Aromatherapy and pure essential oils are a natural solution to boosting cleaning power, repelling insects, and soothing symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, and more. It's easy to see why it’s become a self care staple! If you’re new to the world of essential oils, understanding what they are, how they work, how to use them, and how long they last will help you make the most of these naturally potent elixirs.
How Long Do Essential Oils Last
How can you tell if essential oils have gone bad? We are here to tell you everything you need to know about essential oils so that you can flawlessly incorporate them into your everyday life.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are natural compounds that are extracted from plants to capture the nutrients, plant’s scent, and flavor in a super concentrated form. They can either be produced through distillation or mechanical methods. They are intended for external use only, although they can be used in a variety of different ways.
What Are Essential Oils Used For?
Essential oils are known to be multipurpose, with uses all over your home! It depends on the type, as each essential oil is unique and has specific properties that benefit you in different ways. That’s why it’s always a good idea to try out a few to see which ones fit your lifestyle the best.
We are here to tell you which essential oils are great for beginners and some of the benefits of each one:
- Lavender essential oil has calming effects that can help combat symptoms of stress and tension, which can help you relax before bedtime and promote sounder sleep. It also helps soothe skin irritation and set a serene mood.
- Tea tree essential oil is a powerful antibacterial oil with an earthy aroma. It can help fight dandruff-causing fungi, and acne-causing bacteria while increasing skin cell turnover to unclog pores.
- Eucalyptus essential oil has a calming effect that can help soothe muscle aches and support easier breathing. It can also benefit the health of your skin and hair.
- Peppermint essential oil has that recognizable minty fresh aroma that helps stimulate and energize your mind. Its antibacterial properties repel insects, fight dandruff-causing bacteria, and help with skin irritation and redness.
- Bergamot essential oil has a soothing, and uplifting fragrance to help improve emotional wellness.
- Sweet orange essential oil features a citrusy aroma that can help boost your mood to make you feel happy and calm. It can also help relieve symptoms of colds like coughing and fatigue.
How to Use Essential Oils
Once you find the essential oils you want to use, it’s time to figure out how to use them. While it’s really up to you, here are some of our favorite ways to use essential oils:
- Use essential oils in a diffuser by adding 1-3 drops into a water-filled diffuser and letting it run in the room.
- Integrate them in your skincare routine by combining 1-2 drops with a carrier oil like castor oil. This makes a great massage oil, skincare, or hair treatment.
- Add 2-3 drops into your shampoo or conditioner bottle for additional benefits to your hair health.
- Use lavender essential oil in a bath by putting a few drops in a warm bath to set a relaxing mood, and calm your skin.
How Long Do Essential Oils Last?
Like any product, essential oils do have a shelf life. Over time, they are exposed to oxygen and oxidize, which can impact the strength and effectiveness of the oil. As a general rule of thumb, essential oils should not be used for more than three years after purchase. That being said, some types of essential oils like frankincense, lemon, lime, mandarin, and tangerine have a shorter shelf life of one to two years. Others, like sandalwood and vetiver, have a longer shelf life of six to eight years.
So before using or throwing out an older essential oil, make sure to check the shelf life of that specific essential oil. One hack to track how long you’ve been using an essential oil is to mark it with the date when you open it. However, if you didn’t initially do that, there are still some things to check for when trying to determine whether an essential oil is still good:
- Test the smell of the oil to ensure that it smells like what it is
- Check the color of the oil to ensure that it isn’t cloudy
- Check the consistency of the oil to ensure that it isn’t overly thick or thin than it should be
How To Make Essential Oils Last Longer?
Finally, there are things that you can do to increase the shelf life of essential oils. The first thing you can do is to keep them tightly capped and limit exposure to oxygen to prevent oxidation. Do unopened essential oils expire? If they are unopened, that limits the oxygen exposure which makes them go bad.
The second thing you can do is to store them in a location that is away from light and heat. Products in a dark-colored glass container can best withstand light exposure. Finally, purchase oils that come in small containers so that there’s less room for oxygen to infiltrate into the oil over time.
Use The Best Quality Essential Oils
What oils dont go rancid? In an ideal world, all essential oils would be of the highest quality and work as intended. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. So how can you find the best essential oils so that you can really benefit from their amazing properties? A lot of it actually has to do with packaging.
First, look for oils that have been packaged in dark-tinted glass bottles to best preserve the potency and effectiveness of the oil. Next, look at the bottle to make sure that it includes the herbal name of the essential oil and that it’s 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oil. As the standard, WOW Skin Science only sells the quality essential oils that are 100% pure, effective, and long-lasting.
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As you can see, the shelf life of essential oils varies depending on the specific oil and storage conditions. That being said, always make sure to purchase high-quality essential oils from reputable companies like WOW Skin Science in order to really benefit from them and make sure you’re getting what you pay for!
Sources:
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/aromatherapy-do-essential-oils-really-work
- https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-use-essential-oils#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20way%20to,of%20medicinal%20and%20therapeutic%20properties.
- https://www.healthline.com/health/do-essential-oils-expire#extending-shelf-life
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