How to...make an essential oil blend.
Updated: Nov 24, 2020
When I started making my neurotransmitter candles for Make and Create, I did a lot of research on how to make the perfect essential oil blend. There is a lot of information out there on this subject, which I've condensed down into a few basics - so I thought it might be useful to share this on here if this is something you've been thinking about doing, but aren't sure where to start!
The first thing to say is - there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to blending essential oils. Scent is a very personal thing, and what appeals to some, will not appeal to others - so go with your gut instinct here and don't get too tied up with the "rules".
That said - there are a few basic principles you can use when starting out with scent blends, which I will outline below.
When making an essential oil blend - you need 3 main components - a top, middle and base note.
Top note - smelt first, fades fastest. They tend to be light, fresh and uplifting in nature. They evaporate quickly as they are the smallest molecules.
Middle note - “heart of fragrance” The bulk of essential oils are considered middle notes and normally give body to the blend and have a balancing effect. The smells of middle notes are not always immediately evident and may take a couple of minutes to come into their own right and are normally warm and soft fragrances.
Base note - Essential oils that are classified as base notes are normally "heavy" oils with their fragrance evident, but will also slowly evolve and be present for a long time and slows down the evaporation of the other oils. These fragrances are normally intense and heady. They are normally rich and relaxing in nature and are also the most expensive of all oils.
In terms of ratios - again, there's no hard and fast rules but generally speaking:
Top notes - 25% of blend
Middle notes - 35% of blend
Base notes - 40% of blend
For simplicity, its best to stick with just 3 essential oils when you're working on your first essential oil blend.
Pick 2 or 3 groups of oils that you are drawn to and which blend well together (see below rough guide)
Then pick a top, middle and base note from each of the groups.
e.g if you like citrus oils - pick a top from citrus, middle from floral and base from woody.
Below is a rough guide to what types of essential oils blend well together - I've put this into a table format for ease of use.
And here is a (non-exhaustive) list of essential oil types and their scent notes:
Woody
Cedarwood - base
Vetiver - base
Pine - top
Fir Needle - middle
Herbaceous
Basil - top
Thyme - top/middle
Rosemary - middle
Coriander - top/middle
Clary Sage - top
Bay Laurel - middle
Floral
Ylang ylang - base
Geranium - middle
Lavender - top/middle
Rose geranium - middle
Geranium - middle
Citrus
Lime - top
Lemon - top
Bergamot - top
Clementine - top
Sweet orange - top
Bitter orange - top
Lemongrass - top
May-Chang - top
Blood orange - top
Spicy
Cinnamon - middle/base
Ginger - middle/base
Galangal - middle
Clove - base
Cardamom - middle
Black pepper - middle
Camphoraceous
Peppermint - top
Tea-tree - top
Eucalyptus - top
When testing your blends - add just a few drops of each oil to the test blend and try out a few different ones before you settle on the final recipe and make up a full blend.
Happy blending!
Make and Create x