In most practices, all that will be needed in order conduct the business of oil blending will be a selection of eyedroppers, some alcohol, vials or other containers to house the finished creation, and a workbook in which to record the insights of experimental work, the development of various formulae, and any information that may be pertinent to research and ongoing aromatherapy practice.
While it is possible to specifically design the tools of the trade to certain criteria that may be peculiar to one way or working or another, the basic working tools listed here should suffice as a basic arsenal for the beginning aromatherapist, regardless of personal preferences and working habits. In the later stages of development, it is possible to custom design tools that may be more appropriate to a particular way of working. However, at the beginning of study, it is more important to develop a working array of tools that can be implemented by anyone, regardless of personal taste and preference.
Eye Droppers
The most vital of these tools is a selection of eye droppers, easily obtained from most drug stores, grocery stores, or chemistry dealers. The reason that several are kept on hand at all times is to keep the blends pure. When using one specific oil ingredient, it may be counterproductive to employ a dropper that has the residue of another ingredient still on it from a prior use. Rather than cleaning the dropper after every designed remedy is blended, it is easier to pick up another dropper.
Just as a hint, my own personal preference with eye droppers is to use the glass ones exclusively. Plastic droppers tend to be more porous, and may more readily retain the scents of oils. The glass droppers will wash out more easily, enabling the aromatherapist to maintain a purity of aromas by eliminating the residue from prior usage.
When it is convenient to do so, the eye droppers employed in the blending process may be cleaned. The easiest way to do this is to soak them in alcohol. The rubber bulb of the eye dropper should be removed before this is done. Otherwise, the bulb may swell and become ill-fitting and unusable. In most cases, the oils will dissolve in the alcohol and offer a clean dropper to use in the continued aromatherapy practice. However, there are some oils like amber, benzoin, camphor, and myrrh that are a bit thicker than others.
These may adhere to the inside of the dropper regardless of the amount of time that they sit in a container of alcohol. For these stubborn, sticky oils it may be necessary to soak a Q-Tip in alcohol to eliminate the previous residue, but in most cases the alcohol itself will suffice to do the job. One of the marvelous things about using alcohol as a cleaning solution is that is has a very fast rate of evaporation, nearly eliminating drying time. However, if it becomes necessary to utilize the droppers before the alcohol has entirely evaporated, a Q-Tip can be used to eliminate the remaining few droplets of alcohol from the inside of the dropper.
Alcohol
While there are some aromatherapists who utilize alcohol to dilute a scent, it seems to weaken the overall effect of the blend. My own practice utilizes alcohol strictly for the purpose of cleansing. One of the most inexpensive and readily available types of alcohol is rubbing alcohol. This is satisfactory for the desired application. There are also perfumer’s alcohols that are commercially available. However, the purchase of these solutions often requires a special license, and the cost is far greater than that of the rubbing alcohol that may be available at the local drugstore or supermarket. Either will act as a solvent for essential oils. The major differences are that perfumer’s alcohol has no scent of its own and is far more costly than its drugstore counterpart.
Vials
Appropriately sized vials for the newly blended oil formulas, as well as a good selection of essentials from which to choose the ingredients, are all that is required to prepare for the practice of therapeutic and magickal fragrance blending.One dram bottles are an ideal size. While this is only an eighth of an ounce, it seems to be more than enough to last a significant length of time. As in the case of eye droppers, preference leans toward the use of non- porous materials such as glass. There are some who prefer amber- colored glass as a protection against the depleting rays of the sun. Some prefer the more porous containers such as those of clay.
This alternative may be adequate if the container is used for the same blend, over and over. However, porous materials tend to hold on to the essence of the oil. This makes the clay containers awkward for any but the same blended fragrance. The container may retain some of the fragrance and influence of the previous resident oil, diluting the strength and intention of its present occupant. There are plastic containers that are also available, but I tend to omit these from practice. In intense or even moderate heat they tend to melt with the heating of the oil blends they may contain. Again, they are, too porous for ongoing usage.
In perusing the available containers that might be offered on the open market, there is a large selection of glass containers in varying sizes that might be adapted for use for aromatherapy blends. Some of these are sealed with cork stoppers, while the more expensive ones are topped with glass closures. Both may be utilized with equal effectiveness with the observation of just a few practices.
First, on changing the oil blends that may be housed within the particular container, a thorough cleaning should be done to eliminate any prior scent that has been in evidence. This cleansing should include the glass stopper. In the event that the bottle was sealed by a cork, be prepared to replace this topper with another of like size. Cork is a porous material and may retain the previous scent that the glass container held.
Workbook
A final suggestion as to the practical side of aromatherapy practice would be to keep notes of your experiences. While, for the purposes of development and growth, a choice has been made to keep this formulary as a guideline to initiating a sound aromatherapy practice, most people who enter into this practice will want to build their own, more precise, formularies.
Included in the workbook notes may be such information as why a decision was made to be more or less heavy-handed with this ingredient or that, or why altering a particular component or amount of a specific oil in a formula helped to customize the blend to a particular individual or situation, thereby maximizing its effectiveness. The results of specific formulas might also be tracked in the aromatherapist’s personal notebook. Going back over these notes will help guide the aromatherapist to the most and least effective formulas and keep the practice of the art ever alive, ever new, and constantly developing into greater plateaus of successful practice.
Mental Tools
Of paramount importance to the art of blending scent, also, are the criteria that might be utilized for the inclusion or omission of specific ingredients. There are several basic approaches to aromatherapy blending to obtain the desired result. Some practitioners follow the virtues of the various essential oils in accordance with astrological correspondences. Some adhere to the elemental virtues. Others may pay close attention to traditional usage. Still others have molded their practices from a combination of the different virtue associations.
All of these systems have merit. The final judge of a blend has less to do with the methods used for its creation than with its effectiveness in actual application. One may consider the systems of virtue associations to be guidelines in the art of blending. However, in the final analysis, an effective blend is one that works. No matter how sound the principles used to formulate a certain blend, its only true worth is seen in its final use.
As a reference to the creative oil artisan, a number of tables are included in the appendix of this volume. There are correspondence tables that offer associations of various essential oils in accordance with elemental and astrological virtues. There are also tables listing the more common irritant oils and carrier oils. These, especially, should be observed closely. There are many people who are sensitive to one oil or another.
The responsible artisan will be on the watch for the individual’s reaction to a particular oil or oil blend. However, there are certain essentials that carry a greater potential for irritation than others. These oils should be utilized with the greatest of caution. Carrier oils, on the other hand, are oils that are agreeable to most individuals and can be used as a base oil with little side effect. They, more than many other essentials, may be noted as user friendly.