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Safely Diluted Essential Oil Blends May Smell Weak At First

Essential Oil Dilution Tips

Essential oil dilution is important in order to significantly reduce the potential risk of developing skin irritation or permanent skin sensitization when applying essential oils topically. If you're not familiar with essential oil dilution, please start by reading AromaWeb's Guide to Essential Oil Dilution.

When we first begin using carrier oils or other diluents to dilute our essential oils to skin safe dilution levels, our blends may seem a bit weak aromatically.

That's simply because for so many of us, our daily routines are filled with all sorts of heavily fragranced commercial products, and our olfactory systems (our sense of smell) have adapted towards being bombarded with strongly fragranced products. Take a quick look through this partial list of the types of products many of us use on a nearly daily basis:

  • Shampoos and Conditioners
  • Other Hair Care Products
  • Soaps
  • Shower Gels
  • Moisturizers
  • Perfumes and Other Personal Fragrancing Products
  • Deodorants
  • Toothpaste and Other Dental Products
  • Household Cleaners
  • Laundry Detergent
  • Fabric Softener
  • Dryer Sheets
  • Dishwashing Detergent

In comparison, your first blends may smell weak to you at first. This is normal. I experienced it myself when I first began blending almost 25 years ago.

Safely Overcoming Weak Smelling Blends

To overcome this so that your blends don't continue to smell weak to you, it's very important that you follow these simple tips:

  • Don't give in to the temptation to ignore safe blending guidelines. Don't add more essential oil in order for your blend to smell stronger.
  • Use your blends and simply allow time for your nose time to adapt. I know that seems overly simplistic, but that's really all you need to do.
  • It won't take all that long before you and your olfactory system adjusts and you begin to be able to appreciate the beautiful characteristics and complexity of your blends and dilutions. This can be a lovely time to keep a journal and note your experiences and olfactory perceptions as your system adapts.
  • Everyone is different, but in my beginnings, it took only a couple weeks before I could notice a dramatic improvement in my ability to enjoy blends that I had previously thought were super weak aromatically.
  • In the meantime, be assured that you can still experience the therapeutic benefits of a blend even if you cannot perceive the aroma as strongly.

Reduce the Use of Synthetic and Strongly Fragranced Products

Synthetic and strongly fragranced products not only can impact your sense of smell, but they can pose ongoing health risks. Therefore, it can also be helpful to begin cutting back on the use of heavily and synthetically fragranced products and begin to use products that are more naturally based and environmentally friendly.

Anosmia

This article is written for those without anosmia. If you have anosmia (loss of the sense of smell), AromaWeb's Aromatherapy and Anosmia article may be helpful for you.

Aromatherapy Blending Guide:

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