Storing Your Essential Oils For Maximum Therapeutic Benefit There's a lot of varying information about how essential

oils shoul be store ! an what their shelf lives might be" Shoul you store them in a ar# cool place$ %efrigerate them$ Ma#e sure they all get use in a few months! or on't worry about it because &pure essential oils& last forever$ The truth is! the answer to these 'uestions epen s completely on the oil itself" (ere's a 'uic# loo# at how to care for all your oils! to ensure you receive the maximum therapeutic benefits" The lifespan of essential oils! if simply left in their bottles in the average home ranges from a few months to almost in efinitely" Over time! certain factors in the environment egra e the natural constituents of certain oils an not others" These environmental factors inclu e) the presence of oxygen *or simply exposure to air+! heat! an light" Theoretically! oil left in an open bottle! sitting in the sunlight will then have the shortest lifespan! an a close bottle ,, with very little airspace ,, in a ar#! cool cabinet will have the longest" Yet because oils vary so greatly in their natural chemical ma#eup! this is truly -ust a generali.ation" /hat we'll refer to as &shelf life& means the time for which the oil will retain the ma-ority of its aromatic an therapeutic potential when store in common con itions) at room temperature! with the cap on! out of sunlight! but not necessarily in the ar#" 0t's important to note that even &sensitive& oils store un isturbe ! seale with as little air in the bottle as possible! in the refrigerator can last significantly longer than the shelf life ,, almost in efinitely! in,fact" 1lso important to note is what is actually meant by &retaining &maximum therapeutic benefits&" Some oils simply become a little flat or uninteresting in their aroma" You may still fin them pleasant! an they won't be harmful to use in this way" Some oils! when they age! can begin to cause irritation in some portion of the population when applie to the s#in" The oils where this has been foun via scientific analysis are laven er an tea tree" There may certainly be more2 the effect of these oils has been eluci ate because they're so popular" So its really if an oil is being topically applie *or ingeste + where one nee be concerne about certain oils being affecte by aging an their environment" The fastest aromatics to egra e are those col ,presse from the peels of citrus fruit" You can imagine that while other essential oils have been steam istille ! solvent extracte ! or some even istille with high pressure li'ui carbon ioxi e! the citrus oils in a way are still in the natural state the fruit ha been when they were pic#e " These oils are very prone to oxi ation! a process where oxygen atoms robs other molecules of electrons" The not,so,technical meaning is that the oils go flat! an looses their &.ing&" The most elicate of the citrus oils is grapefruit! with an unrefrigerate ! close bottle often being note to have a shelf life of six months or less ,, other citrus oils will last longer" 0n the case of col presse citrus oils then *though not steam istille citrus oils+! storing your bottles in the refrigerator is a smart choice" 0f you really want to get into the &nitty,gritty&! if you're using the oil often! #eep a small portion in a bottle outsi e the 'fri ge for aily use! an #eep the larger portion insi e the refrigerator to ispense oil from on a wee#ly basis" This way the oil that's #ept col with its cap on stays this way without being isturbe as much as possible" The next group of oils to consi er are the florals" 0nterestingly! the essential oil steam istille from the flower of a citrus tree! neroli! is the most sensitive to egra ation as well" 3eroli has been note to simply go flat! an some say its important to not only #eep it in a ar#! cool place! but not even sha#e the bottle4 Other florals certainly have longer shelf lives! on the or er of one to two years" 0t may be the

sweeter floral aromas that oxi i.e most rapi ly) laven er an ylang ylang are examples" %ose otto! on the other han ! can still be won erful after five years" The essential oils istille from herbs! grasses an evergreens also have a relatively long shelf life! on the or er of one to two years" The spice oils! somewhat overlapping this group! have a shorter life when consi ering their effervescence" The loss of this very top note of &spicy,ness& will not have a huge effect on certain therapeutic properties2 ginger! for example! will still have a strong anti,inflammatory action even if this top note is lost" 0t's also important to note that many of these oils are available as &5O6& istillations! which! accor ing to their manufacturer! have a significantly longer shelf life when compare to the steam istille varieties" 1s for the other en of the spectrum! there are many oils that get better with age! or at least have a shelf life so long as to not be of concern" The &resin& oils are li#e this) fran#incense an myrrh seem to age nicely" 7atchouli an san alwoo are two oils that actually comman a premium price after they've been put away for storage for several years" Other oils in this category are spi#enar ! vetiver! an galbanum" So when storing these oils at home! there's really no nee to give them special attention at all" This gives you a little i ea of the range of possibilities in terms of the aging of essential oils) some egra e 'uic#ly an others not at all" 0n most cases! if you'll be using your oils within 8 months! there's little concern about storage storage con itions! except for the most sensitive oils of grapefruit or neroli" /hen in oubt! o #eep your oils in a cool! ar# location! an if it will be some time until you use them! refrigeration is not a ba i ea" The only caveat there is to be sure not to fre'uently return the oil to room temperature an then bac# again" By following these simple gui elines! you'll be sure to receive the maximum therapeutic benefit from your essential oil collection"