valerie ann worwood dilutions, and using oils in food

[American Guitarist]

hi all,

i am doing aromatherapy training at the moment, and in my course we are being taught to use a 2% or 3% dilution for massage blends, for example 6 or 9 drops (in total) in 20ml carrier oil.

i just ordered a book "the complete book of essential oils and aromatherapy" by valerie ann worwood, which has loads of oil blends and recipes in it.

i am just a little concerned because the concentration of oils she recommends seems to be very high, for example for her "workaholics massage formula" she recommends 5 drops of neroli, 10 drops lavender, 5 drops geranium and 10 drops lemon, diluted in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. she suggests using a dilution of 5 drops per 1 teaspoon of base oil.

i was just wondering what experienced practitioners think about this? would it be possible to reduce the quantities and still get the benefits?

also, there is a whole chapter in the book about using essential oils in cooking, including ylang ylang, jasmine, lemon, clove, rose, geranium, melissa, and peppermint among many others... i have been taught to NEVER ingest essential oils but this book says go ahead and put them in food!?

again, i am just interested in what experienced aromatherapists think, as i am only in the early stages of training. am going to have a chat with my teachers about it too and see what they say too, but any guidance would be gratefully received!

blessings and many thanks
xxx

 

[JKuL]

Start with what you are taught. Worwood's dilutions are very much on the strong side and I would generally halve the number of drops she suggests in a blend. I would also not recommend ingesting the oils when you are training. When you have more experience, you may feel happier using stronger blends (or heaven forefend, neat oils - something else we are taught not to use, but they have their place).

Sometimes, less is more, particularly when using oils for emotional rather than physiological issues.

 

[The Obese Dot]

I've got about 4 of Valerie's books and I always half or even quarter her recommended amounts.

I was taught a very basic rule of thumb:

1 drop of eo to be diluted in 5ml of carrier oil

therefore if I was to follow her workaholic blend of

5 drops of neroli, 10 drops lavender, 5 drops geranium and 10 drops lemon, diluted in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.

1 would do 1 drop neroli, 2 drops lavender, 1 drop geranium, 2 drops lemon in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

also, we are not trained to use eo orally, although other countries like France use them in this method. I have gargled with tea tree and I have placed clove on a sore tooth before but probably wouldn't do it again!!!

 

[jhall20032003]

thank you very much for your advice, this is how i felt too, the blends look lovely i will just reduce the dilutions as suggested.