Importance of Proper Storing and Handling of Essential Oils

This is the most basic and practical reason behind the continued emphasis on taking note of proper essential oil storage system. Therefore, you need to watch the shelf life of each type of essential oil. This should give you a good idea of the oil's normal shelf life. But most oils can last for at least 6 months and you can extend that by using proper storage guidelines. That way, you can save tons of money as you can preserve the oil instead of buying a new bottle, which can be mostly expensive to purchase of health shops.

Another benefit to increasing the oil's shelf life is that most types of oils tend to be more effective as they age. An example would be grapefruit oil, which like wine, works better for use in aromatherapy with prolonged shelf life period.

Oil Quality

Oil quality is a related component to the essential oil's shelflife. Hence, it makes providing the most suitable storage option for your oil that m ore important. In choosing the best storage option for your oils to preserve its therapeutic quality, you need to consider other external factors as well. You need to protect it from other factors like extreme temperature, exposure to other chemical substances from the container used, and direct sunlight penetration.

These are large wooden boxes that you can use to store multiple bottles of essential oils at home. This helps provide organization, especially if you have more than one type of essential oil that you are storing at home. Make sure to properly label each wooden box to make it more convenient for you later on, in case you wanted to use a specific type of oil. They also come in variant sizes for you to choose from, depending on how many essential oil bottles you need to store.

Travel Cases

When you are traveling, it does not necessarily mean that you can leave your essential oils at home waiting until you get back – you can bring them with you! As the demand for essential oils continue to rise, there is also an increasing number of storage options available to suit for individual users' needs. One of them is the essentail oil travel case. There are currently two types of travel case available in the market: wooden and fabric travel case.

Wooden essential oil travel cases come with different compartments that are meant to hold as much as 28 10ml bottles of essential oils for large sizes. These bottles are fit and snug into the compartments to avoid spilling them while you are traveling. The compartment design is also very useful in conveniently separating different kinds of oil when you are ready to use them.

Meanwhile, fabric travel case can store as much as 8 bottles of essential oils that you can carry with you while traveling. It is able to contain 4ml to 10 ml bottles, depending on what you have available. Plus, it is conveniently placed such that you can easily read the labels of the bottles in case you want to use them.

If you've been gaining interest in using or making essential oils, then this must not be the first time that you've come across tips indicating the need to store your essential oils in a dark colored glass bottles or jars. There is actually a reason for this.

Most essential oils are naturally phototoxic; meaning, enough exposure to light and high temperature level can increase the toxicity level of an essential oil. Therefore, you need to preven light from entering into the bottle so it would remain safe for use. Dark colored bottles help repulse light or minimize the amount of light that gets into the bottle to preserve the quality of the oil and prevent it from turning rancid quickly. Nowadays, there are a wide range of dark colored bottles for you to use such as black, dark amber, violet, or dark green ones. This will enable you to extend the life of the essential oil and be able to use it for a longer period of time.

As for using plastic containers to store your essential oils, it must be avoided if possible. But once the oil has been diluted with a carrier oil, then it is acceptable to use plastic containers for storing your oils.

Keeping Your Oils Cool

Temperature is another factor that could affect the quality and shelf life of your essential oils. Hence, you must try to store them in an area with room temperature. But since the normal range of temperature varies largely from one area to another, you need to maintain a temperature range of about 5-10 degree Celsius.

There are a few types of essential oils that solidify under room temperature. These includes rose otto, fennel, star anise, and aniseed essential oils. Therefore, you need to heat these oils up before using them in aromatherapy application.

Like essential oils, you also need to allot proper care to your carrier oils since they too are an important component in aromatherapy. Ideal storing condition for carrier oils must be cool and dark without direct sunlight exposure. But you can use basically any type of container available if you do not have dark colored ones.

Several types of carrier oils are best stored inside your refrigerator to ensure maximum shelf life capacity. However, there are a few carrier oils (such as avocado, macadamia, and jojoba) that solidify when stored in such conditions. A good remedy for this is to heat up the oil prior to using to bring back into liquid form.

Properly caring and following strict storage guidelines for your essential oils can do you a lot of benefit. It can save you money since you basically extend the shelf life of the oil, which means that you do not have to keep buying them off the market in order to use them. For more useful tips, check out below:

• Proper storage of essential oils will help preserve the therapeutic qualities of the oil and optimize its benefits. Therefore, you need to study the type of oil you have and the most effective storing conditions for it.
• All types of essential oils dislike extreme or sudden temperature changes. Hence, you need to provide the most appropriate storing conditions for these oils.
• Always consider safety when choosing the storage options of the oils. Most oils are flammable so you need to consider possible sources of ignition and make sure to keep it as far away from the oil as possible.
• Never use plastic containers or bottles to store undiluted essential oils. This could cause the plastic to melt and its chemical components to blend with the oil, potentially turning it into a toxic substance.