When I first started ordering from Young Living back in 1998, I was soooooo enthusiastic about their oils that I jumped in feet first. But no one ever taught me about how to use them safely, and it never even crossed my mind that there might be things I needed to know. 

Whilst essential oils are a lot safer than many other things we reach for, there are a small number of important safety points we need to know about them.

I learned the hard way! One of my friends listened to me raving about my oils, and she wanted some too! My excitement at the results I was having was contageous. So I helped her to order an Essential 7 Kit (as we didn’t have the Starter Bundle in those days).

One day she rang me a little concerned. She’d been quite liberal with applying Joy oil to her upper chest, and noticed it had left a mark. This was the middle of Summer. That’s strange. I’d also noticed a mark on my skin after using Joy oil. 

I was curious and started researching, and that’s when I discovered about photosensitive oils. When these oils are applied to the skin, that patch of skin needs to be protected from sunlight and UV light for 24 hours (ie. put some clothing over the top if you are going into the sun, even if it’s a cloudy day). If you don’t, it can react with the sunlight and leave you with something that looks like a birthmark, and which has to grow out (often taking 2 to 6 months to disappear). Oops!!!!

Ever since that experience, I’ve been teaching basic essential oil safety in all of my classes. In addition to knowing safety tips, there are many other questions I’ve been asked over the years. This post is a compilation of these questions and their answers. This is a “must read” for anyone new to the world of essential oils. And even if you’re a seasoned oiler, I know you will learn some new things. Enjoy!!!

1. Important Safety Points

There are two absolutely essential safety points to know about when you are using pure essential oils, and I teach them in all of my classes.

Safety Point # 1

If you get essential oil into your eyes or onto sensitive skin and it starts to burn, use vegetable oil (eg. olive, coconut or Young Living’s V6 oil) and NOT water to wash it.

Essential oils don’t mix with water, so washing with water only drives them in deeper, and makes them burn more.

There have even been times I’ve accidentally had essential oil run into my eyes, and I’ve just put a couple of drops of vegetable oil like olive oil into my eyes to stop the burning.

Safety Point # 2

This safety point is to do with Citrus oils, like Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Tangerine and Bergamot, and to blends containing citrus oils.

It also applies to a couple of additional oils, like Angelica and Ginger. These essential oils are “photosensitive” – meaning they make your skin more sensitive to UV light.

This means you need to apply these oils and any blends containing these oils underneath clothing, onto skin that won’t be exposed to direct sunlight or UV light for 24 hours. If you don’t, you can end up with a dark mark on your skin that looks like a birthmark….and it has to grow out (which can take months)!!!

It can even damage your skin permanently…..so be careful! The Young Living catalogue will show you which oils are photosensitive, as these are marked with a sun symbol.

Now, you are ready to use your essential oils….so let’s cover some common questions that may arise for you:

2. How should I get the essential oil onto my body? 

I often watch as people touch the essential oil bottle to their skin in order to take some essential oil onto their wrist….yet by doing so, skin particles and dirt are transferred to the top of the bottle.

So when you are applying essential oil to your body, hold the bottle about 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) above the body, and allow the drop to fall onto your skin.

The advantage is that you receive a full drop, not just a “smear” of essential oil. I personally don’t shake the bottle to get the oil out (unless I’m in a hurry) – this whole process of allowing the drop to fall onto my skin is like a mini meditation in its own right.

The advantage is that you receive a full drop, not just a “smear” of essential oil.

I personally don’t shake the bottle to get the oil out (unless I’m in a hurry) – this whole process of allowing the drop to fall onto my skin is like a mini meditation in its own right.

And by holding the bottle at a height and allowing the drop to fall, it also means the oil gets a chance to interact with your energy field (ie. your aura) before it even reaches your physical body!

An Extra Special Twist: Use your fingers to rotate the oil 3 times clockwise on the skin.

The clock direction is as if you are outside looking in, so ask a friend to confirm that you are doing clockwise and not anticlockwise circles! Three is a sacred number in many traditions, and clockwise is the direction the DNA spins in a healthy human body…so the clockwise motion affirms health in the entire body, and the three times movement affirms our connection with something greater than ourselves (God, Universal Spirit, Love, Nature).

3. The drop won’t come out!

OK, it does take a little bit of practice, especially with the thicker, more resinous oils!

At the end of the bottle neck is a plastic dripolator which has a small air hole in it. If you have the air hole pointing downwards, sometimes the oil won’t come out easily due

to the vacuum effect, so twist your bottle side to side and see if that helps.

If the drop still won’t come out, check to see if your bottle is almost empty. If so, take out the plastic dripolator and very carefully tilt the bottle to get the last drops out.

Usually you will get 8 to 10 extra drops out of the bottle, even when no more comes out of the dripolator.

There are also some essential oils like Vetiver oil that are so thick, they won’t easily pass through the dripolator. If it’s not coming out, remove the dripolator and very carefully pour some onto your finger.

4. Special facts about Rose Oil 

Did you know that it takes 10,000 roses to make one 5ml bottle of Young Living Rose oil?

That’s a whole field of roses, and it explains why Rose oil is the most expensive essential oil in the Young Living range. Pure, unadulterated Rose oil (from Rosa damascena) is not easy to find, as most Rose oil on the market is heavily diluted – usually no more than 5% Rose oil in a base of vegetable oil or even alcohol.

But that’s not all. Young Living’s Rose oil goes one huge step further, because no chemicals or sprays are used in the production of any of the Young Living oils, including in the soil.

They are truly “beyond organic” in quality, which is why I have such confidence using them.

Fascinating Fact: If you live in a cooler climate, you will have seen how coconut oil goes solid at cooler temperatures?

Rose oil does the same thing!

When you are using Rose oil in cooler weather, pop it against your skin or in a pocket for 5 minutes to warm it to room temperature before you use it. That will change it from a solid to a liquid state.

5. The lid is difficult to get off! 

I often hear this comment in relation to Myrrh oil, although it can apply to other resinous oils as well….so let’s put the spotlight on Myrrh oil for a moment.

This amazing oil was one of the gifts given to baby Jesus by the 3 Wise Men. Amidst many other benefits, Myrrh oil is highly prized for its use in skincare. It helps the skin retain its youthful elasticity, and that’s why it’s often used on the face as part of a beauty regime.

Myrrh oil is also used by women prior to childbirth to help improve the elasticity of the perineum.

For 8 weeks before baby is due, mix 1 drop of Myrrh oil with 4 drops of carrier oil (such as coconut, olive or V6 oil) and massage this into the perineum once a day.

Handy Tip: Have you noticed that over time, it becomes more difficult to remove the lid from your Myrrh oil?

Myrrh oil is very resinous, and that resin builds up around the lid, making it difficult (or almost impossible) to open.

Rub some vegetable oil like coconut oil, olive oil or V6 oil around the inside of the lid whenever you notice your Myrrh lid starting to stick, and it will enable you to open and close it with ease. The effect will last for quite a few weeks or months before it needs to be reapplied.

6. How should I store my oils?

Essential oils need to be kept away from heat and direct sunlight, as these can destroy some of the active constituents in the essential oil and reduce the quality.

I recommend keeping your oil below 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). This applies to both single oils and to blends, regardless of their method of extraction.

This is also why we don’t recommend the old fashioned candle or electric oil burners, as the heat in these destroy the goodness of your oils. Instead, invest in a cold air diffuser. Young Living has an extensive range of top quality cold air diffusers. Many of these are based on ultrasonic technology, so a special plate vibrates at ultrasonic speed, which is 1.7 million times a second! This changes the water tension, turning the liquid into vapour. 

You simply add water to the container, add your favourite essential oils (usually 5 to 15 drops, or 25 if it’s a large open space and you want a stronger aroma), and press the start button.

Ultrasonic diffusers are virtually silent, come in all shapes and sizes, and make a great centerpiece for the home….plus they ensure your whole family (including your feathered and furry family) are benefiting from the aroma of essential oils.

Young Living also sells nebulising diffusers which do not require water. This is based on different technology to the ultrasonic diffusers, and is the perfect diffuser to use when you want to reduce moisture in the air (eg. in a mouldy room). I always diffuse Thieves essential oil blend to help tackle airborne mould and mildew. 

7. Oh No!!! I’ve knocked over my bottle of oil! 

It happens to the best of us – I’ve had times when I was dispensing oils from one bottle to another and had the dripolator out, and knocked over a bottle. There are several things you can do to help salvage some of the oil you’ve spilt.

• Quickly set the bottle upright
• Put some of the spilt oil onto your own body to reduce your stress levels in that moment!
• If the oil has fallen onto a relatively clean surface, use an absorbent agent like Epsom salts, Bicarb of Soda

8. Can I travel with my oils? 

I’ve flown all over the world with my essential oils, and it’s typical that I would take about 60 different oils with me on international flights (because there are so many that I love to use).

On international flights, I take a quart sized plastic bag of oils as hand luggage, and the rest as checked in luggage.

In Australia where we don’t have liquid restrictions on domestic flights, I’ve taken my whole case with 130 oils in it through as hand luggage, and put it through the x-ray machine.

I love the comments I get as it emerges at the other end….people often remark on the beautiful aromas coming out of my oils case.

9. Does the x-ray at airports affect the oil quality? 

Gary Young has been asked this question many times. I remember many years ago that he told us he’d looked into this using a machine that reads frequency. I think it was a bioelectric frequency monitor developed by Bruce Tainio and based on radionics – at least, this is what Gary has used in the early days to measure essential oil frequency.

He discovered that the frequency went down for a couple of hours after the essential oils went through the x-ray machine, but then it came right back up again, so there were no long-term effects on the frequency of the oils.

10. Can I leave my essential oils in the car? 

Well, that all depends on the outside temperature – remember, to protect the properties of the oil, it should be kept away from heat and direct sunlight.

I ensure that my oils stay below 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) at all times, so I would never leave them sitting in the car on a hot day.

If you have one of the oil cases with a foam insert in it (like the one pictured here), the foam helps insulate the oils from the heat for a period of time. But it’s still better to take them with you when you leave the car, rather than having them sit in the heat.

11. Do essential oils go off? 

Providing it doesn’t have any carrier oil in it, and providing you’ve kept the oil away from heat and light, your Young Living essential oil should last you about 5,000 years!

When King Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened, they found alabaster jars with essential oils in them. When the lids were removed, the oils were still in perfect condition, apart from a bit of waxy build up around the lid.

I can’t say that this is true about other brands. When synthetics are present in an oil, I’ve had brands that have smelt like chemicals after a year!

However, here’s something you may not know. Essential oil can evaporate through

glass, albeit very, very slowly….so in practical terms, you probably won’t have any essential oil left in 5,000 years’ time if it’s been kept in its original glass container. And let’s be honest – you really want to be using your essential oils every day, so hopefully you’d never have an oil that sits on the shelf for this many years.

Now let’s talk about what happens if it’s blended with a carrier oil, which applies to some of Young Living’s blends.

Carrier oils don’t have the life expectancy of essential oils, so over time the carrier oil can go rancid. In my experience this can take 5 to 10 years to happen. Your nose will know – it will smell “off”. And if it’s gone rancid, there’s nothing to do but buy a fresh bottle.

Young Living is moving over to coconut oil as a carrier oil for many of their blends, as this is a very stable carrier oil, and it’s one that is tolerated on the skin by most people. This is important, given that we are now in a world where sensitivities to nut and seed oils is on the rise.

12. Can I safely use essential oils in my bathtub? 

The short answer is “Yes, of course!” 

But essential oil and water don’t mix. Most essential oils are lighter than water, so they float on top. Then you sit down in the hot bath, and end up with concentrated essential oil on your tender body parts! That’s why essential oils that are not normally considered warming can still create some irritation on the skin during or after a bath.

Alternatively, you can mix your oils into some milk, vegetable oil or even a

teaspoon of Witch Hazel to disperse them before adding them to the bath.

The only time I’ve ever had an issue using essential oils in my bathtub was with Canadian Red Cedar oil, which is no longer sold by Young Living. To my surprise, it is one of the few oils that is heavier than water, and it has a deep red colouring. So it sank to the bottom of my acrylic bathtub and caused some permanent staining.

13. Can I use essential oils in my washing machine? 

Yes, absolutely – but don’t get it onto clothes that are synthetic, eg. stretchy T-shirts, or it will digest some of the synthetic material in the fabric and leave pock-marks. Instead, put it on a towel or laundry bag and add to the wash, or add the essential oils in with your Thieves Laundry Soap.

If I’m ever dealing with musty and mouldy clothes, I like to be very liberal and add 20 drops of Purification oil into my Thieves Laundry Soap for a full load of washing. My clothes come out smelling amazing!!

Essential oils are so environmentally attuned that many of them can digest plastics and synthetics, which is the same

reason your toilet seat may slowly deteriorate if you have been rubbing essential oils on your body and then sitting on the toilet.

14. My partner doesn’t like the smell of the oils! 

This is a really interesting one! I’ve noticed that people whose bodies are more acidic tend to be more sensitive to the aroma of essential oils. This includes people whose health is compromised, eg. those in hospitals. When my aunt had cancer, I used to give her relaxing daily foot rubs. I always had to dilute the oils, because she couldn’t tolerate the intensity of their smell. That’s also the reason I chose to massage her feet, and not her shoulders or hands (ie. her feet were the furthest body part from her nose!)

The good news is that essential oils are always so balancing, and they have a beautiful way of infusing into our life. So start with less, diluted if needed, or just a couple of drops in the diffuser.

Or even just wash your clothes with essential oils, and use Young Living’s beautiful soaps and shower gels. This allows your loved ones to acclimatise to the new aromas, and over time you’ll be able to slowly increase your use of the oils.

I’ve known many a person who used to react to the smell of oils, end up being a complete “oils addict”.

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