How Best to Store and Care for Your Essential Oils

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Once you start incorporating essential oils into your daily routine you will begin to benefit greatly from the healing properties essential oils offer.

The correct storage conditions is imperative for keeping your oils vibrant. Storage is actually easy. Just keep your oils tightly capped in a dark glass container, out of the sun, in a cool place. I store my oils in the refrigerator. When essential oils are stored cold, their shelf life increases.
How can you tell if your oils have begun to oxidize?
  • it will appear cloudy
  • it will be thicker
  • it will smell more acidic
It is also important to note that different types of essential oils have different in general shelf lives. If your essential oil has been received shortly after distillation and the glass bottle is dark, kept full, closed, and cold a few generalizations can be made.

The following oils will keep approximately 1 to 2 years from distillation:

Distilled Lime (Citrus aurantifolia)
Orange (Citrus sinensis)
Ravintsara (Cinnamomun camphora ct. 1,8 cineole)

The following oils will keep approximately 4 to 5 years from distillation:

Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata)

The following oils will keep approximately 6 to 8  years from distillation:

Cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana)
Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides)

 Source: Aromahead Institute

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