What is the Shelf Life of Essential Oils?

In a lot of ways, essential oils are a gift from nature. That’s because they can be used in many parts of our daily lives, such as cooking, healing, cleaning, massage, and general health and wellness.

Essential oils are often used to make lotions and soaps because they smell so good.

There are many ways to use these oils, and the benefits are wide-ranging. One reason why these oils might be the best is that they are made from natural ingredients.

People often think that these oils that come from nature don’t go bad, but this is not true.

Do essential oils expire?

Most people think that essential oils don’t go bad, but that’s not true. One reason why people don’t think much about the expiration date is that these oils usually last for a long time.

Most oils can last for more than a year, and some can last as long as two to six years, or even ten.

So, as a customer, it is very important to check the expiration dates of any oils you buy. An essential oil that has passed its expiration date can be dangerous because its chemical makeup can change, making it more toxic.

How long can you use essential oils?

Essential oil’s shelf life depends on how it was made in the first place. So, that’s why some oils can last up to a year and others can last up to three years.

Some oils can be used for six years, while others can be used for more than ten. You have to wonder why this is the case.

The answer is that each plant from which essential oil is made is made up of different chemicals. In the end, this means that the chemical compounds in each oil will be different.

There are certain chemicals that affect how long oil will last. Some of these compounds evaporate more quickly than others, which changes how long an oil can stay good.

Monoterpenes, phenols, ketone esters, sesquiterpenols, and sesquiterpenes are some of these compounds. So, you will usually find that essential oils with a lot of monoterpenes or oxides have a shorter shelf life, usually between one and two years. While oils with phenol will keep for about three years or so.

Essential oils that can last for four to five years usually have a mix of compounds like ketones, monoterpenols, and esters.

Oils with the chemical compound sesquiterpenes or sesquiterpenols have a longer shelf life of six years or more.
In a nutshell, the natural shelf life of essential oils depends on the combination of chemical compounds that it already has.

How long are some popular essential oils likely to last?

Now that you know why some essential oils have a longer shelf life than others, you can make more informed decisions about which oils will work best for you.

Here is a chart that gives you a good idea of how long some popular oils are likely to last:

Things that affect how long essential oils will last

When essential oils are taken care of in the right way, they can last a lot longer. In the same way, oils can lose a lot of their shelf life if they are not handled properly.

When we say “handling,” we mean using and storing essential oils with the right tools.

Three main things affect how long oil will last:

1. Oxygen

Oxygen causes oxidation in your essential oil. That’s how oxygen gets into your essential oil and changes the way the oil’s natural chemicals work.

That can be dangerous because oil that has been oxidized makes the skin more sensitive.

2. Light

You have probably noticed that most of the bottles for essential oils are amber. The reason for this is that amber bottles can keep UV light from getting in.

When UV rays get into the bottle, they cause free radicals to form in the essential oil, which makes it go bad more quickly.

Also Read: How Does Artificial Light Help Plants To Grow

3. Heat

One reason you can smell essential oils is that they contain compounds that evaporate quickly.
When compounds in essential oils are exposed to heat, they leave the oil more quickly.

The CO2 extracts of essential oils are more likely to be damaged by heat than the ones made with steam distillation.

How can you tell if an essential oil has gone bad?

As a general rule, if you make your own essential oils, you should always put a sticker on the batch with the date it was extracted. With the help of the chart above, you can get a good idea of when the essentials might go bad.

If you buy oil off the shelf in a store or online, make sure to check when it was distilled and when it will go bad. Unfortunately, most brands do not put the date that the oil was distilled on the package, which would be a quick way to tell if the oil has gone bad or not.

If there is no date of distillation on the package, you can still find out if the essential oil has gone bad in other ways, as described below:

• The smell is wrong. If you know how your favorite essential oils smell when they are new, you may be able to tell just by smelling if the smell is fine or if it has changed.
• Sensitivity. When an essential oil has been used topically for a long time, the area where it was used becomes sensitive, itchy, and red. If this happens even after the oil has been diluted, it’s likely that the oil has gone bad. If any of the above happens when you put the oil on your skin, you should stop.

Essential oils that have gone bad and what to do about them

Don’t worry if you find out that your essential oils have gone bad.

Even if they have rusted or been damaged by heat and light, you might still be able to use them for other things around the house.

Even if you can’t put them on your skin because they are out of date, you don’t have to throw them away.

Can You Use Expired Essential Oils?

Essential oils that have gone bad should never be put on the skin, even if they are diluted.

There is a very high chance that they will make your skin red, itchy, and sensitive in general. You shouldn’t use them with a diffuser, either, because they can irritate the mucous membrane.

On the other hand, you can use them to clean. Just make sure to wear gloves to keep your skin from getting hurt.

What to Do with Essential Oils that Have Gone Bad?

Even if the expiration date has passed on some of your essential oils, you may still be able to use them for something if you are creative. Instead of throwing them away, you can use them to make homemade cleaners or laundry detergent.

The only warning is that you should wear gloves to keep your skin from reacting.

Check out this link for some ideas on how to clean your house without using chemicals.

What are the Risks of Using Essential Oils that Have Gone Bad?

In a diffuser, you shouldn’t use essential oils that have gone bad because they might hurt your mucous membrane.
They should never be put on the skin, even if they are diluted, because their oxidized state can cause a lot of pain.
Avoid essential oils that have gone bad.

When oxidized, you shouldn’t use these oils:

• Camphor
• Bergamot
• Clementine
• Fennel
• Fragonia
• Ginger grass
• Juniper berry
• Lemon balm
• Pepper
• Pine

This is not a complete list, but you can click here to see more essential oils that should not be used when oxidized.

How long do opened essential oils last?

Essential oils can start to break down as soon as the distillation process is done if they are exposed to heat, oxygen, or light.

As we’ve already said, some oils are stronger than others and will take much longer to break down when exposed to these damaging factors.

For example, lemon oils can go bad in as little as nine months if they are not stored in the right way.

Patchouli oil, for example, may take a few years to go bad because its chemical makeup makes it more resistant to oxidation, heat, and light.

What about carrier oils?

When exposed to heat, oxygen, or light, carrier oils also end up the same way as essential oils.

Almond oil’s lovely smell will change over time if it is exposed to air. Slowly but surely, the oxygen holds on to the double carbon compounds in oil, getting rid of one carbon and forming a bond between carbon and oxygen. In short, oxidation happens to the carbon in the base oil.

If almonds are kept in a cupboard that doesn’t have enough air flow, heat and light will slowly break down the oils. Over time, it will go bad and have an unpleasant smell.

Learn More: How to Dilute Essential Oils with Coconut Oil in 4 Easy Steps?

How to keep your favorite essential oils as fresh as possible

Essential oils need to be stored carefully if they are to stay fresh and strong.

The reason is that as soon as the essential oil is distilled or extracted from a plant or seed, it can be broken down by heat, light, and oxygen.

To lessen the effects of this chemical interference, you can do the following:

1. Use Appropriate Storage Methods

By storing your oil the right way, you can help keep it from going bad because of light. One of the main things that changes the delicate natural compounds in your oil is UV light.

If you buy oils in small amber-colored bottles, UV light can’t get into the bottle if you buy them. This is a simple but effective way to stop this from happening.

Other companies like to store their goods in cobalt blue bottles. Clear bottles, on the other hand, are more likely to let UV rays through, so they are not the best choice.

2. Make Sure the Temperature is Right

Putting your essential oils in an amber bottle is the first step to making sure they last longer.

The next step is to make sure the oils are kept in cool places. Heat is another thing that breaks down oils, so it’s important to store essential oils somewhere cool and dry.

That doesn’t mean it has to be in a drawer; it can be in an open space as long as the temperature is at least as cold as room temperature.

Essential oils are flammable. A “flashpoint” is another name for the temperature at which oil will start to burn. This point is usually pretty high and varies between different essential oils. Because of this, you shouldn’t store oil above the fireplace or near the stove.

Heat, like direct sunlight, changes the chemical makeup of your essential oil and makes it change color. This speeds up the breakdown process even more.

3. Use Small Containers

Keeping oils in smaller containers helps them last longer. As a general rule, the less space your storage takes up, the better. This is because the bottles are smaller.

It’s also important to point out that you should never put neat essential oils in plastic bottles.

Because essential oils are corrosive, they will slowly eat away at plastic. But you can store essential oils in a plastic container if you mix them with a base oil like avocado, jojoba, coconut, or almond.

Related: Complete Reviews Of 9 Best Containers For Juicing

4. Don’t Use the Caps from Dropper Bottles as Lids

When you use an essential oil, make sure to put the lid back on tightly. This will keep the oil from escaping. It’s better to close your containers with a screw cap and only use a dropper cap when you need to get oil out of the bottle.

Dropper caps don’t make good lids because they cause things to go bad faster. You want to avoid letting oxygen into your oil.

Keeping in mind the topic of how to store essential oils, we recommend this great book about essential oils by Robert Tisserand, a pioneer in aromatherapy and an expert on essential oils.

This book tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about essential oils. There is also a lot of information about how to store essential oils and how long they will last.

Extra Tip: Write the date you bought each essential oil on its label or cap

Keeping track of when you buy oil is a good way to figure out how long that oil might last. Oxidation doesn’t care what brand of essential oil it is, so if they aren’t stored properly, it will happen to all of them. Most brands don’t say when oils were distilled.

That means you won’t be able to find out when the oil was made or how long it has been since you bought it.
The best way to figure out how long a bottle of oil will last is to write the date you bought it on the cap. If you extract your essential oils, writing down the date that the oil was extracted will help you figure out how long it will last.

You can only guess how long essential oil will last based on the chart that was given earlier in the article. That’s because it’s hard to guess when something will actually run out. The estimate of how long essential oils will last helps a little bit when it comes to using them safely.

The way something is stored affects its shelf life in many ways. If you store it right, you can be sure that it will last as long as possible.

Conclusion

Essential oils are natural products, but just like most other natural products, they can be damaged by the elements because of their delicate chemical makeup.

Since we know that the ingredients in essential oils change quickly, it’s not too hard to keep them from going bad.
A good start is to use amber or cobalt bottles.

Keeping your essential oils at room temperature or lower, keeping them out of direct sunlight, and making sure the lid is tight goes a long way toward keeping compounds from your oils from evaporating too quickly.

You can now use your essential oils and base oils without having to worry about them going bad too soon. More importantly, this is a safe practice that keeps the skin from becoming too sensitive to oils that are put on it.

If you want to get the most out of your money when you buy essential oils, you want them to last as long as possible. You know how to do that now.

Leave a comment below telling us how long you keep your essential oils and how you store them to make them last longer.

Are there better bottles than the amber and cobalt blue ones that you use?