Essential oils can be categorized into eight broad groups. It can be really helpful to know these groups and what oils go in each because it can help you choose alternative oils to fit your needs when you don’t have the exact one you want. For example…if you want a strong floral oil for a DIY essential oil perfume and you don’t have the jasmine essential oil you want you can easily choose another from the floral category such as Neroli. Or if you need an earthy essential oil to make a beard oil product for your husband and you don’t have sandalwood, then you can elect to use another woodsy/earthy oil such as cedarwood. It helps when you know the general groups the essential oils fall into.
Antiseptic Essential Oils
These oils are antiseptic and cleansing with a strong camphorous smell. They are great for disinfection uses.
- Eucalyptus
- Tea Tree
Citrus Essential Oils
These oils all have refreshing and stimulating citrus.
- Bergamot
- Citronella
- Lemon
- Lemongrass
- Grapefruit
- Mandarin
- Neroli
- Orange
- Melissa
- Lime
- Tangerine
Fresh Essential Oils
These oils have strong stimulating and refreshing scents.
- Cypress
- Niaouli
- Peppermint
- Pine
- Spearmint
Floral Essential Oils
Light and relaxing floral oils:
- Lavender
- Chamomile
- Geranium
- Juniper
- Palmarosa
Heady, strong floral oils:
- Jasmine
- Rose
- Rose Otto
- Rosewood
- Petitgrain
- Neroli
Herby Essential Oils
- Basil
- Clary Sage
- Fennel
- Marjoram
- Aniseed
- Oregano
- Rosemary
Spicy Essential Oils
These are warm and spicy oils.
- Black Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Nutmeg
Woodsy/Earthy Essential Oils
These oils have the lovely earthy scents from the nature all around us.
- Cedarwood
- Frankincense
- Myrrh
- Sandalwood
- Patchouli
- Ylang Ylang
- Vetiver
