What to Do with Old or Expired Essential Oils?
We get this question quite often, and while it’s not an easy answer, I don’t recommend just throwing out old or expired essential oils. There may still be some uses for them which you may not have considered. If you do want to dispose of them, it should be done properly.
Essential oils, just like people, animals, and that container of leftovers that has been in the back of your fridge since you moved in, will age, altering some basic chemistry in a slow decline. While the plants which the oils are obtained from may live on for many years, once the oil is removed and bottled, the clock starts ticking to an eventual demise.
Storing and using oils effectively and properly will stave off and slow down this eventual outcome, however the time may come when you must face up to parting with these half filled, sticky, oil stained little bottles which are cluttering up your kitchen, bathroom or home styled apothecary. In many cases these oils were expensive, contributed to wellness and health improvements, so the struggle is real in the decision to unceremoniously toss them. What may soften the blow is knowing that there may still be one last hurrah or purpose. The following tips and guide will help.
What NOT to do do:
- Do NOT throw them away!
- Do NOT use them in clinical/therapeutic uses, especially on the skin
What you CAN do:
- Add to laundry soap or cleaning supplies
- Works as a great degreaser for extra cleaning power
- Outdoor bug/pest repellency
- Weed control/gardening
For more details and how to know if an oil has 'gone bad', keep reading!
How to determine that your oils may be too old for intended uses.
One of the first indicators may be the aroma. Many citrus oils which are expeller pressed from the peel or “camphoraceous” oils such as ti-tree will develop an unpleasant smell. Knowing what a fresh oil smells like will help you compare. Remember to always pour out a small amount of the oil onto a paper or tissue to evaluate. Oil residue around the top of the bottle will oxidize as it is exposed to air and interfere with the content in the bottle.
If you have stored your oils in areas of direct sunlight, extreme hot and cold (e.g. in a car), left lids off for extended times, then your oils may suffer from premature degradation.
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Essential oils share one thing in common with vampires - they hate the sun
You may have remembered approximately when you bought the oils which may be a significant time of a few years or more has passed, or if there is an expiry date it could be an indicator. However, shelf life of essential oils is not a rudimentary period of time as they are all quite different.
For example, essential oils high in monoterpenes and oxides will have a shorter shelf life while oils rich in esters, aldehydes or phenols will last for many years. Some resinous oils, absolutes or from roots may improve with age such as vetiver.
So, onto the simplest breakdown of essential oils and how to deal with their inevitable ageing.
The oils to be most concerned with are ones high in mono-terpenes and oxides. Most of these would be considered “top” notes or essences. When these chemicals oxidize, they can emit an unpleasant smell (which is a good indicator) and cause more irritation to the skin. They will also lose therapeutic potency such as antibacterial properties.
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Expired top note oils can be useful when gardening
These would include all citrus oils expeller pressed from the peel such as lemon, orange, bergamot, grapefruit, tangerine. Other volatile top note oils would include ti-tree, eucalyptus globulus, cajeput, rosemary & pine. If you suspect any of these oils have gone off, any therapeutic use in topical solutions or diffusion is not recommended. However, they will be useful for killing weeds and sprinkling around areas outside where pests are a problem. You could also add them to soaps for cleaning as they will provide better degreasing and dirt dissolving activity.
I do not recommend putting these oils down the drain as the pipes in many newer homes are made of ABS or other plastic material which can be degraded by these chemicals. If you have a septic system, a sudden influx of a large amount of essential oil can upset the delicate balance even though the oil is natural.
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Expired basil or lemongrass can help keep pests away
On to some of the oils to be considered “middle notes” such as lavender, juniper, peppermint, lemongrass, basil. Many of these will have significant alcohols which will start to degrade reducing typical antiviral properties. The oil may become thicker with a sticky residue forming around the top. The aroma can also change although it may not be as unpleasant as when terpenes go off. Once again, topical therapeutic uses are not recommended but they can still be used in cleaning soaps, room sprays and in the case of basil and lemongrass, some outdoor bug repellency. You may want to saturate some cloths or pieces of wood around your outdoor living area.
And, pleeeaasse do not respond back to tell us your oils wont oxidize or go “off” because they are organic, therapeutic grade, best in the world, blessed by some patron saint no one has ever heard of or from a sacred, energetically aligned region of earth. That is just nonsense. Everything degrades at some point, and essential oils being volatile chemical elements are not exempt.
In fact, the more “natural” many things are, the faster it will generally happen. Even if you have the best quality essential oils, storage also plays a significant role but that is a whole other article to investigate.
For further reading, check out our blog: Essential Oils - A Day in the (Shelf) Life
You're Welcome!
Sandy Powell