The essential oil aisle is designed to make you feel underinformed. Twenty bottles, a wall of claims, and no indication of which two you would actually use. Our therapists work with these every day, and the honest answer is that most people need three oils and one method.
The three to start with
Lavender — for the evening
The most forgiving oil there is, and the one to buy first. Soft, slightly herbal, and the traditional choice for winding down. Use it at the end of the day, on a pillow or in a diffuser an hour before bed. If sleep is the real goal, our piece on massage and the nervous system at night explains why the evening routine matters more than the oil.
Sweet orange — for the morning
Bright, cheap, and almost universally liked. Good in a kitchen, a home office, or on a grey Auckland Tuesday. Citrus oils fade fastest, which is fine — the point is the first twenty minutes.
Eucalyptus — for a heavy head
Sharp and cooling. The one to reach for at the tail end of a cold, or in a stuffy room. Strong, so use less than you think, and keep it away from small children. If the heaviness is less a blocked nose and more a tight band around your head and neck, that is a different problem — our guide to massage for tension headaches covers it.
That is the whole starter kit. Add peppermint if you like it (not for young children — see the safety rules below), and sandalwood if you want something richer for the evening. If you want to understand how we blend these in a treatment, our guide to choosing an essential oil blend for your massage covers it.
How to buy an essential oil worth having
Price and labelling vary wildly, and the cheapest bottle on the shelf is often not what it says it is. Four things to check before you pay:
- The botanical name. A proper label gives the Latin name — Lavandula angustifolia for true lavender, Citrus sinensis for sweet orange — not just "lavender scent". No Latin name usually means a blend or a fragrance.
- "Essential oil", not "fragrance oil". Fragrance and perfume oils are made for candles and soap. They are not a substitute for essential oils, and they do not belong on your skin.
- Dark glass and a dropper insert. Light and air spoil oils, which is why good ones come in amber or cobalt glass with a drop-by-drop cap. Clear plastic is a warning sign.
- A price that makes sense. Lavender and sweet orange are inexpensive to produce, so they should be affordable. Rose, neroli and sandalwood are genuinely costly — a bargain bottle of any of them is almost certainly diluted or synthetic.
Buy small bottles, keep them in a cool cupboard with the lid on tight, and throw out anything that starts to smell flat or sharp. It is also worth knowing that essential oils are not regulated as medicines in New Zealand, so any health promise on the label has not been checked by anyone. Buy for the scent, not the claims.
Three methods worth bothering with
- Diffuser. Three to five drops in water, run for thirty minutes rather than all evening — your nose stops noticing a constant scent after a while anyway, so continuous running mostly wastes oil.
- Steam bowl. A bowl of hot water, one drop of eucalyptus, a towel over your head, eyes closed. Our favourite simple fix for a blocked head. One drop. Two is unpleasant. Keep it well away from children — a bowl of hot water is a scald risk.
- Diluted on skin. Always in a carrier oil — a light almond, jojoba or fractionated coconut oil — at roughly one to two drops of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier. Rub into wrists, temples or the back of the neck.
What is not worth bothering with: oils in a bath without a dispersant (they sit on the surface and can irritate the skin), and anything that involves swallowing them.
"A drop of lavender on a pillow will not change your life. Doing it at the same time every night for a fortnight genuinely might."
Siri therapist team
The safety rules that actually matter
- Never apply undiluted oil to skin. Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts, not perfume. Skin reactions are more likely with undiluted oil, so always use a carrier.
- Patch test a new oil on your inner forearm and wait before using it more widely — Healthify's essential oils guide suggests 24 to 72 hours.
- Citrus oils can make skin more sensitive to sunlight. Do not apply bergamot or other citrus oils to skin that is about to be in the sun — worth remembering from spring through summer.
- Never swallow essential oils. Even a small amount can be poisonous, whatever the internet says.
- Pregnancy: several oils are conventionally avoided. Talk to your midwife or GP before using any oils regularly.
- Asthma and respiratory conditions: strong scents can be a trigger for some people. Introduce cautiously.
- Children and babies: use far less, or none. Tea tree and eucalyptus are not appropriate for young children, and peppermint should not be used on children under about two and a half.
- Pets: most essential oils are not safe for pets, especially cats. Check with your vet before diffusing at home.
- Keep bottles away from children and out of direct sunlight.
Building a scent cue that works
The reason a spa smell drops your shoulders before you have consciously registered it is association — smell is closely wired to the parts of the brain handling emotion and memory. You can deliberately build one of these at home, and it costs almost nothing.
Pick one scent. Use it only in one context — say, lavender, only after you have got into bed. Do not use it anywhere else. After a couple of weeks of doing this consistently, the scent itself starts doing part of the work of settling you, because your brain has learned what follows it.
This works best when it is narrow. A scent you use all day means nothing. A scent you use in exactly one situation becomes a signal.
What home aromatherapy will not do
It will not treat an illness, an infection, anxiety or depression, and no oil is a substitute for medical care or prescribed medication. If you are struggling with your mental health, please talk to your GP or call or text 1737 to speak with a trained counsellor, free, any time.
What it does well is set an atmosphere and support a habit. For the actual physical work — shoulders, back, sleep that has gone thin — that still needs hands. Aromatherapy massage is also the treatment many guests book when period cramps make everything ache; our guide to massage during your period covers what to tell your therapist.
A 60-minute aromatherapy massage is $115 at the Viaduct and $105 at St Heliers, and both spas are open until 8.00pm, seven days.
Common questions
Three: lavender for the evening, sweet orange for the morning, and eucalyptus for a blocked or heavy head. That covers almost every situation people actually want an oil for.
No. Always dilute in a carrier oil such as almond, jojoba or fractionated coconut — roughly one to two drops per teaspoon — and patch test a new oil on your inner forearm before using it more widely.
At Siri, aromatherapy massage is $65 for 30 minutes, $115 for 60, $165 for 90 and $220 for 120 at the Viaduct, and $60, $105, $145 and $195 at St Heliers. Both spas are open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm.
Several are conventionally avoided during pregnancy. Talk to your midwife or GP before using any oils regularly, and mention your pregnancy when you book any treatment with us.
