I’m sure a lot of you have heard of essential oils, and if you are anything like me you were probably a little skeptical at first. It’s hard to believe that something so simple can actually do things like improve your health.

For those of you who may not know about essential oils, essentially (get it?) the oils are made from very concentrated plant extracts that offer a ton of benefits for your health, mood, and even hygiene.

Since the whole concept behind essential oils is an all-natural product to help boost your health, mood, etc, you want to make sure you are actually getting a natural product. When choosing your oil, typically the darker bottles are an easy first clue that you’re getting the real deal. Then, just make sure to check the ingredients—labels should show all of the ingredients, including the botanical name. The all natural oils tend to be more expensive, but if you get the synthetic oils they really won’t provide the benefits. It’s like my mom says, “You get what you pay for!”

How to use Essential Oils

Once you purchase your all natural oils, you can decide how you prefer to use them. Some oils might have specific processes so that they are more effective, but typically there are 4 ways you can use your essential oils:

1. Smell them

Personally, I don’t really care for this option or find it super effective in most instances. But, everyone is different. For this, I recommend putting a few drops in your hand (No sniffing from the bottle!) and smelling it out of your palm.

2. Apply them

This option is pretty basic—you just rub the oils on your body, usually on the same places you would feel for a pulse. You want to be careful with this one, as some oils are very strong and might cause some skin irritation. I recommend that you start with a small area of your skin with each new oil that you apply, just so you can test your reactions.

3. Eat them

I am using this term loosely. Typically, I just add a couple drops into my water for the day. Don’t just swallow the jar!

4. Diffuse them

This is my personal favorite! You just add your oil and water to the diffuser, and it creates a mist. Not only do you get the benefits from the essential oils, some of them smell really great and it’ll keep your room fresh! The only downside, of course, is that you’d have to buy a diffuser.

As you begin your journey with essential oils, keep in mind that every oil is different. The best thing to do if you’re not sure how an oil will effect you is to read about it! As you start looking for specific oils to use, you can search by what you need (i.e. essential oils to help me sleep).

We will talk about specific essential oils later on, so let me know if there are any you are dying to learn about!