May 28, 2021

How to Blend Your Own Essential Oils

Have you always wanted to blend your own oils but not known where to start? Maybe you want to mix your own custom perfume or create a blend for cleaning your home?

One of the first things to consider is what you’re going to be using this blend for and how you’re going to be using it.

Ask yourself:

• Who is this essential oil blend for?

• What purpose am I creating it for? What effect do I want this blend to have?

• How will I apply this blend?

Once you know what you want out of your essential oil blend, it’s time to do some research! Curate a list of pure essential oils that have the properties that you want in a blend. You won’t use all of these oils in your blend, but you want to create a list of 10-15 oils that could be included, and you will simplify this list later on.

If you’re purely making your blend around its scent as you want to use it for a perfume or to create a beautiful atmosphere in your home, you may wish to research oils by their herbal family. Based on what scent you like, you may research citrus, floral or woody oils.

If you’re blending your essential oils simply for aromatic purposes (blending for enjoyment of the scent rather than therapeutic benefit), you will want to make sure your oil combinations will actually smell nice once they are blended together. An easy way to do this is to break the oils down into their essential oil category.

Essential oil categories:

Herbal Essential Oils

Frankincense, Clary Sage, Peppermint, Patchouli, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, German Chamomile, Tea Tree, Marjoram, Spearmint, Basil & Fennel.

Woody Essential Oils

Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cedarwood, Juniper, Black Pepper & Pine.

Floral Essential Oils

Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Neroli, Rose, Jasmine, Palmarosa & Petitgrain.

Citrus Essential Oils

Lemon, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Sweet Orange, Lime, Mandarin, May Chang, Tangerine, Melissa & Citronella.

What is blending essential oils?

Blending essential oils is an art form that comes down to personal preference. It is worth recording your successes so you can create similar blends again. There are many different approaches to blending. One concept is taken from traditional perfumers who divide scents into top, middle of base notes.

What do I need to start blending essential oils?

The best place to start with your blending essential oils journey is to ensure you have your required essential oils for the desired outcome. This will depend on what you are trying to achieve with the blend, what you currently have on hand, how you intend to blend them and then how you intend to use them. There are many factors to take into consideration but the easiest place to start is with what you have on hand and blend into a diffuser. Once you become more familiar with what you do and don't like, you can get creative and start using your blends in DIY products or carrier oil for topical application.

Blending Guidelines:

Once you know which categories your oils fit into, you can see which combinations are possible. There are no set rules when it comes to blending oils, ultimately it comes down to your preferences, but there are a few guidelines that will help you if you’re new to blending oils. Typically essential oils from the same category blend well together, as do essential oils from one category that are matched with oils from a complementary category.

• Woody oils blend well with other woody oils, floral, herbal and citrus oils.

• Floral oils blend well with other floral oils, woody oils and citrus oils.

• Herbal oils blend well with other herbal oils and woody oils.

• Citrus oils blend well with other citrus oils, floral and woody oils.

Once you’ve nailed your combination, it’s best to make a small batch first just to make sure you’re happy with the scent before making a large batch. This test batch should just be 10-15 drops of essential oils in total.

Once your blend is complete, it’s best to let the oils rest for 24-48 hours before using them, this allows the aromas to develop beautifully.

Remember, have fun with it! The options are endless when it comes to blending oils and the more you do it the more in tune with your preferences you will become and you’ll also get better at knowing which combinations work best.

To make this really simple, we have even put together a little cheat sheet on some of our favourite oil combinations for specific purposes, you can check it out below. If you love the idea of blends but don’t really have the time to make them yourself, we have our own range of blends already perfected for you, you can check them out here.

Shop kits

ECO. Anxiety Blend Essential Oil (1465915801655)

Sold out

Shop now

ECO. Calm & Destress Aroma Trio (638688395319)

Sold out

Shop now

ECO. Calm & Destress Blend (638691344439)

Sold out

Shop now

Author: Alissa Geddes
Aromatherapist

Alissa is a fully qualified Aromatherapist with further qualifications in Remedial Massage & Myotherapy. She qualified as an Aromatherapist in 2005 and has worked in hospitals, day spas and in clinical practice. Alissa contributes her extensive knowledge to ECO. and helps with detailed education to our ECO. community. Alissa is passionate about assisting and teaching others how to restore and maintain their health and wellbeing.

Learn more