Essential Oil Education

To create a fragrant harmony of essential oil fragrances, it is important to know what you are doing. Simply picking a few single oils that you like and throwing them together may only be wasting your oils and creating a fragrant mess. Blending borrows the concept of scales from music. Ideally your blend will have top, middle and base notes. An oil well be comprised of different notes that evaporate at different rates so we smell the different parts at different times. When you are blending several oils together–this concept is more complicated.

Top note oils evaporate into the air quickly and it is their aroma that hits you first in a blend but does not last very long. They are the fastest acting on the body, are most stimulating and uplifting to mind and body and are mostly obtained from flowers, leaves asnd fruits. So they ahve a sharp, fresh, light quality. these are your aldehydes and esters.

Middle note oils evaporate at a moderate pace and mostly regulate the bodily functions such as digestion. They are mainly obtained from flowers, herbs and leaves and will actually make up the heart of the fragrance and the majority of your blend giving it body. These oil are also referred to as enhancers, equalizers or balancers and are typically warm, soft and mellow. Count your monoterpene alcohols among the middle note oils. 

The base note oils are the slowest to evaporate into the air and will act as fixatives, helping to slow down the evaporation fo the more volatile essential oils and therefore make their fragrance last longer. These oils when first smelled seem faint but when applied to skin will react strongly and release their power lasting for hours. They sedate and relax the mind and body and are obtained from woods and resins. they have a rich, heavy and pleasant scent that will emerge later and linger on. Count your sesquiterpenes among this group. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s part 2 on the ratio of top, middle and base notes for an oil blend.

PS: Want to have fun blending essential oils? The second course in the Institute of Spiritual Healing and Aromatherapy’s certification program gives you an opportunity to create blends using top, middle and base notes. Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to find out more.