Working with Essential Oils - Understanding Dilution - For Long, Healthy Natural Kinky and Curly Hair

Working with Essential Oils - Understanding Dilution

22/1/2013

If you've gotten (or want to get) into blending your own hair products you've probably wondered how to use essential oils safely: how many drops are too little, how many are too much?

This is important because essential oils are extremely potent and if incorrectly used can cause fires (!), skin burns and other adverse side effects.

The number of drops of an essential oil used depends on what you want that blend for.

1% dilution
Ideal if the blend will be used by a child, an elderly person, someone who is chronically ill and pregnant women

2% dilution
Ideal for the average adult. Do not use more than this to avoid adverse effect, e.g. lavender is a sedative in small doses and will help you sleep but a stimulant in high doses! Go figure.

3% dilution
Okay if you are making cleaning agents or if recommended by a professional.

What do these dilutions translate to in number of drops?

For every 30 ml (1 oz) of oil, you need:

5-6 drops for a 1% dilution
10-12 drops for a 2% dilution
15-18 drops for a 3% dilution

Why aren't the number of drops of exact?
Different essential oils have different thickness / density / viscosity. If the essential comes out the bottle in big/thick drops you need fewer drops than if it comes out in small/thin drops.

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References
Application and Dilution
Essential Oil Dilutions Chart
Diluting Essential Oils

Jameela

21/1/2013 08:59:58 pm

Thx so much Heather. Very useful info.
I have a question though. Does it matter that quantity or amount of other ingredients being used e.g. shea butter/carrier oil?

Heather @ Neno Natural

23/1/2013 12:50:04 am

Yes it does. Whatever the total volume of other stuff you're using, for every 30 ml you can use the above number of drops.

Hope that helps,
My best,
Heather

Rosemarie

26/1/2013 03:29:38 pm

Thanks this is really useful info. I have recently bought some carrier oils but had no idea how little or how much essential oil to mix with them. This is just the help that I needed.
Thanks Heather

28/1/2013 05:20:22 pm

You're welcome Rosemarie :)

Nicole

27/1/2013 04:33:31 am

If I am using more than 1 essential oil, is the number of drops for EACH essential oil or for the TOTAL of all of the essential oils in the mixture?

Thanks!

28/1/2013 05:22:06 pm

Hi Nicole,

Yes, those drops are totals.

So, if you are using 4 essential oil you should use only 3 drops of each essential oil to get a 2% (adult) dilution.

My best,
Heather

Marilyn

2/5/2015 06:52:49 am

Wonderful information , thank you so much , keep up good work.

Dee

9/8/2015 02:24:09 pm

Can I use water as my carrier? I want to add some essential oils in my water based hair moisturizer.

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Working with Essential Oils - Understanding Dilution

By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

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