Worksheet and Safety Table
FAQ | Recommended Beginner Oils | Blending Essential Oils & Carrier Oils
Mixing Essential Oils | Mixing Blended Oils | Worksheet and Safety Table | Correspondences
Before you start on any Oil Craft Project it’s best to figure out how much oil you will be making. How much carrier oil do I need?
Basic altar blessing oil, for use on candles, tools: Depending on how much you use. If you do a lot of candle magic, you may use it all the time. Start with 2 oz.
Ritual Anointing Oil – for use on people: Make small amounts, no more than 1 tbs. at a time. This ensures fresh oil for each application, and the oil can be specifically tailored to the occasion.
Always mark down your recipes!
Ritual Bath Oil – for use on people: Put no more than 1 tbs. of any oil in a single bath for safety’s sake. Make up as much as you will use within a month.
Offering Oil to be poured out to the earth as a gift: Make about 1/2 to 1 cup of the finest oils you can afford.
Ritual Ointments and Pastes – Ointments last a lot longer than liquid oil blends, especially if they are made with beeswax, but they don’t keep forever! Make 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time. using 1/8 to 1/4 c each of wax and oil.
Ritual Body Oil, to be rubbed all over skin after the ritual bath in preparation for the rites: This is used up fast if it is not kept in an economical pump-style container. Use canola and jojoba together for best results and make 1 – 2 c.
Now that you know how much oil you will be making, you can determine how many drops of essential you can put in to your blend .
Never use more than the suggested amount for safety and economy.
Essential oils are concentrated, and a very small amount will effectively go a long way. You wont need any more than this to make an potent blend, and in most cases, you can use far less than the amount listed here.
Safety table
| Total amount of carrier oil used in blend | Max safe amount of Essential Oil |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp (1/2 oz) | Don’t use more than 12 drops |
| 2 tbsp (1 oz) | No more than 24 drops or ¼ tsp |
| 4 tbsp (2 oz) | No more than 48 drops or ½ tsp |
| 1/2 cup (4 oz) | No more than 96 drops or 1 tsp |
| 1 cup (8 oz) | No more than 190 drops or 2 tsp |
| 2 cups (16 oz) | No more than 384 drops or 4 tsp |
If you don’t already know what carrier oil you are going to use as a base for your blend, use this information to guide you in making a good choice. Sometimes, more than one substance would make a good choice, and sometimes you may wish to use a blend of ingredients. You can often get away with using a larger amount of a cheaper carrier oil with a small amount of more expensive one, to get a fine result. I often make up large quantities of blended oils in an almond oil base with a small amount of jojoba added to help preserve the mixture. This is a lot less expensive than using all pure jojoba oil.
Carrier oils
| Name | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Almond | Light to medium weight oil | Easy to obtain, widely used for all kinds of blends |
| Apricot | Light weight oil | Harder to obtain than Almond, fine odorless qualities make this a good choice for finer blends |
| Beeswax | Honey-scented deep yellow solid wax | The best base for ointments and creams. Must be melted over a double boiler to blend. Mix 1/2 and 1/2 with any other oil to make a basic ointment |
| Canola | Very light oil, completely odorless, resists oxidation | Good shelf life makes this the perfect choice for blends made in large quantities |
| Cocoa Butter | A solid but easily melted wax with a light, creamy texture | Good for making ointments and pastes; melt over double boiler to blend |
| Grapeseed | Very light oil, penetrates skin quickly-solvent extracted | Blends for use in anointing candles, but solvent extraction means some people may react badly to skin application |
| Jojoba | Actually a liquid wax, very stable, resists oxidation | Wonderful for blends to be applied to body; add some to any oil blend to help it resist oxidation |
| Lanolin | Animal product; considered a wax, it has a thick, technically liquid consistency Rich ingredient for ointments; melt over double boiler to blend | |
| Sesame | Very light oil with many healing properties | General use; good with strongly scented blends |
| Shea butter | Stiff but not solid, grainy wax product, becomes smooth and sticky when melted | Thickens ointments and pastes quickly; can be used alone as a simple ointment or paste; melt over double boiler to blend |
Be aware that many oils have a yellow or brown tint in their natural form. Often, solvents are used to bleach the oil, making it more “acceptable” for commercial uses. Sometimes, people can have allergic reactions to the residues of solvents used to bleach oils. I recommend that you use natural forms of the carrier oils whenever possible.
Now that you know:
- What you are making (i.e. Anointing Oil for Candles) and
- How much carrier oil you need. (i.e. One Tablespoon)
- How much essential oil you need. (i.e. up to 12 drops)
- And what kind of carrier oil you will be using. (i.e. Grapeseed Oil)
You can start figuring out what kind of essential oils to use to make the best correspondences for your blend.