Carrier oils play a significant role in aromatherapy.

Before essential oils can be used in aromatherapy they must be diluted in a 'carrier', since they are too powerful to use alone.  Carrier oils offer a wealth of health-giving benefits of their own.  In massage, carrier oils provide necessary lubrication.   They contain vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, helping to soften and improve the condition of the skin. Some of them are highly effective in treating irritated, sensitive conditions such as eczema and psoriasis as well as helping to reduce wrinkles and scar tissue.

Aromatherapy carrier oils, also known as base oils, are fixed in nature. This means, unlike essential oils, they have large molecules that do not readily evaporate. Because essential oils are so concentrated, most of them will irritate the skin if used undiluted. Essential oils are usually mixed with aromatherapy carrier oils in proportions of 3% for use on the skin.

Because of the potency of essential oils, the aromatherapy carrier oil is often overlooked as a significant contributor to the experience. However, there are several considerations you will not want to overlook: how it was made, the oil's physical attributes, and its therapeutic properties.

Most aromatherapy carrier oils are vegetable oils, meaning they are extracted from plants. How they are extracted is significant to their usefulness in aromatherapy. Cold-pressed extraction is the ideal. With this method, the purity and therapeutic properties of the oil are preserved. Extraction using heat will destroy most of the nutritional value of the oil, and if chemicals are used the purity of the oil is compromised. The carrier oils used in aromatherapy can add greatly to the benefits if you pay attention to this issue.

The physical attributes of aromatherapy carrier oils to consider are the feel of the oil and the smell. Some oils, like sweet almond, grape seed, and jojoba oils, are light and more easily absorbed, and have a mild pleasant odor. These are ideal for massage purposes, and don’t interfere with the aroma of the essential oil. Some, like olive oil and sesame oil, have a strong and less pleasant odor that overpower the scent of the essential oil you have added. Oils like castor oil and wheat germ oil are very nutrient dense, but they are heavy and a bit sticky. Often these are mixed with the lighter oils for their therapeutic benefits.

On a final note, aromatherapy carrier oils , unlike essential oils, can go rancid. After opening, they should be stored in a cool dark place. Opened, they have a shelf life of 8 to 12 months.

There are a large number of aromatherapy carrier oils with a wide variety of nutritional and therapeutic benefits. Sweet almond, grape seed, and jojoba are among the most common. Some others, though not all, are soya, avocado, coconut, aloe vera gel, evening primrose, rosehips, hemp, meadow foam, perilla seed, cherry kernel, etc. There are more than enough carrier oils available in aromatherapy for this to be considered an art in itself. This art is applied in the areas of massage, skin and hair care, and health.