What are the uses of essential oils?

Question

I smelled them at the health food store and most of them smelled like dog poo. What are these oils used for?

Answer 1

That's pretty funny. I've never smelled an essential oil that smelled like any sort of manure.

When you smell directly out of the bottle, you are getting something way more concentrated than you'll ever use. Typically, one puts 3 or 4 drops of an oil in a couple of teaspoons of carrier oil before using it. Carriers are grape seed oil, almond oil or other unscented vegetable oil.

Then the oil is rubbed on the body, or diffused (heated so it will evaporate) into the air or put in the bath. These have medicinal properties. You can put a few drops of lavender into cornstarch and make your own baby powder that heals and prevents diaper rash. One drop of peppermint oil will flavor two or three cups of tea.

I use one drop of patchouli oil in about a teaspoon of body lotion to scent my skin. It lasts about 24 hours. You can make your own anti-perspirant with sage. There are just tons of ways to use these oils. You just have to buy a book and study up on some of them to be really impressed with what they can do: kill germs, alleviate indigestion, act as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, heal wounds, soften skin, relieve depression and on and on.

Oh, and some of them smell pretty good diluted and/or mixed with other oils. Some of the pleasant ones are Orange, Patchouli, Rose, Cinnamon leaf, Chamomile and Ylang-ylang. Lots of these are used in perfumery.

Answer 2

to calm and relax people...?

sometimes when you use them you dilute them first so the smell wont be as strong

Answer 3

Aromotherpy has very BENEFICIAL uses.  Each oil has a special use and purpose.  for example, Lavender can be used to calm, soothe, aid in sleep.  Lavender is one of the ONLY oils that can be applied without a carrier oil (neat).

Because you may have smelled a conglomate of all smells together, that could have been the bad smell you encountered.  

Essential oils are the FOUNDATIONS of Colognes and Perfumes.  If one knows how to properly blend them, they can be better smelling than the leading ones (c/p) on the market.

Answer 4

I put a little essential oil in a bottle of filtered water and spray it on myself as a cologne and in the summer for a cooling effect...I love them...

Answer 5

Essential oils have various uses, depending on the oil in question.  Some of the most common (none of which smell like fecal matter, canine or otherwise):

Lavender: Headaches

Chamomile: Sleeplessness, anxiety

Lemon: Lethargy, depression

Peppermint: Nausea, sinus problems

Eucalyptus: Coughs, stuffiness

Ylang Ylang: Anger

Answer 6

Every essential oil has it's own use. There are also different qualities, some are more of a pure oil, and come are cheeply made and don't work as well as pure oils. Good essential oils are very helpful for many things.