Inhale
In a diffuser, on a cloth or straight from the bottle. The fastest route: the scent is there before you think about it.
Essential oils
I was introduced to essential oils by my wife, Annika. My first thought: this belongs in the esoteric corner.
Today I use them every day — and I can explain why that has nothing to do with belief.
Everything I say about essential oils on this page applies only to oils of outstanding quality. The market is full of products that carry the same names but are something else. How to tell the difference is explained further down.
How I got here
Annika started with the oils long before I took any interest. Honestly, I found it a bit spooky: little bottles, scents, big words. To a food scientist it sounded like esoterics.
Then came small nudges. A neck massage with an oil after which I quickly felt more mobile again. Water that suddenly tasted better with a drop of lemon. Nothing spectacular, but enough to make me curious.
So I did what I was trained to do: I sat down and worked through the science behind it. It quickly became clear that nobody has to believe in essential oils. Their compounds do what they do — whether you believe in them or not.
“It has nothing to do with belief. It is pure biochemistry.”
What's in the bottle
An essential oil is a mixture of volatile plant compounds — often twenty to sixty individual components in very different concentrations. Terpenes, alcohols, esters, phenols: substances that can be measured, named and compared. Which is exactly why quality can be tested.
In a diffuser, on a cloth or straight from the bottle. The fastest route: the scent is there before you think about it.
Diluted in a carrier oil, as a massage or as part of your skin care. Dilution is part of using most oils, especially with sensitive skin and with children.
Only with oils explicitly approved as food: in water or in the kitchen, sparingly. One drop is often plenty.
My everyday life with oils
No ritual, no rulebook. This is what it looks like on a perfectly ordinary day.
Morning
One drop of lemon in my first glass of water, other citrus oils during the day. The water simply tastes better — and I drink more of it.
Care
Several oils are part of my care routine. My beard oil is a blend of different oils, mostly mixed by feel.
Kitchen
I love cooking. Oregano, thyme, rosemary, ginger and pink pepper are ready as oils next to my spices. Often a toothpick dipped in briefly is all it takes.
Little helpers
Peppermint, a soothing blend, tea tree and lavender are always within reach — for the small moments of everyday life. Anything beyond that is a job for doctors.
Evening
Lavender and woody oils. A blend that smells like forest bathing: grounding, calm, a bit of inner peace at the end of the day.
Which moments do you have? Tell me about them, and I will tell you where I would start.
Quality
This is the most important part of this page. There is no protected quality grade for essential oils. Terms like “pure” or “100% natural” are not protected, and an organic label says something about how the plants were grown — but nothing about what ends up in the bottle.
On top of that, many oils change hands several times on their way from the field to the shelf. Whoever fills the bottle at the end often does not know exactly what they are filling. Oils get stretched with cheaper oils, synthetic fragrances or carrier oil — and the last of these is hard to detect with standard tests.
So my most important advice is: find good guidance. Someone who can tell you where an oil comes from and how it was tested.
My tip for shopping
To me, an oil without a hazard symbol is the higher-quality oil. Its maker takes responsibility for it as a food or cosmetic product instead of selling it as a chemical.
The manufacturer I work with produces all of its oils itself and distils them in the countries where the plants grow. No anonymous trading chain in between.
Hazard symbols show that an oil is sold under chemicals law. An oil without them is usually sold as food or cosmetics — with everything its maker then has to answer for. That is why I choose oils without hazard symbols.
A good sign is when an oil is also approved for internal use where that makes sense. If a cold-pressed lemon peel oil is not allowed in water, I wonder how much the manufacturer trusts its own product.
Everything I describe here refers only to essential oils of outstanding quality. None of it carries over to oils of doubtful origin.
Your way in
I will not hand you a list. We look together at what fits your everyday life.
On Zoom, by phone or in person. Thirty minutes, free. You talk, I listen and tell you where I would start.
Rather write than talk? Send me a message and I will reply personally.
You already know what you want? Let me know and I will send you a product link.
Sources
Bakkali F. et al. (2008): Biological effects of essential oils – A review. Food and Chemical Toxicology 46(2), 446–475. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2007.09.106
Capetti F. et al. (2021): Adulteration of Essential Oils: A Multitask Issue for Quality Control. Molecules 26(18), 5610. doi:10.3390/molecules26185610
The information on this page is for general information and describes my personal use. It does not replace medical advice or treatment. No claims are made regarding the prevention, relief or cure of any disease. During pregnancy, for children, pets and with existing conditions, please talk to your doctor first.