Thinking of diluting your essential oil using water? This might be a helpful post to know more about the nature of oils and water.
Reliability of recommendations about diluting the oil in water
A few months ago, I’ve ‘asked’ Google search for a natural way to treat a certain skin condition. Search results showed me an article that provided answers that are doable by applying essential oil. Since I am an essential oil enthusiast, I believed in the content I read since it seemed to be the answers I was looking for at that time. The recommendation in that entry is the use tea tree oil and dilute it with water. Hence, I followed as instructed.
Natural and cost-effective
Diluting essential oil with water seems to be very convenient to do and cost-effective. Thinking that you will only need a few drops of essential oil plus water will make you think that you can save because you will be able to use your essential oil many times. For a bottle, you only need a few drops of essential oil plus water. This sounds so good because it’s not only very economical but natural as well since you are using both natural ingredients which are water and essential oil. Moreover, this is so easy to do. You just need to get some water from your faucet or buy bottled water and you already have your mixture.
Realistic description of oil diluted in water
Although it is easy to do and has desirable advantages it is also important to be aware of how the diluted oil applies in reality.
1. questions and doubts about efficacy
With this kind of oil preparation, I typically do not consume it, hence it has the same content as I first made it months ago. I didn’t consume it not because it’s hard to apply but because I was lazy to use it. I felt that it might not be effective since it has a lower concentration plus it is only diluted with water. Since is not mixed with any substance that I know that also has therapeutic properties makes it seems like it is less potent or not effective.
2. Floating white fibery substance
If you are using a clear bottle, you can observe that small white fibery substances can form and float on the mixture. This is because oil won’t be diluted in the water even though you put so much water on it. After all, water and oil do not mix. Instead of being diluted, the oil will float in a fine film in the water. When topically applied it will settle on your skin in undiluted form (1) If you want to dilute it in water then you must first dilute the oil in alcohol before adding it to the water. Then shake it well before using it. (1)
3. Spreading irritation
If you are using water as a remedy for painful irritation after the cutaneous application of neat essential oil, it is not advisable to flush or wash it with water. This method will only spread the oil to other parts of the body and hence can result in worse conditions. (2) Moreover, diluting the oil with water can irritate because water will only drive the oil deeper into the tissue (3).
Essential oil must be diluted in oils because they are oil soluble. They are not effective in diluting water because they are not water-soluble. To properly dilute the essential oil, you have to use carrier oils such as coconut oil and other vegetable oils. Using carrier oil will alleviate the irritation and the sting will dissipate (2)
4. Milder scent
When it comes to the scent, the oil with water will have a milder scent of the oil. The fewer drops of essential oil you put in, the milder the aroma becomes. You might also be unable to smell it. However, if it has a higher concentration, the scent can be stronger.
The kind of essential oil you are using also affects whether it will have a strong aroma or not. If the essential oil you used has a pleasing fragrance then you will also have a mixture with a nice scent. However it is milder compared to pure essential oil.
If you are thinking about the appropriate situation to use water with oil, the answer is it is when you are going to make automatic wash or bath, because water can suspend oil for a short period of time. (1)
The recommendation I’ve read before sounds convincing because it’s natural, easy to do, and cost-effective. However, accurate details such as when you need to add the oil to the water and helpful instruction such as the need to dilute it in alcohol first were lacking. Providing accurate details is important because when people realized that there are some discrepancies or inaccurate details provided after trying and following our instruction or recommendation, they will wonder, and can be reserved or hesitant to listen to us due to fear of having mistakes or side effects. Hence it is crucial to provide at all times realistic answers that can be implemented and can be proven effective.
While some answers are provided to our questions, it is important to analyze which of the answers are true and reliable. Also, I hope that we will always be conscientious whenever we write posts or answer queries regarding aromatherapy or essential oils. People follow what we recommend or tell and it may have a big impact on them even without us knowing about it because it might be visible or not. Hence I hope that we will always aim to provide accurate details and can be proven effective. People like you and me know that efficacy and proofs are very important. People including me value accurate and sincere answers instead of impressive answers. Ergo, as I always say, I hope we will always provide accurate and honest answers about aromatherapy and essential oils.
Accuracy matters 💋❤
References:
- Davis P. Aromatherapy and A-Z. C.W. Daniel Company Limited (1988)
- Essential Oils Pocket Reference. 2011. Life Science Publishing
- Fritz, S. Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth, and Babies. (2015). Gently Born Publications
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