If you take care & store essential oils properly then their life is usually 2-3 years. These oils have a long life but if you cannot take care of them properly then your oils can become stale & spoil very quickly, even in weeks. We have some guidelines, follow them to make your essential oils last longer:
Use spring or distilled water: If you are using burner or diffuser then it is best if you use distilled or spring water. Add the essential oils in it & then over the source of the heat. This slows the rate at which most volatile compounds disperse in the air & make the effect of the oils last longer.
Keep in cold temperature: If you keep them at extremely cold temperatures, it doesn't damage the therapeutic properties of the oils. They can become semi-solid or waxy. If the essential oil gets cold, don't apply any heat directly to warm them up. Just keep the lid on & let it warm at room temperature. The essential oils are always kept in a cool & dry environment as when you keep them in high temperature It starts reacting to the air in the bottle & goes rancid.
Store in dark-colored bottles: These oils should be stored in dark-colored bottles or inlined metal conditioners or in hard plastic containers. When these are exposed to light it causes to polymerize that means the small molecules of essential oils bind together to become big molecules. These are of small molecules that enable penetration of essential oils through the skin or tissues & through a diffuser, the large molecules are created that make the oil less therapeutic. A few hours or days will not destroy them but if these are exposed to light for weeks or months then these will be destroyed.
Don't keep in the air: When these oils are exposed to air for a long duration then the molecular structure & compounds of the oils get altered. Air causes more damage to the most volatile compounds of essential oils. That's why these oils should be stored in small bottles for daily use & the lid should be closed tightly.
These are the guidelines which one should follow properly to keep the
essential oil safe & for a long period.
