Aromatherapy Blending Essential Oils

Blending Essential Oils by Group
When blending Essential Oils there are a few things which need to be taken into consideration in order for it to be pleasing to you or your customer. I will try to explain as succinctly as possible as I tend to overdue my explanations sometimes ;-)

In the realm of blending there are three major regulators:

The Group

The Effect

The Value of the Note

(These rules are not carved in stone....they are general rules for blending for perfuming effects...If you are going for therapeutic effect, as in the practice of Aromatherapy, you would not blend necessarily in this manner....While we would still like our blend to smell nice, our end goal is totally different)

The Group

First, let's look at the different categories of Groups.
Basically Essential Oils can be divided into 7 groups which can be classified as

Exotics
Resins
Spices
Trees
Herbs
Citrus
Flowers

Each Essential Oil of a specific group will blend well together, for example all of the flowers blend with any other EO's in the flower group.

The Groups are arranged in a circle so that you can see at a glance that each group will blend well with the group next to it, either left or right, for example Lavender, a Flower, will blend equally well with Orange, a Citrus, or Patchouli, an Exotic, etc.

The Effects

Now let us look at Effects:
When blending we must keep in mind the effect of the blend...Do we want it to stimulate or calm etc. Usually it is best to keep our blends within the same categories if possible. I know that sometimes this is difficult but it is, like I said earlier, general practice, not hard and fast rules.

Effects are generally classified as:Stimulating or Calming

Stimulating would include:
Uplifting
Refreshing
Perky
Lively
Energizing
Invigorating
Hot etc.

Calming would include:

Sedating
Grounding
Balancing
Soothing
Relaxing
Supportive, etc.

Note:
Some Essential Oils are Calming and/or Stimulating depending on the dosage used.

So we can see from this that stimulating oils like Orange, a Citrus, would work better with Fennel, a stimulating Herb, rather than Marjoram, a calming herb , etc.

The Value of the Note

Lastly, let's look at Note.
For those of you who are musical, you will realize that certain notes played together is what makes harmony. The same is true of your Essential Oil Blend. You too can make a harmonious melody of your creations.
Essential Oils can be classified into three distinct notes:

Top, Middle, and Base

Top Notes:
have an airy quality to them. They are very light and dissipate quickly. Examples are: Orange, Peppermint, Ginger, etc.
Middle Notes:
are a little heavier and hold the blend more steady. Examples are: Lemon grass, Palmarosa, Geranium etc.
Base Notes:
are the heaviest note and is what gives your blend staying power. Examples are: Vetiver, Patchouli, Jasmine, etc.

I have included a chart which depicts the Groups, Effects and Notes of many Essential Oils. Hopefully this will help you to create that irresistible scent that others only dream of.

Happy Blending

Sharron

P.S. Don't forget that certain oils have contraindications. Check out the warnings page before using Essential Oils

Group	Essential Oil	Effect	Note
Citrus	Bergamot	Stimulating, Calming, Balancing, depending on dosage	Top
c	Citronella	Soothing	Top, Middle
c	Grapefruit	Stimulating, Refreshing, Uplifting	Top
c	Lemon	Stimulating, Refreshing	Top
c	Lemon grass	Sedating, Soothing	Top, Middle
c	Lime	Uplifting	Top
c	Mandarin	Calming	Top
c	Orange, Sweet	Calming, Relaxing, Refreshing, Perky, Lively, Balancing depending on dosage	Top
c	Tangerine	Calming, Sedative, Soothing, Cheerful	Top
c	Verbena	Stimulating	Top, Middle
Flowers	Chamomile	Calming, Sedative	Top, Middle
f	Geranium	Stimulating, Balancing, Sedative Depending on dosage used	Middle
f	Jasmine	Sedative, Relaxant	Middle, Base
f	Lavender	Relaxing or Stimulant depending on dosage used	Top, Middle
f	Neroli	Calming, Soothing, Relaxing, Uplifting, Balancing,	Middle
f	Rose	Calming, Supportive	Middle, Base
f	Violet	Calming, Balancing	Middle
Exotics	Palmarosa	Uplifting, Rejuvenating	Middle
e	Patchouli	Sedating or Stimulating depending on dosage used	Base
e	Sandalwood	Relaxing, Balancing, Grounding	Base
e	Vetiver	Grounding, Balancing, Relaxing, Sedating	Base
e	Ylang Ylang	Relaxing	Middle, Base
Resins	Benzoin	Grounding	Base
r	Camphor	Stimulating, Balancing	Base
r	Elemi		Middle, Base
r	Fir Needle	Grounding	Middle
r	Frankincense	Calming, Centering	Base
r	Galbanum	Stimulating	Middle
r	Guaiacwood		Middle
r	Myrrh	Stimulating, Grounding	Base
r	Vanilla Absolute	Calming	Middle, Base
Spices	Aniseed	Stimulating	Top, Middle
s	Bay	Stimulating	Top, Middle
s	Black Pepper	Stimulating, Grounding	Middle
s	Cardomon	Stimulating	Top, Middle
s	Cinnamon	Invigorating, Hot	Middle, Base
s	Clove	Stimulating, Energizing	Middle, Base
s	Coriander	Stimulating, Uplifting	Top
s	Ginger	Stimulating	Middle, Base
s	Nutmeg	Calming, Sedating	Middle
Trees	Cajeput	Relaxing	Top, Middle
t	Cedarwood	Calming, Grounding, Balancing	Middle, Base
t	Cypress	Comforting, Soothing	Middle, Base
t	Eucalyptus	Stimulating	Top
t	Juniper	Stimulating	Top, Middle
t	Myrtle	Stimulating	Middle
t	Niaouli		Top
t	Petitgrain	Calming, Sedating	Top, Middle
t	Pine	Invigorating	Middle
t	Rosewood	Calming, Relaxing	Middle, Base
t	Tea Tree	Stimulating	Top, Middle
Herbs	Angelica	Stimulating	Top
h	Basil	Stimulating	Top, Middle
h	Carrot Seed	Stimulating	Middle
h	Celery	Stimulating	Top, Middle
h	Clary Sage	Calming, Balancing	Top, Middle
h	Dill	Stimulating	Middle
h	Fennel	Stimulating, Energizing	Top, Middle
h	Hyssop	Sedative, Stimulating, Balancing	Middle
h	Marjoram, Sweet	Calming, Sedating	Middle
h	Peppermint	Stimulating, Energy	Top, Middle
h	Rosemary	Stimulating	Middle
h	Spearmint	Calming, Stimulating	Top
h	Thyme	Stimulating, Energizing	Middle