The original video and summary image was made in 2016, when I was myth busting the idea that you can dilute essential oils in water, vinegar, witch hazel, or other aqueous liquids. There's still a lot of rumor being passed around by doTerra, Young Living, and pinterest mommies.
TLDR: Essential oils won't go into solution in those aqueous solutions. You must use a lipid like fractionated coconut oil. Components of essential oils are alcohol soluble, so they have varying abilities to go into ethanol or isopropanol.
--I also included rubbing alcohol, which is a dilution of isopropyl alcohol, Everclear liquor, which is a dilution of ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol), and as the control, fractionated coconut oil (which properly dissolves the essential oils).Â
--When adding hydrophobic materials like essential oils to aqueous solutions, like water, you must use an emulsifier like Polysorbate 20. This enables an emulsion to form.Â
--When using aqueous solutions, you must be concerned with bacterial and fungal growth. Water, and hydrosols (the aqueous portion of a distillate) are breeding grounds. Keeping these in the refrigerator slows any growth, but using a good preservative is best.
--The video and stills were very popular, so I thought I'd post a blog post to get it in one place. --