For an everyday adult body blend, use 2%: that is 4 drops of essential oil in 10 ml of carrier oil, 12 drops in 30 ml, or 40 drops in 100 ml. Drop to 1% (2 drops per 10 ml) for the face, for children over two and in pregnancy. Start at 0.5% for older or eczema-prone skin.
Two rules never bend. Essential oil never goes on skin neat, and it is never swallowed. Everything else on this page is detail.
On this page: the chart · which strength for which job and age · the maths · carrier oils · the rules · choosing a piece · FAQ
Essential oil dilution chart: drops per 10 ml, 30 ml and 100 ml
This chart counts 20 drops to 1 ml, the same convention as our calculator. Read across for your bottle size and down for the strength you want.
| Dilution | 10 ml | 30 ml | 100 ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 1 drop | 3 drops | 10 drops |
| 1% | 2 drops | 6 drops | 20 drops |
| 2% | 4 drops | 12 drops | 40 drops |
| 3% | 6 drops | 18 drops | 60 drops |
| 5% | 10 drops | 30 drops | 100 drops |
Every chart online seems to disagree on drops. The Tisserand Institute chart counts 30 drops to the millilitre, so it shows 6 drops per 10 ml at 2%. Real droppers give anywhere from 20 to 40 drops per ml. We count 20 because fewer drops keeps you on the gentle side, and our dilution calculator counts the same way. For a blend of several oils, the count is the total of all of them.
🔮 Which dilution for which job, and which age?
| Job | Dilution | Drops per 10 ml |
|---|---|---|
| Face, neck, sensitive skin | 1% | 2 |
| Older or eczema-prone skin | 0.5% | 1 |
| Everyday adult body oil, massage, roller | 2% | 4 |
| A small area for a few days, adult | 3% | 6 |
| Children 2 to 6 | 1%, gentle oils only | 2 |
| Children 6 to 15 | 1%, or 2% on a small patch | 2, or 4 on a small patch |
| Babies under 2 | No home skin blends | 0 |
| Pregnancy | 1% or less, midwife first | 2 |
Bath water is the one job with no drops-per-ml figure: stir 5 drops into 1 tablespoon of shower gel first, and never drip oil straight into the water.
Face and body. Facial skin reacts first, so 1% is the working figure, and the strength for a calming wrist roller. A 2% massage oil is the classic adult strength, and where your first lavender blend belongs. A stiff shoulder can take 3% for a few days. Home blends stop at 5% on a small patch; stronger is a job for a qualified aromatherapist.
Children. Keep children aged 2 to 6 at 1%, with soft oils such as lavender. Children aged 6 to 15 stay at 1% for a whole-body blend, with 2% allowed on a small patch. Babies under two get no home skin blends at all; the professional figure is a drop or less per 10 ml. A few drops of eucalyptus oil can poison an infant, and peppermint stays off children under 30 months.
Pregnancy. The aromatherapists' own guideline is 1% or less for any skin blend, and no more than 4 drops in a bath. Have a quick word with your midwife before the first bottle, and keep pressed citrus oils off your skin, because pregnancy makes skin burn more easily.
Older or sensitive skin. Thinner skin absorbs more and reacts more, so 0.5% to 1% is the kind range. Broken or inflamed skin gets no essential oil at all until it has settled.
Bath. Oil and water do not mix. Drops dripped straight into a bath float on top as neat oil, cling to you when you get in, and sting. Stir your drops into unscented shower gel, baby shampoo or castile soap first, then add that to the water. Salt, milk and baking soda do not disperse oil, and neither does plain carrier oil.
Diffuser. No carrier needed. Add a few drops as your diffuser directs, run it for 30 to 60 minutes, then give the room a break for as long. Our Aromist sleep well blend is a ready-made burner oil for exactly this, and burner blends never go on skin.
✨ How to work it out yourself
The formula is short: millilitres of carrier × (dilution % ÷ 100) × 20 = drops. So 2% becomes 0.02, and 30 ml × 0.02 × 20 = 12 drops, the same figure as the chart.
For a 1% face oil in a 10 ml bottle, 10 × 0.01 × 20 = 2 drops. For 100 ml at 2%, 100 × 0.02 × 20 = 40 drops.
Pour the carrier in first, add the drops, cap it and roll the bottle between your palms. When a count lands on a half drop, round down. If the maths is not your idea of a calm evening, the calculator does it in one tap.
🌿 Which carrier oil?
A carrier oil is the plain plant oil that does the diluting. Sweet almond is light, cheap and kind to most skin, and the one to start with. Jojoba feels silky and sinks in fast, which suits the face. Fractionated coconut stays liquid and has no scent of its own.
We do not stock carrier oils or roller bottles, so pick up a small bottle from the pharmacy or supermarket. Buy small, because carrier oils go rancid, and a rancid base smells like old crayons. Our guides to how carrier oils work and blending carriers for dry skin go deeper.
🧿 Patch test and the rules worth memorising
Patch test every new oil. Dab a little of the diluted blend on your inner forearm and wait 24 to 72 hours, because a true reaction is slow. Tea tree, ylang ylang and lemongrass are the oils most often behind a rash, and all three live on our shelf. Redness, itching or scaling means that oil is not for you.
Never neat. Undiluted oil is the single most common cause of skin reactions, and a proper allergy, once it starts, tends to be for life.
Never swallowed. Even a small amount can be poisonous, so the bottle lives high and capped, out of reach of children and pets. Two-year-olds have been known to unscrew a dropper bottle and drink it. If that happens, ring the National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766, free, 24 hours a day, and do not make the child vomit. Cats are the most sensitive pets, so diffuse where they cannot go.
Citrus and sun. Pressed citrus oils, bergamot, lemon, lime and bitter orange among them, react with sunlight. Skin that wore them and then met the sun turns red and often blisters a day or two later, and the dark mark can last years. Keep lemon and its cousins in the diffuser, or keep that skin covered for 24 hours. Under Aotearoa's sun, that rule earns its keep.
Eyes. Neat oil in the eye burns. Wipe a cloth soaked in olive oil across the closed lid, then flush with room-temperature water for at least 15 minutes and ring the Poisons Centre.
Flames and storage. Essential oils are flammable, so keep them away from candles and the gas hob. Store them dark, cool and capped, with the purchase date on the lid; an old, oxidised oil is harder on skin. Our safety guide for beginners walks through the rest.
💎 Choosing a piece
Two kinds of bottle sit on our aromatherapy shelf, and only one is for skin. Most Song of India oils and our clary sage are pure essential oils, made to be diluted; vanilla is one we keep for the diffuser. Aromist bottles are burner blends: lovely in a burner, never in a roller. Even Aromist baby calm is a room scent for a grown-up to manage, with the burner well away from the cot. Live shop prices, September 2026.
| Piece | Price | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Song of India vanilla 10 ml | NZ$17.50 | For the diffuser, not for a skin blend |
| Aromist sleep well burner blend 15 ml | NZ$20 | Burner only, ready mixed |
| Song of India lavender 10 ml | NZ$25 | The first bottle to dilute, and the gentlest |
| Song of India tea tree 10 ml | NZ$25.20 | A 1% patch-tested roller |
| Ylang ylang, frankincense or lemongrass 10 ml | NZ$25 | A second oil for blending, one drop at a time |
| Song of India eucalyptus 10 ml | NZ$25 | Adults only, and mostly for the burner |
| Clary sage 5 ml, pure | NZ$36 | The herbal note for an evening blend |
Song of India bottles start under NZ$20 with vanilla, and the rest sit at about NZ$25. Browse the aromatherapy collection online, or pick a burner from the oil burner shelf for the Aromist blends. We post NZ-wide from Auckland, with free shipping over NZ$99, or come and smell the testers at Rivendell, Shop 62 in Westfield Manukau.
One bottle of lavender, one bottle of sweet almond, 4 drops in 10 ml. That is your first blend. 🌙
See the Song of India lavender oilFrequently asked questions
How many drops of essential oil go in 10 ml of carrier oil?
Four drops for an everyday 2% adult blend, 2 drops for a 1% face or child blend, and 6 drops for a 3% small-area rub. That counts 20 drops to the millilitre, the gentle convention. The Tisserand chart assumes 30 drops per ml, so its counts run higher. Either way, fewer drops is never wrong.
How many drops of essential oil per 100 ml?
Forty drops makes 100 ml of 2% body oil, 20 drops makes 1%, and 60 drops makes 3%. That is a lot of oil in one go, so mix a big bottle only for a blend your skin already likes. A 10 ml bottle holds about 200 drops, so a 100 ml batch at 2% uses a fifth of it.
What is a safe dilution for a child?
One percent, which is 2 drops in 10 ml, with gentle oils such as lavender, for children aged 2 to 15. Under two, skip skin blends at home and keep to a burner in another room. Eucalyptus and peppermint stay off small children altogether, and every bottle lives up high with the cap on.
Can I dilute essential oils with water?
Not for skin. Oil does not dissolve in water, so a water mix is really neat oil floating on top. For skin, dilute in a carrier oil. For a bath, stir the drops into shower gel or castile soap first. For a room spray, buy a ready-made one; a home spray needs a proper solubiliser to hold together.
What if a blend stings or leaves a rash?
Wipe it off with plain carrier oil or a cream, not water, and stop. A quick sting usually means the blend was too strong. Redness, itching or scaling a day or two later is more likely an allergy, and that oil is best retired for good. Your next blend goes back to 0.5% with a different oil, patch tested first.
How long does a diluted blend keep?
Treat a home blend as a few months, not a few years. Most pure essential oils keep well for a year or two, but carrier oil goes rancid sooner, and an oxidised oil is harder on skin. Make small batches, store them dark and cool, and bin anything that smells flat or like old crayons.
Sources
- Tisserand Institute dilution chart, safety guidelines (general and by-age dilution tables), how big is a drop, bath safety, phototoxicity and oxidised oils.
- NAHA: safety, general safety guidelines and the IFPA pregnancy guidelines it hosts.
- Healthify NZ: Essential oils; NZ National Poisons Centre on a child who has swallowed poison and how to flush an eye.
- DermNet NZ: Phytophotodermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis to essential oils; NCCIH: Aromatherapy.
Last updated September 2026