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Old orange essential oil uses
Would it be safe to use orange essential oil that I’ve had in my freezer for about 3 years in a candle, or diffuser, or just to soak an old sock & leave that old sock on a plate to evaporate, for the aromaaaah in a room?
I am NOT asking about using this older EO up on anything that would go on our skin. I know that as EOs age, they might degrade into irritating compounds or such.
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3 Replies
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You are probably aware that essential oils are complex chemicals and they degrade and oxidize over time, less so in the freezer, but how old was it before freezing? Their lifespan is usually 2 years. As far as I am concerned, I would discard any suspect essential oils, especially if they only cost $3.00 for half an ounce.
https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/products/essential-oils/orange-essential-oil-sweet.html -
I think I’ll use it as “poo pouri” for the toilet.
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Freezing EOs greatly increases their life span (~16 times based on a physicochemical rule of thumbs 🙂 ). However, scent has quite often a nonlinear correlation between amount and fragrance. Small changes can ‘spoil’ a scent even though it’s technically absolutely okay and within specs or an EO smells okay even if it’s visibly gumming. Most of the reactions happening in most EOs over time and under oxygen won’t make them toxic or dangerous, rather the opposite (many allergenic constituents tend to be the ones gumming first). Bottom line is, expiration dates of EOs is a matter of scent rather than safety.
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