Carrier oils…

Carrier oil is the term given to vegetable oils.

Used by aroma therapists. Carrier oils are used as a medium in which to add essential oils that are used within the therapy. If essential oils were used undiluted on the skin they can cause severe reaction, irritation and can burn the skin. There are however a few exceptions such as lavender and tea tree.
Carrier oils are the preferred medium to use by aroma therapists because often they are used during massage and allow the hands to move freely over the skin without causing any dragging to the skin. Carrier oils are generally light and non-sticky and allow penetration of the blend of both carrier and essential oils to be absorbed by the skin more effectively.

Carrier oils play a far more important role when used in aroma therapy than most people think and are not simply a ‘neutral base’ in which to carry essential oils. They have therapeutic characteristics and properties in their own rights and make up between 95 to 98% of an aromatic blend and most skilled aroma therapists would certainly used a combination of carrier oils in their blends when using them to treat an individual.

Carrier oils contain vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are fatty acids that our bodies cannot manufacture and need to get from our diets. When applied topically, such as in an aroma therapy blend they can be very nourishing for the skin. Some carrier oils also contain vitamin E (tocopherols), which act as anti-oxidants .Vitamin E can have a great benefit on the skin and also helps to prolong the shelf life of carrier oils. However they can oxidise and become rancid over time.

Largely derived from nuts and seeds with a few exceptions, such as coconut, carrier oils are produced by usually two types of extraction methods. The first type of extraction method is known as ‘cold pressing’ or ‘cold expeller pressed’. This is the best form of method to use because it helps the oil to retain most of its qualities, but is more expensive to purchase.

Another form of extraction that is used by large scale industries is ‘hot extraction’ and although it uses the same method as ‘cold pressed or cold expeller pressed’ the amount of heat produced by this method of extraction is significantly higher and therefore most of the important vitamins and fatty acids contained within the oils are destroyed when using this method. When using carrier oils in an aromatic blend always buy cold pressed oils, with the exception of grape seed- unfortunately this oil can only be produce with a realistic yield by using hot extraction.

How to choose carrier oils for a blend Choosing carrier oils for a blend is no different that selecting essential oils for a blend- the process is the same. There is a vast array of carrier oils to choose from and depending on what your aromatic blend will be used for and what area on the body you intend to treat -the only limitations would be your own knowledge and experience as aroma therapists. Lighter carrier oils such as camellia and grape seed are perfect examples of oils to use for facial blends, whilst olive and almond are wonderful oils for full body massage.

Carrier oils when used together in a blend can be both therapeutic and nourishing to the body and how you decide to blend them is really down to knowledge and skill. In a typical body massage blend of 20mls there is nothing wrong with combining 5mls of St John’s Wort with15 mls of olive oil –wonderful for mature clients with aggravated skin conditions such as eczema. The St John’s Wort would help to heal the skin, whilst the olive would nourish and condition the skin. Another example for body massage blends could be 10mls of jojoba oil blended with 10 mls grape seed. This would be an informative choice to use on clients that suffer from acne. Jojoba would help to unclog the pores and the grape seed would be easily absorbed by a problematic skin type such as this. Add essential oils such as tea tree and lavender and then you begin to appreciate how powerful and effective a complete aromatherapy blend can be.

Cautionary Note: When using carrier oils – check for allergies and intolerances before use. Patch testing is always advised in case of reaction.

by: Karen Morgan   Share