E to L Essential Oils
Eucalyptus
Fragrance: Strong and woody
Note: Top
Blends Well With: Cedarwood- cypress- geranium- ginger- grapefruit- juniper- lavender- lemon, marjoram- peppermint- pine- rosemary
About:
Revives and lifts the spirit, stimulates the immune system and can ease coughs, colds, headaches and sinus pain. Eucalyptus also makes an excellent insect repellent and is often sprayed on animals to prevent fleas and ticks. This oil also comes in forms that can be inhaled to break up respiratory tract infections. It is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties which make it useful for bronchitis.
I Recommend:
Eucalyptus Essential from Plant Therapy
Eucalyptus Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Fennel
Fragrance: Very sweet and anise-like with a slight earthy-peppery smell
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: Bergamot- black pepper- cardamom- cypress- geranium- ginger- grapefruit- juniper- lavender- lemon- mandarin- marjoram- orange- pine- rose- rosemary- sandalwood- tangerine- ylang ylang
About:
A wonderful calming oil to help ease stomach cramps and other digestive problems, in fact, fennel is often found in many of today’s laxative remedies. It can be extremely good when used in toiletries for mature skin and for anyone with menopausal problems.
I Recommend:
Fennel Essential from Plant Therapy
Fennel Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Frankincense
Fragrance: a clean dry, woody aroma with fruity, pepper, and spicy tones.
Note: Base
Blends Well With: Basil- bergamot- black pepper- cinnamon- clary sage- coriander- cypress- geranium- grapefruit- lavender- lemon- mandarin- neroli- orange- patchouli- pine- rose- sandalwood- ylang ylang
About:
This oil can be a bit expensive but it’s definitely worth spending a little extra on it. Frankincense is an important skin healer with many miraculous references going way back to the Bible. Adding a few drops to your face cream or body cream works wonders for dry or mature skin. Frankincense also has sedative qualities that will give a feeling of inner peace helping to eliminate anxiety and aid sleep. Other benefits include relief from coughs and asthma.
I Recommend:
Frankincense Essential from Plant Therapy
Frankincense Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Galbanum
Fragrance: Fresh, woody, spicy and balsamic
Note: Top
Blends Well With: Benzoin – fir – geranium – ginger – lavender – oakmoss – opopanax – pine
About:
Galbanum carries an extensive tradition as incense. The actual resin can be burnt, and the oil has been utilized as a fixative within fragrances. Medicinally it is often applied to wounds and skin conditions. For skin problems like scarring or muscle cramping, this particular oil can be used on its own or within a blend with a vegetable/carrier oil and applied to the area. Also beneficial for bronchitis, coughs, cuts, upset stomach, inflammations, mature skin, muscle pains, nervous tension, bad circulation, rheumatism, scarring and anxiety
I Recommend:
Galbanum Essential from Amazon
Galbanum Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Geranium
Fragrance: Sweet and floral
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: Basil- bergamot- black pepper- clary sage- clove- cypress- fennel- frankincense- ginger- grapefruit- jasmine- juniper- lavender- lemon- mandarin- neroli- orange- patchouli, peppermint- rose- rosemary- sandalwood- ylang ylang
About:
A floral smelling scent to put a spring in your step, with its uplifting qualities to help ease mood swings, works well for both post-natal depression and pre-menstrual tension. It also makes an excellent mosquito repellent and is often found in beauty skincare products.
I Recommend:
Geranium Essential from Plant Therapy
Geranium Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Ginger
Fragrance: Hot, spicy, and sweet
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: Bergamot- cedarwood- clove- coriander- eucalyptus- frankincense- geranium- grapefruit- jasmine- juniper- lemon- lime- mandarin- neroli- orange- patchouli- rose- rosewood- sandalwood- ylang ylang
About:
Is well known for its warming properties helping to relive and treat muscular and arthritic pains along with sprains and strains. Ginger is thought to boost immunity helping to ease coughs and colds and is often used to treat travel sickness and nausea.
I Recommend:
Ginger Root Essential from Plant Therapy
Ginger Root Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Grapefruit
Fragrance: Citrus, floral, and fruity
Note: Top
Blends Well With: Bergamot- black pepper- cardamom- clary sage- clove- cypress- eucalyptus- fennel- frankincense- geranium- ginger- juniper- lavender- lemon- mandarin- neroli- patchouli- peppermint- rosemary-ylang ylang
About:
This mouth-watering oil is both refreshing and invigorating. This is a good oil to use if you are feeling depressed or exhausted. Works wonders in a tonic for oily or combination skin
I Recommend:
Grapefruit Essential from Plant Therapy
Grapefruit Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Jasmine
Fragrance: Warm, rich, deep and floral
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: virtually everything
About:
Is very hydrating so it’s lovely used in soaps, perfumes and cosmetics for dry sensitive skin. Jasmine can also be used to stimulate the memory, try adding a few drops of Jasmine to a homemade blend to use whilst studying, and see if it will help with your memory.
I Recommend:
Jasmine Essential from Plant Therapy
Jasmine Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Juniper Berry
Fragrance: Fresh, green and fruity with balsamic undertones
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: Black pepper- cedarwood- clary sage- cypress- fir needle- lavender- oakmoss- rosemary
About:
Holds invaluable detoxification properties; it’s used to treat water retention, cellulite and hangovers by increasing circulation and generally giving the mind and body a well needed emotional clear out.
I Recommend:
Juniper Berry Essential from Plant Therapy
Juniper Berry Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Lavender
Fragrance: Fresh, herbaceous and floral
Note: Middle
Blends Well With: Bergamot- black pepper- cedarwood- clary sage- clove- cypress- eucalyptus- geranium- grapefruit- juniper- lemon- lemongrass- mandarin- marjoram- oakmoss- patchouli- peppermint- pine- rose- rosemary- tea tree
About:
Well, what can I say! Is there anything this oil can’t do? It can be used neat to soothe burns, scalds, sunburn and arthritis. In fact, because of its cooling effect, it is good to use on anything hot. It can help alleviate eczema, acne, insect bites, stings, head lice, bruises, headaches, vertigo, migraine, fainting and just about any aches and pains you can think of. Lavender is a must for any essential oil collection.
I Recommend:
Lavender Essential from Plant Therapy
Lavender Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Lemon
Fragrance: Clean and citrusy with a hint of spice
Note: Top
Blends Well With: Benzoin- chamomile- eucalyptus- fennel- geranium- juniper-lavender- neroli
About:
Lemon is excellent for treating cold sores, verrucas, warts, spots and athletes foot. A very refreshing and uplifting detoxifying oil, that boosts circulation helping to eliminate cellulite and gout.
I Recommend:
Lemon Essential from Plant Therapy
Lemon Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Lemongrass
Fragrance: Lemony and straw-like
Note: Top
Blends Well With: Basil,-bergamot- black pepper- cedarwood- clary sage- coriander- cypress- fennel- geranium- ginger- grapefruit- lavender- lemon- marjoram- orange- patchouli- rosemary- tea tree-ylang ylang
About:
An invigorating and energizing oil mainly used to treat extreme perspiration, athletes’ foot, muscular pain and aid poor circulation.
I Recommend:
Lemongrass Essential from Plant Therapy
Lemongrass Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Lime
Fragrance: Citrus and tart, sweet with a little spice
Note: Top
Blends Well With: clary sage- lavender- neroli- rosemary- vanilla- ylang ylang- and other citrus oils
About:
A very refreshing and deodorizing with its mild antiseptic and antiviral qualities make it a perfect oil for fighting off acne and dealing with most problems caused by oily skin. Lime can also stimulate circulation so if used for detoxification can help reduce cellulite.
I Recommend:
Lime Essential from Plant Therapy
Lime Essential Oil from Mountain Rose
Hi Angela, I love your site, great information! I was wondering if you have a good recipe for those of us who suffer from migraine? I noticed that chamomile, peppermint and lavender are recommended, but they are all middle notes and I’m not sure what I should mix them with to get the best result. I’d appreciate if you could post a good recipe as I am very much a beginner 😉 Thank you so very much!
Hi Helen,
It’s great to see you experimenting with aromatherapy! Those choices sound wonderful, but I agree you really need a base note. In fact, if you want a well rounded fragrance, I’d also add a top note as well. But that’s just me.
For your base note, I would recommend Vanilla Absolute. It’s has a rich, smooth fragrance that goes well in just about any blend. My friend uses it in her PMS aromatherapy blends and she swears by it. It’s excellent for bringing down inflammation, but also to reduce high blood pressure (which can be a cause of some people’s awful headaches). Whatever you do, don’t buy a vanilla fragrance oil, it must be the real thing for aromatherapy to really work.
For a top note, consider something citrus. It’s uplifting and helps fight off those blues we get when we’re not feeling so great. Blood Orange would be a wonderful choice, as it’s completely non-phototoxic. But you don’t have to, the addition of a base note will probably round everything out quite well.
Hope this helps!
I appreciate the information and the time that you have put into this site. It is quite helpful to me. I intend to order any needed product from your provided links to help support your efforts. That said, I do have a question. I do realize that there is no “one recipe suits all” and that, in many cases, there is more than one to achieve the same goal for the same person. However, is there a possibility of causing harm to a person by mixing “not so agreeable” oils?
Hi Candace, thanks for your kind words and support! 😀
This is a really interesting question, and something definitely worth discussion. From my research and experience, I’m going to give you a short answer of no, it’s not possible to combine two essential oils that will ultimately harm someone. However, this is only the case if we’re using essential oils properly and taking the normal precautions.
First, it’s important to remember why only a small percentage of our final product can be essential oils. This is because essential oils are powerful botanical extracts. More specifically, it’s because essential oils contain substances that are known ‘sensitizers’, meaning if too much is used it’s possible for our skin to become hyper sensitive to these substances over time, which can lead to an unpleasant allergic reaction.
Now, how does this relate to your question? Well, essential oils share some of the same sensitizers. So, it’s possible to combine two essential oils that have a high concentration of a single sensitizer. Providing you’re keeping the concentration of essentials oils in your recipes to below 1-2%, you probably won’t have any issues. However, if someone does have very sensitive skin, it could cause a tingling sensation on the skin or a mild reaction.
Furthermore, it is possible to unknowingly use two essential oils that are counter productive to each other. For instance, lemon and rose essential oils have opposite properties. Lemon is great for oily and complex skin, whereas rose is great dry and mature skin types. If you use these together, it’s likely they will cancel each other out. While this isn’t dangerous or harmful, it is a complete waste of your time and money, and definitely something worth considering when selecting lovely essential oils for your lovely recipes.
I hope this has answered all of your questions. Let me know if you need me to clarify anything. <3
Angela,
Thank you for the information you have provided here. I found your site when looking for oils to combine with Frankincense and boy was I happy to land here. Anyway, I have a question. In the descriptions of each oil, you have “Note” listed. Could you explain to me what “Note” means in reference to the oils?
Hi Annah
This refers to the oils note on the Piesse Scale. In the 19th century, a French man named Piesse decided that scents should be referred to in scales, similar to musical notes. The note can be top, middle or bottom, see here for more info on Perfume Scents – The Piesse Scale
Hi, again, I just got eNotified due to your other commenters, and my above comment is past history by now, even though i’m still predisposed to those symptoms and way more, due to my life situation.
FYI, i also have severe varicose veins plus severe neuropathy, tarsal tunnel, plantar fascitis, tendinitis, tailors bunions, and spinal osteoarthritis. I’ve tried many permutations of oils, including cypress, lemon, rosemary, marjoram, witch hazel, as well as a raved-about ointment on amazon which appeared greenish-herbal and smelled citrusy.
Despite their rave reviews online, none of those oils really helped, and in fact, some made me feel more constricted.
What does offer a bit of relief, is indeed eucalyptus or eucalyptus/ginger, as well as =red= tiger-balm (the American one, =not= the high-camphor ebay product), as well as the combo of grapefruit, geranium and lavender oils, approx. 2-drops each (in a 2 oz. glass jar) – swirled into a bit of carrier oil. While sitting with legs immersed in a hot tub, i dip my fingers into EITHER the tigerBalm, OR into aforesaid oil-combo, and lightly massage it into my painful areas, especially my right foot/leg/knee/etc.
For my back, I use a cheap-junk lotion applicator (omitting the fabric covers:
https://www.dhgate.com/product/2-pink-blue-back-rubs-massager-bath-brush/552303888.html
It’s also on aliexpress and amazon.
Unfortunately, i found this junky applicator way more usable and effective than a high-end “recommended” one which looks sorta like a white-rubber spatula. The pink-plastic is already starting to break and loosen. Why on earth couldn’t they make the same contraption in a non-junky construct, and with no removable parts/or/fabric? Par for the course these days.
This is SO helpful!!! Thank you!
Hi Mary,
You’re very welcome!
Have not found so much information anywhere else with the minutest details and pictorial. Million thanks for helping beginners like me. Appreciate your good work.
Looking forward for more
Hi, by the time you might respond to my email, it will be too late, but for the record, i’ve been spending a very very very very long time, trying to find a consistent bath-recipe for severe calf-pain (other people probably call it leg cramps, or permanent leg-charley-horse).
Confusingly, I’ve seen various combo’s advised:
(1) lavender, majoram, eucalpt, rosemary, pepermnt
(2) ginger/or/clary, lavender, majoram, clove
(3) ginger, eucalypt, majoram
It happened as a result of walking tensely & gingerly, for quite awhile, in freezing weather, on a horrible icy-sidewalk near an ill-kept road w/wild drivers. Due to a stupid family invitation i couldn’t weasel out of (since her husband, my nephew, had recently died of cancer). I hadn’t arrived yet, when I developed stomach cramps too, and no bathroom nearby. When i arrived, it was a madhouse (nowhere to relax or sit, basically a nightmare).
I also have severely painful pin-prick chilblains all over the uppermost joint of my pointer-finger, including the underpart. I tried everything,
after priming with alcohol or peroxide or NaphthaSoap:
one or more of these:
wound-honey, bacitracin, calendula, aloe, silvadene, jojoba-oil, pure-lanolin, Aveeno-Anti-Itch, Blue-Star-ointmt
The doctor told me to just (before bedtime only) put:
bacitracin+loose-breathy-gauze
I’m skeptical because it kills without covering it.
P.S. i’m a senior fyi.
Hi there,
Yeah, it can be confusing with conflicting information. The truth is that many of these combinations can actually work quite well. It really depends on you and how you respond to different essential oils. I personally would try either 1 or 3, as I know anything with eucalyptus tends to be quite good for pain. Be sure to follow IFRA guidelines for individual essential oils to ensure you’re not overloading your skin with too many sensitisers.
Ultimately, I would follow the advice of your doctor. While I know lots of people have extensive experience with using essential oils in home remedies for pain, I personally don’t. My experience is mostly related to using essential oils in cosmetics. So I’m ever so sorry I can’t give you any further advice. Let me know how you get on and how your pain responds to different essential oils. I think it would be a great learning experience, for both you but also myself and other SavvyHomemade readers.
I’m so sorry you have to deal with this. Pain can be so debilitating, and I hope you find something to help ease it soon.
In a confusing beginning on new craft, this site and its advice will be placed in my notebook of SenSe. Thank you
Hi ND,
Yeah, starting something new can be frustrating sometimes, but if you stick with it there’s no reason you can’t master it! Good luck, and thank you for your kind words.