Over the past ten years the use and availability of essential oils for health and beauty purposes has grown significantly. This is evidenced by the presence of two large national, multi-level marketing essential oil companies with many sales representatives present across our state and the widespread availability of several brands and types of essential oils, in large chain pharmacy and department stores. 

As an Extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences education and a person with many allergies, I began utilizing several basic essential oils years ago, to scent my homemade cleaning products and laundry soap and for some basic aromatherapy purposes. When I began utilizing these oils, I obtained two comprehensive, well referenced aromatherapy manuals and began to study about the uses, contraindications and safety practices of essential oil use. When the Mammoth Cave area Homemakers Association voted to have an aromatherapy leader training for February 2018, I was asked to teach it because of my firsthand experience and ongoing research into the use of essential oils.  I am not a sales representative for nor am I affiliated in any way, with a particular brand or manufacturer of essential oils.

In teaching this lesson in all ten counties of the Mammoth Cave Area, I found that there are many unsafe recommendations being made to consumers by essential oil sales reps, such as using essential oils neat (without dilution in carrier oil) and taking oils internally, these methods of use are not recommended in the well referenced aromatherapy manuals that I have studied and can cause allergic reactions that can range from mild sensitivity to severe anaphylactic shock. In teaching this lesson, participants were exposed to the eight most common essential oils, warnings that accompany them and safe ways to utilize them for aromatherapy, such as diffusing and several basic, cost effective recipes, utilizing essential oils safely in home cleaning recipes and a bath soak. 

120 completed evaluations from this February 2018 Homemaker Leader training were turned in and scanned; these were then entered into Qualtrics by UK student interns and tallied with the following results: >94 % of participants agree to strongly agreed that they gained knowledge from the training about the use of essential oils for health/beauty purposes. <91% agree to strongly agree that after the training they knew what aromatherapy may be used for. <91 % agree to strongly agree that they understood the benefits of aromatherapy. <91% agree to strongly agree that after the training they understood safe practices when using essential oils. < 81 % of participants Agree to strongly agree that they are likely to apply knowledge and utilize the materials that they gained from this leader lesson.