How To Choose Essential Oils

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS

We know it can feel overwhelming to walk into a Saje store or visit our website, only to have countless essential oils, blends and different product formats to choose from. While for some, variety is the spice of life, for others it can feel like you don’t know where to start.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to choosing essential oils, but we can certainly help provide guidance along the way to support you in discovering what’s best for you. A simple place to start is in determining why you’re looking for essential oil based products. Is it to support a physical ailment, like stress or pain? Are you looking to use essential oils to enhance your wellness practice, through mindfulness or meditation, for example? Are you looking to try diffusing and interested in new diffuser blends? Deciding your ‘why’ for purchasing is an excellent first step in determining how to choose essential oils that make sense for you and your lifestyle.

Read on to learn more about our best recommendations for essential oils to support many different areas of your life.

HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS TO HELP SUPPORT PAIN RECOVERY

We know that pain is stressful to the body. It can feel limiting and can cause both physical and mental anguish as we look to find ways to feel eased and relieved. Essential oils are an excellent way to support physical ailments in the body, as many are reputed for their qualities in providing soothing relief and comfort to affected areas of the body, like aches and pains or strains and sprains.

Top picks for recovery from pain:

Pain Release roll-on: recognized as both a Natural Health Product in Canada and an Over The Counter in the USA, this analgesic oil blend is numbing to acute pain, helping to relieve soreness or aching in areas like the biceps, quads, calves and knees. Formulated with marjoram and rosemary to warm, comfort and stimulate the muscles, this blend also includes menthol from peppermint to cool and soothe. Try applying directly to areas you experience acute pain and let relief wash over you.

Muscle Melt body butter: we formulated this deeply comforting and soothing body butter for two main reasons; first, to help nourish and hydrate the skin on the body, particularly after bathing or showering and two, to help provide ease and support to hardworking muscles and to help decompress the body after movement. This body butter smells sweet and earthy, formulated with sweet birch, roman chamomile and rosemary, and feels heavenly as it’s massaged into the body.

HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS TO HELP SUPPORT STRESS RELIEF

Treating stress is tricky, because we know that stress can have both physical and mental manifestations. For some, stress shows up in the body like tight shoulders, grinding the teeth or clenching the jaw, while in others it looks more like heightened emotions, racing thoughts and feelings of overwhelm. Choosing the right essential oils to help address these symptoms is the first step in helping you to feel better.

Top picks for relief from stress:

Pocket Farmacy - Mindful Edition: this is a new collection of five different essential oil roll-ons to support you in prioritizing your emotional well-being. Take a moment with blends that encourage awareness, stillness, focus and courage, by applying these roll-ons to areas like the temples and across the forehead, along the jawline and across the chest, or try a simple breathing exercise we call the Saje Breath. Choose a roll-on and apply generously to the palm of your clean hand. Rub palms vigorously together and cup over the nose and mouth. Breathe deeply through the nose and exhale slowly through the mouth, repeating 3-5 times or as desired.

Stress Release roll-on: reach for this balancing, grounding and centering roll-on any time you’re experiencing both physical or emotional symptoms of stress. Blended with lavender, the most well known essential oil to induce feelings of peace and calm, alongside orange to uplift the mood and clary sage to still the mind, this powerful yet gentle oil blend can be applied to areas like the shoulders and the back of the neck as desired when stress strikes.

HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS TO SUPPORT YOUR NIGHTTIME ROUTINE

Sleep and our nighttime routines is a common area in which people are interested in learning more about how to choose essential oils to offer support. Sleep is essential to the functioning of all of our bodily systems, from digestion to mental acuity to energy levels and our mood. Because getting a good night’s rest is important to all of our optimal health, this is a great area to explore adding natural products to your life.

Top picks for rest and relaxation:

Sleep Well roll-on: drift off and get the rest you need with this deeply relaxing and powerfully grounding blend—the ultimate bedtime ritual. Formulated with an oil prized in aromatherapy to support peacefulness, valerian, this blend also includes soothing and comforting lavender, jasmine and neroli. Our Community loves to apply Sleep Well to the wrists, throat, temples and pulse points as desired before bedtime.

Sleep Well body butter: another popular product in our sleep category, this smoothing and soothing body butter was designed to be a body care addition to your nighttime routine. Butters of cocoa, mango and shea help hydrate dry skin while essential oils of lavender, blue chamomile and vetiver help lull your body and mind into a state of unwind. Apply generously to skin before bedtime as desired and drift off to dreamland.

HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS TO SUPPORT THE AIR IN YOUR HOME

Lastly, one of our favorite ways to use essential oils is in our diffusers, in support of the air quality in our home. Diffusers help add a small amount of moisture to the air, they create negative ions which help to elevate our overall well-being and they are a vehicle through which we can deliver essential oil particles to the air in whichever scent we choose. We offer a large variety of diffuser blends throughout the year which ensures there is a scent profile for just about anyone! We’re happy to share some of our go-to’s for everyday use:

Top picks for diffuser blends:

Elevate: bursting with zesty and tangy uplifting citruses like lemongrass, lemon and yuzu, this refreshing and boosting blend is perfect for a cloudy day when you want to evoke feelings of sunshine.

Deep Breath: when you want to close your eyes and daydream about being whisked away to the spa, Deep Breath is the ultimate companion. Clearing, opening and renewing, this refreshing blend is formulated with fresh eucalyptus, stimulating peppermint and soothing marjoram.

Bliss: the sweetness of citrus meets the freshness of florals in this luxurious blend to truly make you feel like a million dollars. Happiness and mood boosting, this exhilarating diffuser blend is formulated with balancing geranium, soothing and comforting rose alongside fresh and zesty orange.

LIFESTYLE TIPS FOR HOW TO CHOOSE ESSENTIAL OILS YOU'LL LOVE

When deciding how to choose essential oils that make sense for their intended purpose and that are appealing to you, consider the following: there are approximately 90-100 different essential oils on the market, meaning you’re bound to come across a few scents that may or may not be right for you. But take heart! Smelling, applying and exploring is all part of the fun!

1. Try, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, we suggest you continue exploring different scent profiles you’re interested in. If you try narrowing down your search by category (for example, start with citruses, florals or tree scents based on your preference), you might find this simplifies the process.
2. Go with your gut. Oftentimes, you’ll smell a few different oils or blends before one jumps out at you immediately. “That’s the one!”, you’ll proclaim to yourself which means something interesting has happened to you: your body has said ‘yes’. Trusting your intuition in terms of a scent your nose and brain enjoy is a good indicator in terms of finding the right scents for you.
3. Don’t get discouraged. Just because everyone you know touts the benefits of lavender for relaxation while you find it just ‘ok’, it doesn’t mean you’re destined to a scentless existence. It just means you haven’t found what’s right for you! Tempting as it is to choose essential oils based on what’s popular or well received by others, it’s more important that you find the oils that feel right for you.

—David Crow