Fragrance is a personal expression of ourselves, and is also a beautiful and effective elixir that can accomplish so many things: it can remind us of those memories, it can lift our mood, or create the air we breathe during the day. So whether you’re using essential oils for aromatherapy, fragrance layering, or just personal enjoyment, Keeping an Essential Oil Fragrance Collection is the key to preserving it. In this blog, I’ll talk about why fragrance preservation is important, how to store your oils properly, and just a few tips for keeping your collection fresh, potent, and long-lasting.
Why Maintaining Your Essential Oil Fragrance Collection Matters
Concentrated oils are essential oils and could degenerate over time if exposed to light, heat, and air. This can change the scent so your favorite oils may smell different than you recall. Keep your collection fresh and fragrant and you’ll be able to take advantage of each scent exactly as it was meant to be enjoyed. If the oils you’re using are for therapeutic uses or in making your signature scent, you want to keep them as strong and fresh tasting as the first time you tried them.
Storage Tips for Fragrance Preservation
Storage is the cornerstone of the preservation of fragrance. Not only are essential oils delicate, they break down faster in the presence of light and heat. Here’s how to store your fragrances effectively:
- Keep Them Cool and Dark: The heat and the sunlight are what deteriorate essential oil. Keep your oils in a cool, dark place, out of the sun. A cupboard or a drawer is perfectly fine.
- Use Dark-Colored Bottles: Dark glass can keep UV rays and harm away, such as amber or cobalt glass. If you have glass bottles, you could pour your oils into dark bottles to shield them from the sun or other exposure. This simple step could extend your collection years.
- Avoid Air Exposure: Oils degrade from oxidation caused by air exposure. Make sure, always, to seal your bottles tight after use. If you use a fragrance often, decanting small amounts into a separate bottle (perhaps using less of the essential oil) will decrease air exposure. It prevents your oil from being potent quickly.
- Maintain Stable Temperatures: Your fragrance oils can badly suffer from extreme temperatures. They should be kept at a consistent (60 to 70°F or 15 to 21°C). Do not store them in bathrooms or kitchens where they fluctuate between heat and humidity.
- Be Mindful of Humidity: Essential oils can also be affected by humidity through moisture added to the bottle that can change the oil composition. Make sure the area where you store things is dry and doesn’t have excess moisture.
Tips for Using Your Fragrance Collection
The next element is how you use your oils; once they are stored properly their life should last. Here are a few tips to make the most of your fragrances:
- Don’t Over-Apply: Essential oils are concentrated which means you only need the smallest amount. Too much can waste oil and depletion speeds up. Normally you just need a few drops to feel the full effect of the fragrance.
- Open Only What You Need: Every time you open a bottle you are exposing the oil to air, which will degrade the oil. Always open only the scent you plan to use then shut it tightly, from then on. It minimizes air exposure and minimizes how long the oil’s integrity is maintained.
- Rotate Your Fragrances: Keep all your essential oils fresh by rotating. If not, you can also rotate by season—Orange Fragrance is great during the summer, while Tobacco Vanilla Fragrance is ideal for cooler months. It helps your oils rest and doesn’t use them up, as they should.
- Use a Clean Applicator: Don’t touch your skin directly to the bottle’s opening. It minimizes contamination and lets your oil stay pure. Instead, use a clean dropper or rollerball applicator.
Extending the Life of Your Collection
If you want your fragrance collection to last, here’s how to extend the life of your oils:
- Decant Into Smaller Bottles: You can also transfer a bit if you don’t use it often, into a smaller bottle for every day. This saves exposure to air and light and keeps the big bottle closed longer.
- Store Oils in a Fridge: Storing essential oils in the refrigerator in a hot climate will keep them useful for a longer time. To keep the oil from going bad from the condensation in the bottle, let it warm up before use.
- Use a Fragrance Tray: Keeping your oils organized is easy with a tray. It also keeps them in a dark cool place, making rotating and accessing them without exposing them to too much light and heat easier.
- Limit Handling: Each time you handle a bottle, you expose it to air. Use the bottles you are going to use to minimize oxidation. The longer it will last, the less you let it open a bottle.
Mindful Use of Your Fragrance Collection
Storage of your fragrance collection isn’t all it’s about…it’s about how you use your oils. Adding essential oils into your daily routine will help you enjoy your collection longer. For an indication of how to use your HBNO fragrances, try diffusing your favorite HBNOs around you or running a few drops in a bath for a spa experience. They can be used as you create your custom blends for yourself or thoughtfully for others.
Cedarwood Fragrance grounds you and Tea Tree Fragrance refreshes the day. By rotating your oils you are able to experience a wide range of moods and sensations, so you always have something new and exciting to use.
Conclusion: Giving Your Collection the Care It Deserves
Proper care of your essential oil fragrance collection will help preserve the vitality of each scent as when it was first discovered. With good storage and careful regard, you’ll see much longer life out of your collection, keeping your fragrances in the right dosage and ready at all hours. Caring for the little steps you take today, allows you to preserve the oils you love tomorrow.
If you’re like me and have been in the natural home products world for a while, you know you should use essential oils but are often confused about which oils to choose. There are fragrances available at HBNO that include the grounding Frankincense Fragrance and the exotic welcoming Mango Fragrance, for those craving something tropical. By taking these simple steps you’ll keep your collection fresh and ready to enjoy for years.
