Does the aroma of fresh-cut flowers inspire you when you walk into a room? Does the lingering scent of a Christmas tree bring back memories of happy holiday times? Does the “hot” character of spicy scents like cinnamon and pepper evoke sensations of good taste? Essential oils can be floral, resinous, spicy and more! They can remind you of experiences past, and create new memories yet to come.
In their 2004 book Aromatherapy for Everyone, P.J. Pierson and Mary Shipley describe eight aroma ”families” that classify
essential oils.
They note that, "Because of their complex chemical make-up, some essential oils can be classified under several families."
To help you discover which aromas appeal to your sense of smell–and evoke the environment you want to create–we’ve classified 100 essential oils in the chart below. While most oils are always safe to use, some should not be used if you have specific medical conditions (this information is covered in the far right column).
The categories are:
Citrus – This scent family offers fresh and uplifting aromas like orange, lemon, bergamot and grapefruit.
Floral – Floral oils bring the pure aroma of one of nature’s most soothing smells into your home.
Herbaceous – Offers hardy, non-woody scents created from verdant plants like chives, oregano, mint and chives.
Camphoraceous – Pungent, woody aromas like eucalyptus created by compounds from camphor trees.
Spicy – For those who like it hot, spicy scents include ginger, nutmeg and cardamom.
Resinous – Uses sap secretions of cedar, pine and other trees and evokes the distinctive scent of tar pitch.
Woody – Woody scents from the juniper berry, oak, cypress and spruce bring the scent of the forest alive.
Earthy – Evokes natural aromas like freshly turned soil, cut grass, mushrooms and truffles.
CITRUS
FLORAL
HERBA-CEOUS
CAMPHOR-ACEOUS
SPICY
WOODY
RESINOUS
EARTHY
SAFE USE INFO*
Amber
●
●
●
Angelica
Seed
●
Avoid during pregnancy and in the sun
Anise Seed
Slight dermal toxicity
Balsam Peru
●
Basil
Bay
Can
be narcotic, cause dermatitis and should not be used in pregnancy
CITRUS
FLORAL
HERBA-
CEOUS
CAMPHOR-
ACEOUS
SPICY
WOODY
RESINOUS
EARTHY
SAFE USE NOTES
Benzoin
Bergamot
●
Birch Sweet
Birch White
●
Avoid during pregnancy
Cajeput
●
Camphor
●
Use
sparingly. Do not use if you are epileptic or pregnant.
Cardamom
●
Carrot Seed
●
Cedarwood
Atlas
Cedarwood
Texas
Used
externally it is relatively non-toxic but can cause significant local
irritation of skin and possible sensitization. Use with care.
Chamomile
Blue
Chamomile
Roman
Cinnamon
Leaf
●
Can
cause skin irritation; moderate dermal toxicity.
Cistus
Citronella
●
Clary Sage
●
Do
not use during pregnancy. Do not drink alcohol or drive.
Clove Bud
●
Clove
is a powerful skin irritant and should be used carefully. Do not use during
pregnancy.
Coriander
●
Cypress
●
FLAMMABLE
Cypress
Organic
FLAMMABLE
CITRUS
FLORAL
HERBA-CEOUS
CAMPHOR-ACEOUS
SPICY
WOODY
RESINOUS
EARTHY
SAFE USE NOTES
Dill
Elemi
Eucalyptus
●
Eucalyptus
Organic
●
Eucalyptus Citriodora
●
Eucalyptus
Radiata
●
Eucalyptus
Smithii
●
Fennel
Can
be a skin irritant. Do not use on young children, or if you are pregnant or
epileptic.
Fir Needle
Dilute
well. It can be a skin irritant.
Fir Silver
Needle
Frankincense
Galbanum
Geranium
●
Geranium
Organic
●
Ginger
●
Grapefruit
●
Helichrysum
Ho
●
Hyssop
●
Powerful
oil not to be used when pregnant, suffering from epilepsy, or high blood
pressure.
Jasmine
Absolute
●
Juniper Berry
●
Do
not use when pregnant.
Juniper Berry Organic
●
Do
not use when pregnant.
Kanuka
Kanuka
is a strong oil and should be diluted in a carrier oil - no more than 2 drops
per tsp. Use at very low strength with children as it may irritate their
skin.
Lavanden
●
●
●
Lavanden
Organic
●
●
●
Lavender
40/42
●
Lavender E. Europe
●
Lavender High Alpine
●
Lavender
Provence
Organic
●
Lemon
●
Do
not use on the skin or in a bath for 12 hours prior to sun or sunlamp
exposure.
Lemon
Organic
●
Do
not use on the skin or in a bath for 12 hours prior to sun or sunlamp
exposure.
Lemongrass
●
May
cause skin irritation.
Lime
●
Linden
Blossom
●
Should not be used over a long period of time.
Mandarin Red
●
Do
not use on the skin in direct sunlight
Mandarin Red Organic
●
Do
not use on the skin in direct sunlight
Manuka
Marjoram
●
Do
not use during pregnancy. Care must be taken due to its sedative action - use
sparingly!
Marjoram
Sweet Organic
●
Do
not use during pregnancy. Care must be taken due to its sedative action - use
sparingly!
Melissa
●
●
Do
not use on skin in direct sunlight. Dilute to 1% and use only 3 drops in a
bath as it may cause irritation of the skin.
Myrrh
During
pregnancy use in moderation.
Neroli
●
Niaouli
Nutmeg
●
Oak Moss
Absolute
●
●
Orange
Sweet
●
Do
not use on the skin or in baths 12 hours prior to sun or sunlamp exposure.
Orange Sweet Organic
●
Do
not use on the skin or in baths 12 hours prior to sun or sunlamp exposure.
Oregano
Can
be irritating to sensitive skin - only use small amounts.
Palmarosa
●
●
Patchouli
Pepper Black
●
Can
be a skin irritant, so must be used with care.
Peppermint
Some
Aromatherapists say do not use Peppermint when pregnant.
Peppermint Organic
Some
Aromatherapists say do not use Peppermint when pregnant.
Petitgrain
●
Pine Needle (Scoptch Pine)
Dilute
and use with care as may otherwise cause skin irritation
Ravensara
Rose Absolute
●
Avoid
using during the first four months of pregnancy.
Rose
Gernanium
●
Rose Otto
●
Avoid
using during the first four months of pregnancy.
Rosemary
●
Do
not use when pregnant, epileptic or have high blood pressure. It may cause
irritation of the skin.
Rosewood
●
●
Sage
●
Do
not use when pregnant or epileptic.
Sandalwood
●
Scotch Pine
(Pine Needle)
Dilute
and use with care as may otherwise cause skin irritation.
Spearmint
Spearmint
Organic
Spruce
●
●
●
Tagates
●
●
Possibly
toxic. Use only in moderation. Severely phototoxic. Do not use if the area of
application will be exposed to sunlight for 24 hours.
Tangerine
●
Tea Tree
●
May
cause irritation to sensitive skins.
Tea Tree
Organic
●
May
cause irritation to sensitive skin.
Thyme Linanol
●
Do
not use when pregnant or if you have high blood pressure.
Thyme White (Sweet)
●
Do
not use when pregnant or if you have high blood pressure. Dilute to no more
than 2% before use. May cause irritation to sensitive skin.
