Health + Wellness

The Best Essential Oils To Add To Your Diffuser In 2022

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A series of drops of essential oil with an orange flower in the centre.

Be it for sleep, stress or sex, there’s an oil or two that can help with many of the problems standing in your way of achieving perfect wellness—here are the best essential oils to add to your repertoire.

Best Essential Oils For Sleep

Chamomile And Lavender 

If you struggle to switch off in the evening, lavender could be for you. Research shows it can reduce anxiety—or just the inability to switch off, which isn’t just helpful for falling asleep, but also staying asleep. Ideally, you should look for a blend with both lavender and chamomile, as chamomile is another natural sedative essential oil. Our picks are Oil Garden’s Sleep Assist ($12.99) and ECO. Modern Essentials' Beauty Sleep Essential Oil Trio ($45) with rose, neroli, and lavender essential oils.

Best Essential Oils For Stress 

Bergamot, Sweet Orange And Grapefruit

Citrus oils to the rescue—for basically any reason you’re stressed, they are likely to help. If you have a racing mind or need lift your mood when you're under pressure, a mood-boosting blend is ideal, such as Endota's Calm blend ($26) or ECO’s Sun Kissed blend ($22).

Best Essential Oils For Immune Support

Eucalyptus, Clove And Rosemary  

Nobody likes missing out, so keeping our immune systems supported is pretty high on the agenda. Your essential oil go-tos for this are clove, rosemary and eucalyptus, all of which are anti-bacterial and can help purify the air in your home or office. Make life easy with a blend like ECO’s Immune Support ($20) or Buckley and Phillips Immunity ($13.95).

Best Essential Oils For Focus

Lemongrass And Cinnamon 

If you’re feeling stressed or can’t concentrate on a single spreadsheet, you need some lemongrass in the air: the experts say it enhances attention, alertness and calmness—everything you need to deal with your boss’ late afternoon requests. Similarly, cinnamon can stabilise blood sugar levels, often the real reason you’re slumping. A blend with both is Lively Living’s Vitality ($21.95), or you can grab them individually from Eco Modern Essentials—cinnamon here ($32) and lemongrass here ($18).

Best Essential Oils For Skin

Jojoba And Rosehip

Lacklustre, lifeless and blemished skin be-gone: glowing, just-got-back-from-holiday skin is just one essential oil away. Jojoba is an antioxidant-rich, hypoallergenic oil that helps prevent acne and nourish the skin, and Eco's jojoba essential oil ($32) is a great addition to any collection as it can also be used as a skin-safe carrier oil for your other favourites. Looking to smooth out scars, stretch marks and fine lines? Check out Trilogy's organic rosehip seed oil ($41.99).

Best Essential Oils For Sex 

Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang And Patchouli 

Yep, essential oils for sex are a thing—Eco Modern Essentials offers a trio of aphrodisiac essential oils including of sandalwood ($32) which increases desire, ylang ylang ($28) which can get you in the mood, and patchouli ($22) which can reduce inhibitions—all parts of having more great sex.

Best Essential Oils For Pain Relief 

Peppermint, Lemon And Lime 

About one in five Australians suffer some form of chronic pain. The oil that will come to your aid is peppermint, which has been shown to help reduce multiple kinds of pain. Start with alternating a few drops of ECO’s peppermint ($18) and lemon ($20) oils to your diffuser, or carry a handy Thursday Plantation Peppermint Headache Pain Relief Roll On ($10.39) for headache relief on the go.

If you’re looking for some self-care ideas to go with your favourite essential oils, we’ve got you covered right here.

Image credit: Jill Burrow (Pexels)

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