If the average person hears the words “essential oils,” it’s quite likely that the first association they’ll make has something to do with the perfume industry, soap, or flaky aromatherapy practitioners. Yes, essential oils (which may be referred to as EOs) are indeed used to perfume various personal care products, but they have many uses other than enhancing one’s mood or making one’s underarms slightly less offensive.
The 10 essential oils listed below have a number of different benefits that range from health care to home and garden maintenance, and many other uses in between. Many other oils out there also have numerous uses, but if you only plan to have a few in the house at any given time, these may be your best bet.
1. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia,aka Lavandula officinalis)
If you only plan to have one essential oil in the house, make it this one.
Lavender has been used for medicinal and home care purposes for thousands of years, and is one of the most versatile EOs you can get. When it comes to therapeutic uses, lavender can be applied topically to alleviate:
- Skin rashes
- Acne
- Insect bites
- Minor burns
It’s also an effective disinfectant for cuts and scrapes.
A few drops of lavender oil in a bath can help to soothe frayed nerves and help you get a good night’s sleep, and rubbing the oil into your temples and forehead can relieve headaches. Add a drop or two to a paste of baking soda and water for an effective underarm deodorant, and those same few drops can help to alleviate sinus issues and respiratory infections when added to a steam inhale.
In the home, sachets of dried lavender with some extra oils dribbled in can keep moths away (just tuck the sachets into your closet or chest of drawers), and adding a few drops to your laundry’s rinse cycle can eliminate odors from stinky socks and sweaty gym clothes. Add lavender oil to the water you use to wash the floor to freshen up your living space, and a drop or two placed inside fresh toilet paper rolls will release their scent whenever someone tugs a few sheets free.
2. Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)
This is one of the most beneficial and useful essential oils to have on hand, and with good cause: it’s often been called “
a medicine cabinet in a bottle,” as it can be used to treat almost any common ailment. Although you’d never consume tea tree oil, you can use it topically to treat the following:
- Athlete’s foot
- Dermatitis/eczema
- Acne
- Cold sores
- Nail fungus
- Warts
- Insect bites
…just to name a few. You can add a few drops of it to unscented shampoo to alleviate dandruff and psoriasis, and a few more drops in that same shampoo will treat head lice as well.
For use around the home, you can add a teaspoon of tea tree oil to the water in a misting bottle to create a disinfectant spray for counter tops, door handles, etc., and a few drops of undiluted oil around your pet’s bed basket will keep fleas at bay.
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