5 Facts And Myths About Essential Oils You Didn't Knew

An essential oil is the oil extracted from the various parts of a plant like its leaves, flowers, or seeds. Essential Oils are usually obtained through the process of steam distillation. The oil is extremely concentrated, potent and contains the complete ‘essence’ of the plant’s fragrance.

Essential oils have been very commonly used in aromatherapy, cosmetic and beauty products, bath and body products, oral care products, etc. for a long time. But in recent times, the use of essential oils on their own is increasing as more and more people are realizing their benefits.

Right from including these oils in your beauty routine to incorporating them in your bath to adding them to cleaning sprays, these oils have a multitude of uses. However, there are a lot of myths that surround these essential oils as well as several essential oil facts that people are completely unaware of. Here, in this article, we will explore both.

# Essential oils are hyped for no reason

FACT: This is absolutely untrue as essential oils actually have some wonderful benefits. If you wish to dig a little deeper, you can do a quick search on the internet and you will find that there is actually a lot of scientific research to back this claim.

There are skeptics who have taken to the internet claiming that essential oils to be hoax and nothing but a placebo effect. However, that is completely untrue and studies after studies have revealed the many positive effects of using essential oils.

To ensure that you actually get great results from your essential oil, it actually needs to be pure and of an excellent quality.

# Pure essential oils can last forever or they never go bad

FACT: This is a myth as no matter how good the quality of the essential oil, it cannot last forever. The oil will eventually go bad due to oxidation reactions, no matter how good or pure it may be.

The shelf life of essential oils is anywhere from a year to six years, depending upon a lot of factors like its exposure to light, air or warmth. Hence, it is always better to use up your essential oils within a few years before they start going bad.

# Essential oils labelled as ‘therapeutic grade’ are always better to use

FACT: Well, this is certainly not true as it is one of the essential oil facts that there is no certifying body or regulatory that grades or certifies essential oils as such. If a company labels its essential oils as ‘therapeutic grade’, it is usually done to make their product stand out or make it more appealing to customers.

If, at all, the essential oil is actually of a therapeutic grade or labelled as one, it is actually based on the internal standards set by the company itself and may or may not be checked for quality control by a third party.

So, the important point to keep in mind here is that while buying essential oils, it is important to look beyond the ‘therapeutic grade’ tag. Remember that there is no international standard for what actually classifies as ‘therapeutic’ and hence, you must be aware while making a purchase.

# Your skin/ body is detoxing if applying essential oil on your skin leaves a rash/ redness

FACT: Absolutely not! In fact, just the opposite is true in this case. It is one of the essential oil facts that if applying it leaves a rash or redness on your skin, it means that the particular oil is not suitable for your skin.

Any kind of irritation caused by an essential oil is not good and it definitely does not mean that your skin or body are detoxifying. In fact, irritation means a negative response of the essential oil and thus, in such cases, you must stop using it immediately. In such a case, you can also try diluting the oil even more to check whether the irritation still persists. And you must always do a patch test for the essential oil to prevent this from happening.

# The order in which you blend the essential oils changes its chemistry and makes a difference

FACT: This is also a very commonly believed myth among essential oil users. However, it is simply not true.

As long as you mix each oil in the exact same proportion, it shouldn’t make a difference- neither in its chemical composition nor in any other way like its smell or therapeutic properties. Simply put, the order in which you mix the essential oils does not matter as long as you are keeping their quantities the same each and every time that you mix them.