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AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
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AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
Aromaticblendingforthesheerpleasureofthearomaisacombination
ofcreativityandscience.Whenusingablendcreatedprimarilyforits
fragrance,therapeuticbenefitcanalsooccur.Thefocusoftheblend,
however,isonthefinalaroma,notitstherapeuticproperties.
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HomePage>AromatherapyArticles&Guides>AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
Safetyprecautionsshouldbefollowedforanytypeofblending,
includingforaromaticblending.Forinstance,youwouldstillwanttobe
extremelycarefulwhenusingBergamotbecauseofitsphototoxic
propertiesandstillavoidusingallhazardousoilsandalloilsthatare
contraindicatedforconditionsthatyouhave.
Fragrancetesting
stripsusedtoevaluate
thearoma.
Traditionalperfumersthatworkforthefamousfragrancehousesstudy
foryearstomastertheartandscienceofperfumeryblending.The
perfumersstandardrepertoireconsistsofessentialoilsbutalsoof
synthesizedchemicalsthatmimictheconstituents(chemicals)of
essentialoilsandothernaturalingredients.Perfumersusesynthesized
chemicalsandchemicalsextractedfromessentialoilsbecausetheyare
oftencheaperthanusingpureessentialoilsandbecausethechemicals
arestandardizedandwillbemoreconsistentinaroma.Ifyoucanfind
acopy,TheScienceandArtofPerfumerybyEdwardSagarin
(copyright1945)isafascinatingbookthatprovidesinsightintothe
historyandscienceofperfumery.
Aromatherapy
blendingitems
includingdisposable
pipettesanddroppers.
Inaromatherapyblending,onlynaturalingredientssuchasessentialoils,absolutes,CO2s,
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grainalcohol,carrieroils,herbsandwaterareused.Becausearomatherapyblending
requiresandbenefitsfromtheuseofunsynthesizedchemicals,youshouldnthavehigh
expectationsforperfectlyduplicatingyourfavoritecommercialfragrances.
EssentialOilBlendingBasics
Essentialoilscanbecategorizedintobroadgroupsbasedontheiraromas.Anexample
categoricalsystemisasfollows:
Floral
(i.e.Lavender,Neroli,Jasmine)
Woodsy
(i.e.Pine,Cedar)
Earthy
(i.e.Oakmoss,Vetiver,Patchouli)
Herbaceous
(i.e.Marjoram,Rosemary,Basil)
Minty
(i.e.Peppermint,Spearmint)
Medicinal/Camphorous
(i.e.Eucalyptus,Cajuput,TeaTree)
Spicy
(i.e.Nutmeg,Clove,Cinnamon)
Oriental
(i.e.Ginger,Patchouli)
Citrus
(i.e.Orange,Lemon,Lime)
Oilsinthesamecategorygenerallyblendwelltogether.Ihesitatespecifyingthat
particularcategoriesblendwellwithotherspecificcategoriesbecauseitcanlimityour
creativityandexperimentation.Additionally,therearealwaysexceptions.Buttogetyou
started,belowaresomecategoriesthatgenerallyblendwelltogether:
Floralsblendwellwithspicy,citrusyandwoodsyoils.
Woodsyoilsgenerallyblendwellwithallcategories.
Spicyandorientaloilsblendwellwithflorals,orientalandcitrusoils.Becarefulnot
tooverpowertheblendwiththespicyororientaloils.
Mintyoilsblendwellwithcitrus,woodsy,herbaceousandearthyoils.
HarmonizingYourEssentialOilBlend
Haveyouevernoticedthatafragrancesmellsdifferentlyafterseveralhoursthanwhen
youfirstapplyit?Someessentialoilsevaporatemorequicklythanothers.Astheoilsina
blendevaporate,thearomawillchangetoreflectthearomaoftheremainingoils.
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AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
Usingtheanalogyofamusicalscale,oilsthatevaporatethequickest,usuallywithin12
hours,arecalledtopnotes.Oilsthatevaporatewith24hoursareconsideredmiddle
notes.Oilsthattakethelongesttimetoevaporatearereferredtoasbasenotes.Some
basenotescantakeseveraldaystoevaporate!EdwardSagarincreditsSeptimusPiesse
withthisanalogythathasbeenusedbymanyperfumers:
Anothercontributiontothefieldofodorclassificationwasmadebythe
famousperfumerandperfumehistorian,SeptimusPiesse.Thisuniquefigurein
thehistoryofthesciencecreatedwhathecalledanodophone.theodors
werelikesounds,hepointedout,andascalecouldbecreatedgoingfromthe
firstorlowestnote,theheavysmelltothelastorhighestnote,thesharp
smell.Inbetweentherewasanascendingladder.Eachodornotecorresponded
toakeyonhisodophone,andinthecreationofahappymixtureofmany
differentodors,whichwecallabouquetandwhicheveryfinishedperfume
mustbe,thecreatorseeksnotonlytohittherightnotes,buttostrikethose
noteswhichgowithoneanother.Hisperfumemustnotbeoutoftune.
[EdwardSagarin,TheScienceandArtofPerfumery(NewYork,NY:McGraw
Hill,1945),145.]
Belowisachartofcommonlyavailableoilsbasedontheircommonclassification:
TopNotes
Anise
Basil
BayLaurel
Bergamot
BergamotMint
Citronella
Eucalyptus
MiddleNotes
Bay
Boisderose
Cajeput
CarrotSeed
Chamomile,German
Chamomile,Roman
Cinnamon
ClarySage
CloveBud
Cypress
Dill
Elemi
Fennel
Galbanum
Grapefruit
Lavender
Lavendin
Lemon
Lemongrass
Lime
FirNeedle
Geranium
Hyssop
Jasmine
JuniperBerry
LindenBlossom
Marjoram
Neroli
Nutmeg
Palmarosa
Parsley
Pepper,Black
Pine,Scotch
Orange
Peppermint
Petitgrain
Spearmint
Tagetes
Tangerine
Rose
RoseGeranium
Rosemary
Rosewood
Spruce
TeaTree,Common
TeaTree,NZ(Manuka)
Thyme
Tobacco
Yarrow
YlangYlang
BaseNotes
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AngelicaRoot
Balsam,Peru
Beeswax
Benzoin
Cedarwood,Atlas
Cedarwood,Virginian
Frankincense
Ginger
Helichrysum(Immortelle)
Myrrh
Oakmoss
Olibanum
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Vanilla
Vetiver
Blendingdoesnothavehardandfastrulesthatmustbefollowedtocreatethatwonderful
blendthatyoullloveforalifetime.Thelackoflimitsandrestrictionsiswhatmakes
perfumeryanartform.Havingsaidthat,afewtipswillhelpgetyouofftoafinestart:
BlendingTips
Whencreatinganewblend,startoutsmallwithatotalnumberofdropsofeither5,
10,20or25drops.25dropsshouldbethemostthatyoustartwith.Bystarting
small,youwastelessoilinyourblendingexperiments.
Startcreatingyourblendbyonlyusingessentialoils,absolutesorCO2s.Afteryou
havedesignedtheblend,thenyoucandiluteitbyaddingcarrieroils,alcohol,etc.If
youhatetheblendyoucreated,youhavethennotwastedanycarrieroilsoralcohol.
Keepanotebookthatlistseachoilthatyouusedwiththenumberofdropsusedfor
eachoil.Whenthecreativejuicesflow,itiseasytogetcarriedawayandlater
forgettheexactrecipeforyourblendonedroptoomuchortoolittleofevenoneoil
candrasticallychangethearomaofyourblend.Whenyoufindthatperfectblend,
youwanttobeabletoreduplicateit,anditsnearimpossibleifyoudidnttake
notes!Ifyouareespeciallyambitious,itsalsoawiseideatonotethevendorname
oftheoilthatyouusedasthearomaandqualityofoilsdovarybetweenvendors
(evenwiththesamevendor,thearomaofoilscanvaryfrombatchtobatch,dueto
cropfluctuationsandresourcing).
Tostoreyourbeautifulcreations,perfumesamplebottlesand2mlambershortie
bottlesareveryinexpensiveandcanoftenbepurchasedfromaromatherapyvendors
andglassbottlecompanies.
Besuretolabelyourblendsclearly.Ifyoudonthaveenoughroomtospecify
exactlywhatyourblendis,labelitwithanumberthatcorrespondstoanumberin
yournotebook.
Startoffyourblendingexperimentsbycreatingblendsthataremadeupinthe
followingratio(youdonothavetobeexactthisisjustaguidelinetogetyou
started):30%oftheoilsaretopnotes,50%aremiddlenotes,and20%arebase
notes.Seethechartabovetofindoutwhatoilsbelongtoeachcategory.
Someoilsaremuchstrongerthanothers,especiallytheabsolutesandCO2s.Study
oilsyouwishtouseinagivenblendandobservetheoilsthathavethestrongest
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aromas.Unlessyouwantthoseoilstodominatetheblend,youwillwanttouse
dramaticallylessofthestrongeroilsinyourblend.
Tolearnmoreaboutthestrengthofoils,itisusefultoexperiment.Beginbyadding
onedropofaselectedessentialoilto4dropscarrieroil.Thiswillresultina20%
dilution.Smellitandstudythearoma.Toobtaina10%dilution,add5moredropsof
carrieroil.Smellit,studythearomaagain,thenrepeatasdesired.Thiscanhelp
educateyouonthecharacteristicsandstrengthsofeachessentialoilatvarious
dilutionratios.
Aftercreatingyourblend,allowittositforafewdaysbeforedecidingifyouloveor
hateit.Theconstituents(naturalchemicals)containedwithintheoilswillgetcozy
witheachotherandthearomacanchange,usuallyroundingoutabit.
Recipes
SolidPerfumeRecipe
SeeAromaWeb'sNaturalSolidPerfumeRecipelocatedintheRecipessection.
CarrierOilBasePerfumeRecipe
715dropsofyourperfumeblend
1tablespoonJojoba(othercarrieroilsmaybesubstituted,butstablecarrieroilswith
longershelflivesarerecommended)
Directions:Blendalloilstogetherwellandstoreinanairtightdarkcolored
glasscontainer.Dabadropontoyourpulsepoints.Pleasenotethatthisblend
hasaheavyconcentrationofessentialoilsandismeanttobeusedsparingly.
Aswithanynewoilsandblendsthatyouuse,youmustcheckallsafetydata
fortheoilsinyourblendanddoaskinpatchtestpriortousing.
Alcohol/WaterBasePerfumeRecipe
41/4teaspoonsVodka
11/2teaspoonsDistilledWater
30dropsofyourperfumeblend
Directions:Blendallingredientswellandstoreinanairtight1ouncedark
coloredglasscontainer.Letsitfortwoweeks,shakingthebottle13times
daily(moreoftenisbetter)tomixtheoils.Aftertwoweekshaspassed,filter
theperfumethroughacoffeefilterandrebottle(usingthesamebottleisfine).
Pleasenotethatthisrecipehasaheavyconcentrationofessentialoilsandis
meanttobeusedsparingly.Aswithanyblendsthatyouuse,youmustcheck
allsafetydatafortheoilsinyourblendanddoaskinpatchtestpriortousing.
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AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
CologneRecipe
41/2teaspoonsVodka
2teaspoonsDistilledWater
22dropsofyourperfumeblend
Directions:Blendallingredientswellandstoreinanairtight1ounce
darkcoloredglasscontainer.Letsitfortwoweeks,shakingthebottle1
3timesdaily(moreoftenisbetter)tomixtheoils.Aftertwoweekshas
passed,filterthecolognethroughacoffeefilterandrebottleintoaone
ounce,finemistsprayerbottle.Pleasenotethatalthoughthisrecipe
makesalightercologne,itstillhasaheavyconcentrationofessential
oilsandismeanttobeusedsparingly.Aswithanyblendsthatyouuse,
youmustcheckallsafetydatafortheoilsinyourblendanddoaskin
patchtestpriortousing.Thismakesonlyaoneouncequantitysothat
youcantryyourcolognetoseeifyoulikeitorwantanychangestoit
beforemakingalargerquantity.
BodySplashRecipe
41/2teaspoonsVodka
2teaspoonsDistilledWater
14dropsofyourperfumeblend
Directions:Blendallingredientswellandstoreinanairtight1ouncedark
coloredglasscontainer.Letsitfortwoweeks,shakingthebottle13times
daily(moreoftenisbetter)tomixtheoils.Aftertwoweekshaspassed,filter
thebodysplashthroughacoffeefilterandrebottleintoaoneounce,finemist
sprayerbottle..Aswithanyblendsthatyouuse,youmustcheckallsafety
datafortheoilsinyourblendanddoaskinpatchtestpriortousing.This
makesonlyaoneouncequantitysothatyoucantryyourbodysplashtosee
ifyoulikeitorwantanychangestoitbeforemakingalargerquantity.
AirFreshenerRecipe
Anairfreshenercanbecreatedthatservespurelyanaromaticoratherapeutic
purpose.SeetheAirFreshenerrecipewithintheRecipeBoxareaforabase
recipethatyoucanuseforyourcustomblend.
AromatherapyBlendingGuide:
Part1:IntroductiontoBlendingEssentialOils
Part2:AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
Part3:FormulatingMasculine/EarthyAromatherapyBlends
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AromaticBlendingofEssentialOils
Part4:TherapeuticBlendingofEssentialOils
Part5:WorkingWithandBlendingThickAromaticOils
Part6:HowtoSubstituteEssentialOilsinAromatherapyRecipesand
Blends
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