Aromatherapy carrier oils are key because they are used for diluting the essential oils which can be very potent. These essential oils come straight from the plant and in many cases to use them without dilution would be very costly both in terms of money and safety. When using aromatherapy massage oils, the carrier oils are essential because your body would simply absorb too much of the essential oil through the skin which could be harmful to your health!

Using carrier oils for massage will also make the aromatherapy essential oils easier to work with. The carrier oils are lubricating oils which will help your hands glide over the body and make for a much more comfortable and soothing massage. The carrier oils also help the body absorb the essential oils and get them into the blood stream safely.

What do you use for aromatherapy carrier oils?

Typically nut and vegetable oils are used, but not the kinds you find in the grocery store! The carrier oils are handled much more gently than your regular cooking oil so you’ll want to buy oils made specifically for aromatherapy use. What you want to look for is oils that have been cold pressed - this means that the fatty acids are still intact and no chemicals have been used to process the oils. Make sure you take a whiff of the oil you want to buy - it should have no aroma. Oils can easily go rancid and when they do, they usually smell a bit off.

You can take your pick of many different types of oils to use as a carrier oils and, depending on the reason for the aromatherapy session, some may be more useful than others. Some popular oils include almond, coconut, avocado, grapeseed, wheat germ and macadamia. Each different type of oil might interact differently with different types of essential oils, so you might want to experiment until you find the right mix for your purposes.

Aromatherapy carrier oils are an important tool in any aroma therapists toolbox and you wan to be sure to keep a couple of different kinds around so you’ll always have the perfect oil for the occasion on hand.