Mistakes to Avoid with Your DIY Projects

Making your own gifts for people during the holiday season is fun to do, saves money, 
and makes the gift more meaningful. However, there are also some common mistakes 
people make, especially when they are using essential oils for these gifts. Here are 
some mistakes you need to avoid whenever you are working with pure essential oils.

Going Too Quickly with Blends

If you are going to make DIY products with homemade essential oil blends, this might 
be your first mistake. Making your own blend allows you to really customize the scent to 
your liking, but you shouldn’t try to rush the process. It helps to go one drop at a time of 
each scent you are considering. This allows you to really control the final result instead 
of adding 10 drops of one scent, only to find out if doesn’t work good with your blend.

Not Getting the Right Amounts of Oils

The next mistake you might make when you are working with essential oils is either 
using too little or too much of the scent. Always remember that the use of the product 
will determine how strong the scent is. If it is something that will be stimulated 
somehow, such as with heating up or a homemade air freshener put in an air vent, the 
air or heat is going to bring out those scents. You want to use only as much oil as you 
need to get the scent you want, without overpowering it. Sometimes this just requires a 
little experimenting.

Diluting Your Oils with Water

As you know, diluting your essential oils the proper way with a carrier oil is really 
important to make it safe for use on your skin. However, that doesn’t mean you can just 
dilute it with water. While many other things can be diluted with water, it isn’t always 
enough with essential oils, depending on how sensitive your skin is. Oil and water don’t 
mix, so while a couple drops in a big bath full of water might be okay, using more than 
that really requires the use of a carrier oil first.

Not Testing the Blends First

Before you start mixing together different essential oils to make your own blend, test it 
on something else first before making the DIY project. You don’t want to mix oils 
together into a blend then use them for soap or an air freshener, only to find out the 
aroma isn’t quite right. Get a piece of cardboard to use the blend on it first, let it dry, 
then see what you have.


