Essential Oil Storage Tips

Are you wondering how to store your essential oil bottles? It can seem like a daunting task with all the different available oils. But it is pretty simple! Essential oils come in many other bottles and sizes, which means they need to be stored differently. In this blog post, we will discuss the best essential oil storage tips to keep all of your essential oils so that they maintain their therapeutic benefits.
Can Essential Oils Expire?
Contents
- Can Essential Oils Expire?
- Factors that impact the life of Essential Oils
- DAMAGE FROM HEAT AND LIGHT
- DAMAGE FROM OXYGEN AND MOISTURE
- Essential Oil Storage Tips: What Type of Bottle do you have?
- Dark Glass Bottles:
- Light-Resistant Plastic Bottles:
- Clear Glass & Plastic Containers:
- How Should You Store Essential Oils?
- Caution
The short answer is yes; essential oils do expire. They use organic compounds that can break down over time when exposed to heat and light. So, it is necessary to store your essential oil bottles correctly because they can also last a long time! If you keep them rightly, the scent should still be strong after at least one year. I have kept some of my collections for over five years, and they still perform the same. And it looks like they quickly have plenty more life ahead of themselves.
Factors that impact the life of Essential Oils
The essential oil you choose will have a significant impact on how long it lasts. Some essential oils are more delicate than others, which means they will not last as long. For example, essential oils that have citrus fruits will have a lower shelf life than those made with other plants because they contain more water and less fat. You should use essential oils like Lavender within two years of opening the bottle if stored correctly. On the other hand, essential oils such as frankincense can last up to five years if stored well.
When you expose essential oils to wind, water, and sunlight, they lose their therapeutic benefits more quickly than storing them in dark or cloudy storage conditions. So that is why it’s crucial to ensure your essential oil bottles remain safe from the elements during storage. It won’t be much good to you if the essential oils lose their therapeutic benefits before you even get a chance to use them.
DAMAGE FROM HEAT AND LIGHT
One essential oil storage tip is to avoid storing essential oils near appliances or windows. Devices can heat up, which will cause your essential oils to evaporate quickly! And sunlight can also damage the essential oil because it contains ultraviolet rays harmful to organic compounds like those found in essential oils. So make sure you store your essential oil away from both heat and light.
DAMAGE FROM OXYGEN AND MOISTURE
You should store oils in a container with little space between the liquid and the lid. This ensures they do not contact oxygen or moisture during storage, which can damage them. And, if you see any gaps near the caps of your essential oil bottles, fill them up using cotton balls before closing the lid.
It would be best to be careful when opening essential oil bottles, making sure you do not let them come into contact with oxygen or moisture. To prevent this from happening after storage, I recommend using a Bamboo essential oil box to keep your essential oils in it during transportation and use. A Bamboo oil box will be a critical accessory for any essential oil user because it will protect your essential oils from any potential damage during storage or use.
To maintain the therapeutic properties of essential oil, make sure you store essential oils in a dark or cloudy place (preferably one that does not expose oil to heat). Also, make sure you seal them tightly, so essential oils cannot evaporate or come into contact with other substances. If you close your essential oil bottles tightly, they will remain unspoiled and effective for as long as possible.
Essential oil storage doesn’t have to be complicated. There are some crucial essential oil storage tips that you can follow to ensure the oils last as long as possible.
Essential Oil Storage Tips: What Type of Bottle do you have?
You first need to understand what type of essential oil bottle you are. There are three different types: dark glass bottles, light-resistant plastic bottles, and clear glass or plastic containers. If your essential oils come in any other kind of packaging, let us know in the comment section, and we will include the answers to that in our next blog.
Dark Glass Bottles:
Dark glass essential oil bottles are the best choice for storing essential oils as they protect from exposure to both light and oxygen (which can cause essential oils to go bad).
Light-Resistant Plastic Bottles:
Light-resistant plastic essential oil containers do a pretty good job at protecting your essential oils, but only if they come with dark tinting or an opaque label on them. However, it would help to store these essential oil containers away from direct sunlight and heat since those two things degrade the quality of essential oils over time.
Clear Glass & Plastic Containers:
These types of containers don’t offer much protection against light or air exposure, so essential oils in these containers need to be stored away from light and kept in a dark-tinted bottle or box.
How Should You Store Essential Oils?
Now that you know what type of essential oil container you have, it’s time to figure out where you should store your essential oils. Remember that essential oils need to stay away from direct sunlight and heat, so a cabinet or cupboard is the best place for them.
If your essential oil collection continues to grow and you don’t have much storage space, it might be time to invest in some crucial oil shelves. Not only will these allow you to stack essential oils vertically rather than horizontally (which means less wasted space), but they also come with lids that can protect against dust and other contaminants while making sure that no light gets through!
Essential oils are natural wonders that can do so much for your health and wellness. However, the chemicals in them need to be preserved if they’re going to work correctly. So, it’s necessary to store them away from heat AND light sources to prevent essential oil oxidation. The best place you could keep these precious liquids would have something at least chilly – let’s say a fridge? You decide how cold, but don’t put anything near direct sunlight or high temperatures since this is what causes most trouble with storing EOs. And, in case if cold essential oils don’t go well with you, keep them in your cupboard away from any possible heat or light.
Get creative by using old eye shadow containers like I did when taking them out of the house.
Caution
With all of the essential oil storage tips, remember: essential oils should always be stored out of reach from children/ pets since ingesting large amounts can cause serious health problems. And if an accident does happen, essential oils are toxic, so it’s super important to have an essential oil first aid kit on hand at all times.