential spray

When making an essential oil spray, the first step is to decide what is the spray for. Here are some ideas to get your inspiration flowing:

• Improving sleep
• Insect repellent
• Room and fabric freshener or deodorizer
• Relieving depression
• Cleaning solution or disinfectant
• Body oil or perfume
• Hair detangler
• Balance hormones

Once you’ve decided why you want to make your spray and how you plan on using it, it’s time to choose your oils.

2. Research essential oil properties

Now you know why you want to make an essential oil spray, but how do you know which oils to use for the best effectiveness? When you’re doing your research, make sure the sources you’re using link to scientific studies backing up their claims. For example, if you’re doing a deep dive into essential oils for anxiety, make sure the sites you’re reading link out to sound evidence that their recommendations have merit.

Or, if you really want to increase your knowledge, delve into a book written by a respected holistic healer, such as Eric Zielinski, DC’s The Healing Power of Essential Oils or Josh Axe, MD’s Essential Oils: Ancient Medicine.

3. Experiment with scents

Now that you’ve discovered which essential oils you can use as a remedy, it’s important to make sure the scents work for you. Scent is tied so much to memory that it’s very individualized. What’s soothing to you might not be for someone else. Your research provides a strong base, but experimenting is key.

Much like perfumes, essential oil scents can be grouped by type, such as floral, citrus, spicy, woody, and herbal. Oils of the same type tend to blend well together.

You can also look up commercial products that achieve the effect you’re after and see what oils the pros blended together. You can use existing products as your guide to create different essential oil blends for yourself. But of course, everyone’s nose is different. One scent combination could send someone into ecstasy while leaving someone else wrinkling their nose in disgust. So you will have to do some experimenting to find out what smells good to you.

4. Decide on essential oil ratios

If you’re an essential oil newbie, it’s probably best to start with just one or two oils for your first spray. As you gain more confidence, experience, and you grow your collection of oils, you can experiment with using a variety of oils in one mixture.

As you blend different oils to discover what scent profile you want to achieve, start with a 1:1 ratio of different oils. See how that smells, and then adjust the scent profile and ratios from there. Typically, when making an essential oil blend, there will be one or two oils you use more of as your main scent. Other oils added are complimentary and in lesser ratios, depending on your scent preferences and the properties you’re after.

5. Make your spray

When choosing your spray bottle, glass may be a little pricier than plastic, but since essential oils can degrade plastic, it’s worth the few extra bucks—especially if you’ll be using the spray on your skin; you don’t want any nasty chemicals from the plastic to make their way onto you.

To make a spray, mix your essential oils with purified or distilled water, which you can buy in the grocery store. The strength of the mixture is totally up to you. Depending on the size of your bottle, play with the number of drops of each essential oil and how much water you add. For a stronger scent, mix 2 oz. of water in your spray bottle with 15 to 25 drops of essential oils. For a milder scent, a good rule of thumb is 20 drops of essential oil in 4 oz. of water.

You can add more water or oil to adjust your ratios up or down. Record how much water and how much of each oil you’ve added to the bottle to keep track. That way once you’ve nailed your recipe, you’ll be able to recreate it.

To use your spray, remember that oil and water don’t mix—shake well before each use.

Essential oils have so many natural benefits. Once you get started making and using your own essential oil sprays, you’ll be hooked on how easy it is to concoct your own remedies at home.

Blending Essential Oils

Blending essential oils to achieve a desired aroma and/or benefit can be tricky, but with a basic understanding of skin care oils, recommended batch size and top, middle and base notes, the process can become simple and enjoyable.

Skin Care Oils

Skin care (carrier) oils are extracted from plant nuts, seeds and kernels. They consist mainly of a balance of antioxidant unsaturated fatty acids and more emollient saturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids impart the nutty aroma associated with unrefined oils and contribute a thin, absorbent texture. Saturated fatty acids can have a more neutral aroma and a thicker, less absorbent texture.

Skin care oils are highly effective on their own. They’re also often used to dilute essential oils in order to facilitate the absorption of oils into the skin and make them safer to apply.

Batch Size

Perhaps the easiest way to blend essential oils is in batches of 100 drops. This allows you to easily work out the percentages of each oil in your blend ahead of time and makes for easy calculations later on if you’d like to increase the batch size. 100 drops will give you about 1 teaspoon of blend. This should be diluted at a 2% dilution rate in 8 ounces of another safe ingredient such as skin care oil or water. For our guidelines specific to skin and home care, see the dilution table below.

Top, Middle and Base Notes

Blends that include a balanced array of top, middle and base notes will be most successful. Essential oils are made up of dozens of indivual aromative compounds, which evaporate at different rates. If an oil is made up mostly of compounds that evaporate quickly, it’s considered a “top note” oil. If an oil is made up mostly of compounds that evaporate very slowly, it’s considered a “base note.” A “middle note” oil contains a diffusive, rounded aroma and often serves to bridge top notes and base notes in a blend. Strive to create blends that have a harmonious balance of all three notes.

Diluting Essential Oils

Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile substances. In order to be used safely, they should be diluted in another safe substance, like water, a skin care oil or an unscented lotion or liquid soap. Follow the recommendations in this guide for safe, effective use.

Essential Oil Safety

Essential oils are very concentrated. Their safe use requires they be treated with care and respect. The user should be knowledgeable about their properties and actions before any use. Most personal applications require drops rather than ounces.

Whenever you use essential oils, keep these safety tips in mind:

• Do not use essential oils undiluted on skin.
• Keep in mind that the absorption is increased on damaged skin.
• Test diluted essential oils on inconspicous areas before general use.
• Use photosensitizing essential oils cautiously.
• Consult with a health practitioner before use if pregnant, nursing, suffering from any medical condition, or taking medication.
• Keep essential oils out of reach of children and pets.
• Keep essential oils away from your eyes.
• Do not use essential oils internally.
• Follow specific recommendations for dilution based on the person and application.
• Don’t overuse essential oils.

Confused about how to dilute essential oils for ultimate safety and efficacy? Then you’ll want to keep this essential oils dilution chart handy! I keep this one and our KidSafe dilution chart magnetized to the side of my fridge. But first, you need to know how to read it. Let us explain.

How to Read the Essential Oils Dilution Chart

We often get asked just HOW in the world you read this thing. We realize that this might seem intimidating – but we promise it’s not as bad as it seems! It’s important to remember that ANYTIME you apply essential oils to the skin, you’ll want to use a carrier oil . This chart helps you find the right ratio for your situation .

And for even more in-depth information about dilution, check out our Ultimate Guide to Diluting Essential Oils!

*For a printable version, click here.

How do I know which dilution rate to use?

For normal, daily use we recommend a dilution rate of 2%. For acute situations, like an injury or temporary condition you can even go up to 5%-10% for a SHORT period of time. How long is this? Typically less than 2 weeks.

How do I get .5 of a drop of essential oil?

You don’t. If you really want to be exact, you need to increase the amount of carrier until you come across a whole number! If you can’t do this, just round DOWN to the next whole number (example 1.5 drops of lavender oil becomes just 1 drop).

What about use on the face?

This normally means you’d like to blend into a facial serum or cream and will be using it daily. Stick to 1% dilution – the skin on your face is more sensitive and you should use a lower dilution.

How do I safely dilute essential oils for my kids?

For use with children, you can see guidelines in the bottom block. For the most part, we feel like a 2% dilution for spot treatments is fine. You’ll notice that this block refers to WHOLE BODY APPLICATION. Since we rarely cover our entire bodies in essential oils – a 2% dilution is fine.

What is “whole body application”?

In the case of a massage (or body cream) where a large portion of the skin is covered, you want to use a lower dilution. Since so much surface area is affected, this increases the total rate of absorption for your body.

That should cover most of the FAQs regarding this essential oils dilution chart. However, as always, we want to hear from you! Contact us by emailing [email protected] for any questions, concerns or comments you may have. You can join our Facebook group Safe Essential Oil Recipes and participate in a lively conversation with other essential oils users. We have your safety in mind – so come hang out with us to learn even more! We look forward to seeing you there!

NOW is committed to offering the purest and most potent essential oils available. With a toxicologist on staff and strict quality standards and testing methods in place, we strive to offer the highest quality essential oils. Our skincare/carrier oils are the best value on the market. Utilizing both our essential oils (EOs) and carrier oils, you can make your own skin and body care products for a fraction of the price of luxury brands (with the same or better quality!). Get started today with our dilution calculator and the topical application guidelines below.

Calculate How Many Drops To Add For Your Bottle And Dilution Percentage

Use this calculator to figure out how many drops of essential oil to add to your bottle.

Please select the Unit of Measurement of your bottle:

Please enter the size of your bottle in mL:

Please enter the desired dilution %:

0088c_dilution_infographic_only_final-1.jpg

Topical Dilution Guidelines:

• When mixing different scents, make sure to stick to the drop ratio in the chart above. For instance, if you need 8 drops for a mixture and you want to use 2 different oils, you would use 4 drops of one oil and 4 drops of the other (or whatever scent ratio you like as long as the total drops don’t exceed 8).
• Always start small with the number of essential oil drops and increase to the dilution ratio as desired.
• These recommended dilutions are for adults 18 and older. Please talk to your health practitioner before using essential oils with children and teens, or when pregnant or nursing.
• We do not recommend using dilutions above 5% in topical applications. Ten percent is typical of a perfume but not recommended for all-over skin application.
• Percentages may vary based on the essential oil and application. Essential oils require dilution for topical usage. Do not use undiluted essential oils on your skin.
• For facial applications such as masks or oils, a 1% or less dilution is recommended. For massages oils and other leave-on body products, we recommend a 2% dilution, and for other rinse-off bath and body products, we recommend 3%.
• When using essential oils with children, there are more precautions to consider. Please refer to our Essential Oil Safety for Kids Infographic.

NOW ® essential oils should never be ingested. Please consult an essential oil book or other professional reference source for suggested dilution ratios. When in doubt, approve by a licensed practitioner before use. See more on essential oil safety.

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Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

Im new to DIY perfume and am wanting to create a perfume with essential oils and perfumers alcohol.

From what I’ve learned, to make a perfume, the dilution must be 25%. Is this safe to do with EO? Everywhere I read, it says essential oils should always be diluted and that 10% is the highest and only for acute injuries etc. Is it safe to use 25% EO and the rest alcohol or does this 25% only apply to synthetic fragrance oils? So if I’m wanting to make 50mls, that would be approx 12mls EO and the rest alcohol correct ? That’s like. 250 drops in 38mls of alcohol 😲I don’t want to make anything that’s dangerous as once I start to make decent Scents I’d like to start a small business selling them.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

Not all naturals are safe at high amounts on your skin. You must study the safety of each material before usage at percentages of the concentrate, by weight.
All Perfumery is done by weight. Anyone who teaches to work in drops is not a real teacher or Perfumer.

Yes, if you use proper safety of each EO in your blend, as related to safety at 25% dilution, then that perfume will be safe to wear.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

Not all naturals are safe at high amounts on your skin. You must study the safety of each material before usage at percentages of the concentrate, by weight.
All Perfumery is done by weight. Anyone who teaches to work in drops is not a real teacher or Perfumer.

Yes, if you use proper safety of each EO in your blend, as related to safety at 25% dilution, then that perfume will be safe to wear.

Thanks for your reply Paul. Excuse my ignorance but how would I set about working with EOs by weight? I never knew perfume calculations went by weight so I’m not sure how to start

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

Use a scale to weigh out the proportions of each material going into your formula. Typically, these are measured our in grams so make sure you have a scale sensitive enough to weigh out small amounts (i.e., 0.005):

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

After you get your scale: first become familiar with how it works — especially the Tare function which puts the weight back to zero.

This is how I do things — in grams:

Step 1: Weigh bottle and write down its weight.
Step 2: Tare scale back to zero.
Step 3: Add ingredient A — write down weight — tare scale to zero.
Step 4: Add ingredient B — write down weight — tare scale to zero — continue process until you are finished adding all ingredients.
Step 5: Remove bottle from scale — tare to zero — weigh bottle — subtract weight of bottle (that you wrote down in step 1) from this number.

. and the resulting weight will be the total weight of your finished concentrate — just the oils.

Step 6: Decide on dilution rate you want in grams — tare scale to zero and start adding alcohol to bottle until you reach target dilution amount.

Anyway, that’s my method — others might have an alternative or more efficient method.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

I have dilluted most of my materials to 10%. Some down to 1%. I have a pile of beakers, used for blending small tests. I use a pipette with disposable tips for transfering materials from the bottle to the beaker. This setup allow me to work rather fast. I also have a cheap jewlery scale. This scale is accurate enough for the work im doing now, but will not be precise to do anything comercial.

A good pen and a decent note book is also an absolute must.

I also have some sort of plan for my blending sessions. I might have decided to explore sandalwood. I will first of all do some research on the material. What it blends well with, i might look at other fragrances that has a sandalwood note. Then i will start to blend in a way that is wery similar to Jean Carles method. During the process i take notes of everything thats blended. The dillution of the material, what material, were i bought it, and the amount in grames/mg.

When i find a combination of two materials that work i progress adding a 3d material.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

Thanks all. So just to confirm. 25% dilution with alcohol for essential oils is safe even though everywhere else it says 10% should be the max and not for every day use.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

25% dilution of essential oils would be a pretty strong fragrance.

Not sure I would call it “safe”, but probably “safe enough”. And it can really depend what’s in those essential oils, what oils they are and how much of them were used.

15% dilution of essential oils in alcohol is considered pretty standard for a perfume. Maybe some might consider that just slightly weak for an eau de parfum, but it’s not truly “weak”.

10% would be more playing it safe.

But again IT VERY MUCH DEPENDS WHAT THOSE ESSENTIAL OILS ARE !

Do not be making a 25% perfume if there are high percentages of sensitizing types of natural oils in there. You may need to do some research.

(Also we are referring to actual essential oils here, if on the other hand you are adding absolutes, you probably don’t have to count that towards the concentration percentages when determining safety margins)

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

That is CERTAINLY NOT what I said or meant. Please Re-read my post.

Re: Essential oils, dilution and safety for pure perfume.

About safety using essential oils, each case is a case, some persons can have reactions and others not, depending of the dilution, and same the people that had reactions using the same essential oil, but more diluted can not have reactions again. Reactions are not common (also is not rare), the only common is the darkening of the skin caused by certain citrus oils (only a stain, but not disappears easily).

In percentages, likewise, each case is a case, i think 25% of lemon oil can not be fine, but things like lavender or chamomile have minor problems (same, i think this is too strong). Also base notes (such cedars or vetiver in example) can’t have a good performance in high percentages, these not exhale/projectates goodly, needing be more diluted. Is related in past perfumes having up 40%, but this is various essential oils, not only one.

Over scales, only to elucidate, you don’t need one to start blending materials, only you want make fragrances to sell or gift familiars, friends n neighbors. Scales is recommended if you are taking perfumery more serious, too, scales is used with aroma chemicals because is more powerful materials, and have the question about reproducibility.

I’m happy you preferred make perfumes in alcohol, i don’t like oil based perfumes.

December 21, 2016 By Aspen 3 Comments

If you have essential oils, the first thing you need to learn is how to dilute essential oils safely. Not diluting essential oils poses many risks, which you can easily avoid by learning a few guidelines on how to dilute them.

Why Do You Need to Dilute Essential Oils?

Essential oils, as you may already know, are potent plant extracts that are derived from pressing/distilling large amounts of plant matter. They are extremely concentrated. To give you a better idea, 1 drop of rose essential oil contains the equivalent of 40 roses! This means 1 drop contains oils extracted from more than 1200 petals. That’s how concentrated they are, and using essential oils directly onto the skin is not only absurd, it can be very dangerous.

Dangers of Not Diluting Essential Oils

If you search for it, you’ll find many horror stories that arise from not diluting essential oils properly. Using essential oils only after properly diluting them is the smart and responsible thing to do, whether it is on yourself or your family.

Here are some of the dangers of not diluting essential oils properly:

• Skin burns – Some oils are very potent and can give you chemical burns when applied undiluted or improperly diluted on the skin.
• Irritation – Not diluting essential oils can lead to irritation of the skin. It also increases the chances of getting into the eyes or mucosal membranes and irritating them. Direct application can lead to permanent or temporary damage of corneal tissue in the eyes or mucus membranes.
• Sensitization – Sensitization is a type of allergic reaction which occurs through the overuse of essential oils. While skin irritation happens immediately, skin sensitization develops over time and may not be visible until it is too late.
• Wastage – Essential oils are precious and a lot of resources are needed to produce just a few drops. Using essential oils without dilution is not just a waste of resources and money, but is not sustainable or eco-friendly.

Guidelines on How to Dilute Essential Oils

The rate of dilution of essential oils is measured in percentage form. This basically measures how many drops of essential oil to add in 100 drops of carrier oil. For example, 1% dilution means 1 drop of essential oil in 100 drops of carrier oil.

Here are the agreed-upon guidelines on how to dilute essential oils:

» 0.25% Dilution
0.25% dilution rate means adding 0.25 drops of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. Since you cannot measure 0.25 drops, you can achieve this rate of dilution by adding 1 drop of essential oil to 400 drops or approximately 4 teaspoons of carrier oil.

For children between 3 months to 2 years. Prefer to use hydrosols and herbs. For more information, see: Essential Oils and Babies

» 0.50% Dilution
0.5% dilution rate means adding 0.5 drops of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. Since you cannot measure 0.5 drops, you can achieve this rate of dilution by adding 1 drop of essential oil to 200 drops or approximately 2 teaspoons of carrier oil.

For children between 2 to 6 years; only use if absolutely necessary; use when child is sick; prefer to use hydrosols and herbs. For more information, see: Essential Oils and Babies

» 1% Dilution
1% dilution rate means adding 1 drop of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. This means 1 tsp of carrier oil or 6 drops per ounce of carrier oil.

For children 6 to 15 years, pregnant or lactating women; and those with compromised immune systems. This dilution is also appropriate for facial skin.

» 2% Dilution
2% dilution rate means adding 2 drops of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. This means 12 drops per ounce.

This is the recommended rate of dilution for adults and for whole body applications such as body oils, creams and lotion.

» 3% Dilution
3% dilution rate means adding 3 drops of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. This means 18 drops per ounce.

Only for adults; used during a temporary health issue; can be increased up to 10% depending on the ailment in question, age and oil of the adult.

» 25% Dilution
25% dilution rate means adding 25 drops of essential oil to 100 drops of carrier oil. This means 150 drops (or 1.5 teaspoons) per ounce.

Only for adults; only for a short duration; for health issues such as a severe muscle cramp, severe pain and others.

» 100% Dilution
100% dilution means using the essential oil ‘neat’ or ‘as is’ without any dilution whatsoever. Not all essential oils can be applied neat – here are the ones that can be: Essential Oils You Can Use Neat

There are many dangers of applying an essential oil neat and it is not recommended, except in rare cases. Some situations where an essential oil may be used neat include on bug bites, stings or burns on the skin.

Essential oils are used at 100% concentration in inhalers and diffusers.

Top 5 Carrier Oils for Diluting Essential Oils

Here are some examples of carrier oils you can use to dilute essential oils:

1. Coconut oil (where to get it)

2. Olive oil (where to get it)

3. Grapeseed oil (where to get it)

4. Jojoba oil (where to get it)

5. Sweet almond oil (where to get it)

Essential oils can also be diluted using emulsifiers, such as milk, honey and yogurt (for ingestion) and aloe vera gel for topical application. For more information, read: Emulsifying agents for essential oils.

Do you follow essential oil dilution rules when using essential oils? Comment below!

So, you’ve fallen in love with essential oils for everything from brushing your teeth and making citronella candles to relaxing tense muscles, soothing bug bites, lifting your mood and more? I totally get it. Personally, all I need now is one that washes dishes and I’m pretty much set.

Figuring how to use them SAFELY, though . . . well, that was a journey for me. When I first started out, I didn’t receive much guidance about how to use them appropriately. That’s why last year I began working toward an aromatherapy certification through Aromahead Institute. Safety is my top priority, so whether it’s this vapor rub, or another natural remedy or beauty recipe, I always consult Essential Oil Safety while creating products for my family and yours.

If you’re not familiar with it, Essential Oil Safety was written by world renowned essential oil expert Robert Tisserand and his co-author, Rodney Young. Considered the most evidence-based resource available, it took 10+ years to write and contains over 4000 citations.

I’ve already shared with you my lists of safe essential oils for children and pregnant/nursing mamas, both of which were compiled based on Tisserand’s and Young’s book. In this post we’ll cover some guidelines I’ve found helpful for determining how much to use for specific situations. Ready to jump in? Alrighty then . . .

Why dilute essential oils?

Though there are times when certain oils can be applied “neat,” or undiluted, in general dilution is recommended for topical use. Diluting is has two primary benefits:

• It may increase absorption by spreading the oil over a larger surface area
• It decreases the likelihood of a negative reaction

When is it appropriate to use oils “neat”?

Certain situations that affect small areas, such as a burn, bug bite, or forehead tension may benefit from the occasional use of undiluted oils.

I’ve used a drop of undiluted tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) to soothe a bug bite. Tea tree and lavender (Lavandula augustifolia) are typically considered the safest options for neat application. Some oils – ylang ylang and lemongrass, for example – are very likely to cause a reaction and should never be applied undiluted.

How do I dilute for regular use?

Carrier oils such as avocado, grapeseed, sweet almond, hazelnut, jojoba, coconut and fractionated coconut oil are ideally suited for diluting to safe topical levels. We’ll cover how many drops of essential oil to add to your carrier oil later in this post.

Diffusion or topical application – which one is better?

It depends on what you want to accomplish. According to Robert Tisserand, inhaling essential oils is a very efficient way to absorb them quickly into the bloodstream.
“Inhaled substances pass down the trachea into the bronchi, and from there into finer and finer bronchioles, ending at the microscopic sac-like alveoli of the lungs, where gaseous exchange with the lungs mainly takes place.
The alveoli are extremely efficient at transporting small molecules, such as essential oil constituents, into the blood.” (Essential Oil Safety, p. 49)
A good rule of thumb for diffusing is 30-60 minutes on, one hour off, then repeat if desired.

Topical application is considered a better choice when you want to directly benefit the skin, or when you prefer for absorption to occur over a longer period of time. (It takes time for essential oils to get through the skin.)

How To Dilute Essential Oils For Topical Application

The dilution guide below is based on information found in Essential Oil Safety along with input from a clinical aromatherapist. Please note that these are guidelines and not rules. The individual needs of a person and the oil being used should also be considered.

Also, just because 1% dilution (1 drop of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil) is considered appropriate for a situation does not mean that all essential oils can be used at that concentration. For example, clove bud essential oil can be irritating if used over a 0.5% dilution (1 drop in 2 teaspoons of carrier oil). If you don’t have a copy of Essential Oil Safety, you can find the maximum recommended dilution for many popular essential oils here and here.

In general, here are some guidelines I have found helpful when deciding how much to use in a particular situation:

1% dilution – For children two through six and individuals who need to take a more gentle path, such as those who are working to heal from serious health concerns or may have compromised immune function. This dilution is also a good rule of thumb for pregnant/nursing women, but in some cases a dilution of up to 2.5% may be appropriate.

1.5% dilution – For children ages six through fifteen. For ease of use, I sometimes round down to a 1% dilution. It’s hard to measure out half a drop!

2.5% dilution – This is typically the dilution recommended for most adults. It is also commonly used for daily body care products and massage oils. For facial skin care, a 1% is better. Because half a drop is hard to measure, I usually round down this dilution to 2%.

3 – 10% dilution – Most often used for support during certain kinds of injuries or acute illness. The dilution ratio depends on the situation, the age of the individual, and the type of oil being used.

25% dilution – Used on rare occasions to soothe muscle cramps/spasms, bruising, etc.

Need a specific dilution not covered here?

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Dilution of essential oil for perfume oils

I have been reading a lot of different websites about diluting essential oils. It looks like to use them on your skin, people say no more than a 2% dilution of essential oil to carrier oil. So this would mean, for 5mL’s of fractionated coconut oil, I could put MAX 2 drops of essential oil in to scent. But when I look on here, it seems like people are saying 20%. Maybe this is for alcohol based mixtures and that is where I am getting confused.
I am just wondering what is safe. Would I even be able to smell a 2% dilution. That just seems like so much unscented carrier oil to a tiny amount of fragrance. I am not planning on mixing this with alcohol, I will strictly be putting the scent in the carrier oil and then on the skin.
Another newbie question [which has already been partially answered on these boards from what I’ve seen] is should I dilute my oils first and then mix them? Or should I mix my choice oils together, let them sit, and then dilute that?

Re: Dilution of essential oil for perfume oils

Your final dilution of perfume into carrier would be between 10-20%, most commonly.

Your % of naturals inside of that blend would depend upon your choices and your philosophy of materials use.

But I don’t really see an issue of using an all natural blend of materials, and then diluting them to as much as 20% into your carrier. So in that application, your EO’s would be at a 20% dilution, which should be fine – with the caveat that you also need to pay attention to allergens in this blend at proper percentages. For example, you should not really use eugenol or isoeugenol rich EO’s at a % higher than about 1.5-3% of your undiluted concentrate.

Last edited by pkiler; 14th April 2015 at 03:27 AM .

Essential oils in aromatherapy tend to be highly concentrated and potent, leading to the question – are essential oils safe? The truth is, if used undiluted, most essential oils can cause adverse effects on your skin.

For this reason, it is important to dilute essential oils with a carrier oil. The carrier oils are extracted from vegetables and nuts of different plants that possess high therapeutic properties.

What is a carrier oil

Since these oils are extracted from vegetables and nuts, they usually pack essential vitamins and minerals for your skin. As the name suggest, the carrier oil carries the whole body lotion providing the much-needed lubrication, allowing your hands to move freely over the skin.

This enhances the absorption of the essential oils into your skin. In the same breath, these oils are very safe to use and act as a non-reacting base that you can add a whole array of different essential oils. Most often, these oils are clear and do not have any strong smell.

11 Most Popular Carrier Oils for Essential Oils

• Apricot oil
• Sweet almond oil
• Grape seed oil
• Avocado oil
• Olive oil
• Sesame oil
• Rosehip oil
• Canola (Rapeseed) oil
• Jojoba oil
• Black Seed oil
• Argan oil

Choosing the best carrier oils

The best carrier oils are extracted using the cold pressing method. Although this process is limited to small-scale production, this is the best way to extract these oils.

This process involves placing the seeds or nuts into a horizontal press that has a rotating screw referred as the expeller and are squeezed to expel the oil naturally. Although there is a little amount of heat produced during this process, it causes minimal damage to the vitamins and minerals available.

However, the large-scale production uses another method known as the hot extraction. This method is similar to the cold press technique only that it involves the use high temperature at the end of the process to increase the yield of oil extracted.

The heat tends to destroy the necessary fatty acids and vitamins, making the oil less effective. If you are purchasing carrier oils for therapeutic use, try checking for carrier oils that have been extracted in the first method.

For the absolutely best benefits, use them with quality essential oils from these top brands.

How to use the essential oils

As previously mentioned, using essential oils directly on your skin be too strong, causing irritation or allergies. This is especially true for citrus oils, in which you will almost always want to to use with a diffuser or carrier oil for best results.

However, even with other popular essential oils, mixing them with carrier oils can be beneficial. You still get to enjoy all the benefits of the essential oil in its diluted state, but making it much safer on your skin. Whether inhaling during aroma therapy or using the carrier oil for face blemishes, they are a great way to absorb even more benefits, which work to increase your general health.

Mixing Guidelines

Below is a through guideline that you can use for diluting essential oils in a carrier oil. When mixing, it is important to keep in mind that different concentrations of the essential oils have different effects on different individuals. The best advice is to start off with the lowest recommendation and then adjust to your preferences.

This way you will also use less of your essential oils, one of the best ways to make them last longer.

If you’re planning to use your essential oils for children, be sure to check out these dilution guidelines for their sensitive skins, or buy essential oils that are specifically made to be kid friendly, like the ones from Plant Therapy.

Adults:

Dilute the essential oil down to a 1-3percent solution depending on your skin sensitivities. Use a one tsp carrier oil to dilute one to two drops of EO.

Children:

1 to 6 months

Make use of essential oils sparingly. Use a 1.5tps to dilute one drop of EO

6 months to 2 years

Dilute the EO to 0.25 percent concentration. Dilute one drop of EO per one tablespoon of carrier oil

2 to 6 years

Dilute the OE to 0.5 percent concentration: Dilute one drop of essential oil with two tablespoons of carrier oil.

6 to 12 years

Dilute the OE to 0.5 to 1 percent concentration: Use 1.5 tsp base oil to dilute one drop of essential Oil.

12 years and above

Use a one percent solution: use one tsp of base oil to dilute one drop of OE

Conclusion

Although there are many to choose from, some of the best include olive, sweet almond, , avocado, apricot, coconut, and jojoba carrier oil. Choosing the best carrier oil is similar to choosing an essential oil. Go for the oil that has the properties that you need for your particular needs.