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Aromatherapy carrier oils

Pure essential oils are hardly ever used neat but instead are blended into a carrier oil. This does just what the name suggests: it acts as a base for the seential oil and is a lubricant, so making massage easier and more effective.

Carrier oils are always vegetable in origin. They should be natural, unprocessed oils which have not been treated with chemicals. Any vegetable oil can be used as a carrier but some are more suitable than others. For instance, virgin olive oil could be used but its smell would overpower your chosen essential oil and also it is quite expensive.

I suggest you try raiding your food cupboards! Look for an oil which is fine-textured with little or no colour or smell. I find the following are ideal as general carrier oils and are all easily available in most supermarkets and health food shops.

* Soya bean oil * Grapeseed oil * Safflower oil * Sunflower oil

If your skin is very dry, richer vegetable oils can be mixed with any of the above oils. Avocado oil is very lubricating, or you could try sweet almond oil. Wheatgerm oil is excellent for helping to heal scar tissue or for very dehvdrated skin. However, it tends to have a rather breadv smell so be careful to mix it with one of the plainer carrier oils. Wheatgerm oil acts as a preservative, too, so add a few drops of it when mixing a blend of essential oils into a carrier oil to prolong the shelf life.