How to Dilute Essential Oil (5 Methods) + Pros & Cons
For many uses, you'll want to dilute essential oils for safety, effectiveness, and your wallet. Believe it or not, you'll get more effectiveness for certain uses of essential oils using dilution. Keep reading to learn about the five dilution methods, when to use them, and the pros and cons of each method.
When to Dilute vs. When Not to Dilute
The only time you shouldn’t dilute essential oils is if you’re applying them to wood, sachets, potpourri, etc. for restoration, aromatic, or pesticidal purposes. In those cases, you'll want zero dilution because the oil will soak in at full potency and emit the maximum amount of aromatic compounds over time.
For other purposes like topical application, diffusers, sprays, cleaning products, candle making, soap making, etc., you'll need dilution for safety, longevity, effectiveness, and even basic usability.
Safety
Many essential oils are very strong solvents in their pure form because they contain terpenes. Terpenes are what real turpentine is made from. Just like turpentine, essential oils containing terpenes will dissolve various organic materials, especially other oils and hydrocarbons. You should take care with where and how you use undiluted essential oils. Some types of rubber, plastic, paint, and adhesive can be immediately ruined by contact with raw essential oils.
Undiluted essential oils are also not healthy for your skin. Essential oils dissolve other oils and evaporate quickly, carrying away whatever oils were dissolved. At the very least, your natural skin oils will be dissolved and evaporated, leaving your skin dry and unprotected. Overexposure can also cause allergic reactions, possibly leaving you hypersensitive to the essential oil in the future and unable to enjoy it. In rare cases, people have had burn-like reactions to undiluted essential oils.
Effectiveness, Longevity, Money-Savings
We naturally think that more of something means more effectiveness, but there are situations where this isn’t true. As an example, both bleach and alcohol require dilution in water to be most effective as disinfectants.
For essential oils, effectiveness is about the exposure time and exposure area of the oil against some surface. Without dilution, essential oil can pile up in too thick of a layer, and the oil on top will simply evaporate without doing anything. Diluting the oil counteracts this problem by slowing evaporation and making the oil spread more easily.
Slower evaporation means longer contact time, and better spreading means less wasted oil. Dilution lets your oil do more with less and that saves you money.
Misunderstandings and Terminology
There is some misunderstanding and misinformation online about essential oil dilution. Many articles get the basic terminology confused, leading to inaccurate statements about diluting essential oils. The most common problem is listing things as carriers or emulsifiers that are neither carriers nor emulsifiers. Things like alcohol, milk, honey, baking soda, borax, and beeswax are neither carriers nor emulsifiers. Hopefully that can be cleared up below.
The Five Basic Dilution Methods
The best method to use will depend on what you’re using the essential oil for. Instead of rewriting already excellent articles on these methods, links for additional reading have been included for each method.
1. Mechanical Dispersion
Mechanically distributing oil in water.
- Uses:
- Diffuser.
- Pros:
- Simplest and cheapest.
- Cons:
- Oil and water will immediately separate.
- Really only useful in diffusers.
- More Info:
2. Carrier Oils
Mixing essential oils with triglyceride oils (vegetable oils).
- Uses:
- Topical application.
- Pros:
- Safe, easy, and simple.
- Cons:
- Triglyceride oils feel oily and tend to leave an oily residue.
- Mixture will have a shorter shelf-life because triglycerides decay and spoil more quickly than essential oils.
- More Info:
3. Solubilizing
Dissolving oil in alcohol and then dissolving the result in water.
- Uses:
- Sprays, scents, and cleaning products.
- Pros:
- Long shelf life due to alcohol content.
- Great for fine sprays or mists because alcohol lowers viscosity of oil and water.
- Cons:
- Need high proof grain alcohol and high purity water to ensure success.
- More Info:
4. Emulsifying
Mechanically distributing oil in water and chemically locking it in place.
- Uses:
- Topical application, creams
- Pros:
- Allows for a broad range of ingredients to be included.
- Topical application without the oiliness of carrier oils.
- Cons:
- There is a lot of misinformation about emulsifiers online.
- More Info:
5. Using Surfactants
Using soaps or detergents to let oil and water mix.
- Uses:
- Cleaning products
- Soaps for bodily use.
- Detergents for household use.
- Pros:
- Great for making cleaning products.
- Cons:
- Really only useful for cleaning products.
- More Info:
The Proper Dilution Amount
Remember, there’s no reason to dilute oil if you want it to be absorbed by bare wood or some other material that will quickly and fully absorb it. The oil will soak in and naturally release in a controlled manner. It’s the other uses of essential oil that make dilution beneficial.
As a quick rule of thumb, use a 2% maximum essential oil concentration (1 part essential oil to 50 parts non-essential oil.) This applies to every dilution method and use mentioned. It can be acceptable to go above this amount in some cases, but this is a good guideline for starting out.
For diffusers, you should read the instructions provided, as there are many different kinds, but the most common kind require 5 to 10 drops of oil per 100ml of water.
For alcohol dilution, use 3% essential oil, 25% high proof (190 proof) alcohol and 72% distilled water. Completely mix the oil and alcohol first before mixing in the water.
Eastern Red Cedar Oil
Eastern Red Cedar oil (Juniperus Virginiana) is an excellent essential oil for all the uses mentioned above. If you want the spicy, sweet, and refreshing properties of this oil please check out our products here. You will be getting a pure essential oil, carefully extracted by a family made operation.
If you’re curious about the benefits and uses of this cedarwood essential oil, this article has the information you’re looking for: