Can Essential Oils Freeze? An Expert's Guide

Essential oils don't freeze completely, but they can if they contain a lot of water. If your essential oils are pure, they won't freeze. When your essential oils freeze, it's important to allow them to thaw slowly before using them. All liquids, including essential oils, will freeze if you lower the temperature enough.

Putting essential oils in the freezer is perfectly safe and can help preserve them. Some essential oils such as rose, thyme and others may have natural components that solidify or crystallize in the freezer. Freezing and refrigerating food can significantly improve its longevity; however, some products should never be frozen, while others should only be prepared to be consumed quickly. Meat and fish can last up to six months in the freezer. Freezing essential oils may seem like a good way to extend their shelf life and save money. But unfortunately, it can also damage the quality of your oils and create a new mixture with weaker therapeutic benefits simply because of the dilution that occurred when it froze.

If your essential oils freeze, allow them to return to room temperature naturally before attempting to use them. Cold or freezing temperatures shall not damage oils, whether distilled, extracted with CO2, expressed, absolute or a carrier. If your oils ever cool to freezing point, we suggest you keep the lids on and allow them to gradually warm to room temperature. One of the most common questions is whether essential oils can be frozen or not. While they are certainly more resistant to cold than most oils, this does not mean that freezing them is a good idea. Heating oils is not good for them, because oils oxidize faster in this way and molecules begin to break down. Be sure to research carefully before deciding whether or not to use essential oils in any way while undergoing any type of cancer treatment, as in most cases essential oils should be avoided during this period of time.

If you decide to store your essential oils in the freezer, make sure you keep an eye on the expiration date. It may mean that one is of higher quality than the other, but it could also simply be that the chemical profile of the first ginger essential oil fits better with what your body needed than the second. Some crystallized oils may begin to liquefy when you hold the bottle in your hand and others may benefit from a warm water “bath” (placing the bottle in a container of shallow warm water). You can also have a patch test with a diluted essential oil on the inside of your elbow to see if you have a reaction to a topically applied oil. With all the information circulating about essential oils, you may repeatedly come across information that seems too good to be true or that directly contradicts other information you find. Pregnant and lactating women are especially advised not to use essential oils without medical advice from a doctor, since they can have effects on certain hormonal secretions and it is not clear whether these effects are transferable to infants at these stages of development. Essential oils are just one form of plant extract, making them a member of the herbal family, not a substitute or substitute for herbs.

It is boswellic acids that research has connected to the potential for future cancer treatments, but because of the myth of essential oil, people extrapolate it to mean that frankincense essential oil also has that potential. Redness or rashes show that the skin is irritated and has a negative response to essential oil. If there is too little headspace in the bottle and the cap is left tightly on during heating, the essential oil will build up pressure in the bottle, and when the cap is removed, the oil will be sprayed everywhere. When it comes to storing essential oils properly and understanding how freezing affects them, it's important to do your research. Cold temperatures won't damage pure essential oils; however, freezing them may cause them to lose some of their therapeutic benefits due to dilution. If your essential oils freeze, allow them to return to room temperature naturally before attempting to use them.