Holding a make and take class can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to. With a little bit of thought and some planning, you can begin teaching classes in no time. No need to be stumped, check out this essential oils make and take guide on how to host a class PLUS ideas for DIY recipes!

Make and take classes appeal to both new users as well as those that are currently using essential oils. It is always fun to learn a new way to experience aromatherapy. At a DIY make and take class you provide the knowledge, essential oils, ingredients, and recipe supplies. Your attendees will make the essential oil recipe or recipes you share so they can experience just how simple it is to add aromatherapy benefits into their daily lives.

Before getting to the fun of WHAT to make, let's first look at the WHY and HOW to have a successful essential oils class.

Why Host a Make and Take Class?

This can be a fun career path or just a side hobby for those interested in earning some cash while doing something fun and creative. Getting into making essential oil recipes can become empowering. By teaching others to create beauty, cleaning, and health product at home with essential oils you can empower them.

Before getting into the details of a make and take essential oil class, it is important to determine your goal for the event.

Pick Your Path - Your Why

• Path One - Get essential oil sales!
• Are you an essential oil consultant, a wholesaler, or part of an MLM company? This may be your path if you are looking to share your oil knowledge and sell bottles of essential oils to interest buyers. An essential oil class can be a fun way to share your passion with your family, friends, co-workers, potential customers, or even team members.
• Path Two - Earn money teaching others!
• Are you an aromatherapist or essential oil expert wanting to teach a class on essential oils to earn money? Sharing your knowledge and getting paid to do it is a great way to put your aromatherapy studies and knowledge to use to earn some cash.
• Path Three - Doing it for just the fun of it!
• Having fun by teaching others about the wonders and beauty of essential oils is very rewarding. Have an essential oil party for friends or family. Add it to another popular event like a bridal or baby shower, a birthday party, or local gathering. Maybe at your next family function, teach your loved one how to use aromatherapy for health and wellness.

How to Host an Essential Oil Make and Take Class

There are four easy steps to hosting a Make and Take Class: Plan, Price, Prepare and Teach

Step 1: Planning

Now that you know you WHY for your essential oil class, let's get to the HOW. The first step in holding a successful make and take event is planning. This is where you are going to hammer out all the details for your class. Here are some questions to answer in order to have a successful meeting:

Who is your audience?

Determine who will you be teaching. Is the audience beginners, knowledgeable team members, dabbling family members. You want to think of who will be there. Be aware of who you will be teaching so you can structure your teaching to them. Some groups you can keep it really simple with, just the basics (don't worry we will go over them!). Other groups will want more information and ask more questions. You don't need to know everything, you just need to be able to find the answers.

Where will you hold your class?

If you are having an intimate essential oil party this could be at someone's house. If you are holding a larger class you will need to choose your location. When you’re choosing your location, ensure it is easy to find parking and accessibility of needed equipment such as power outlets, water, bathrooms, etc.

What day and time is best for your group?

It is hard to find a perfect time or day of the week, but this is where the question "Who is your audience" important. Schedule at a time that is convenient for your students or guests.

What subject do you want to teach?

Jot down a rough outline or some simple notes about the content you want to teach. It is best to keep it simple and really focus on the make and take project.

What oils do you want to teach about?

The subject you’re wanting to teach will help direct your essential oil and product choices. For example, want to teach about essential oils for sleep? Consider teaching about lavender, vetiver, sweet marjoram, etc. You might consider making a linen spray or relaxing lotion as your product. Keep it focused on a specific group of oils and one or two recipes.

What supplies will you need to have?

Once you know what you want to teach about and recipes will be made, you can determine the ingredients and supplies you will need.

Will you serve refreshments?

This will really depend on the type of class you are running, if it more of a party setting, food is always a win. Finger foods are a good option, again be sure to keep it simple.

How will you spread the word about your class?

Invite people to your class, you can do this through social media, mailed invitations, email invites, phone calls or text, local media or community centers advertising, etc. How you invite others really depends on the type of class you will be holding and who your audience is.

Step 2: Pricing

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to pricing your make and take event, you may even choose to do it for free depending on your goal. Here are some thoughts on pricing and fees.

Essential Oil Sellers:

If you are on path one with the goal to make essential oil sales, then you may want to make it a free class and encourage customers to buy essential oils while at the class. Offer specials, essential oil kits, and price breaks to encourage larger orders. Be genuine and enjoy yourself, it will help your attendees do the same. Don't just focus on selling, focus on the moment and helping others love essential oils as much as you do. Your excitement can be contagious and encouraging to others.

A free class may entice a larger group, but you could even do a flat fee like for joining the class to cover materials. Be sure to inform them of the value of your class, "For $10 you will make 3 Essential Oil Products for yourself PLUS you will have the recipes to make at home again!".

Essential Oil Teachers:

For those on path two, a good rule of thumb is to figure out all of your costs (cost of location, raw materials, handouts, etc.) and then figuring out how much you want for your time. You can always just charge what you’re comfortable charging, but you’ll want to make sure that you’re, at very least, covering all of your expenses.

Essential Oil Fun:

For those on path three, you can hold the class for free or charge a small fee for the materials. Be sure the fee covers costs for the essential oils, bottles, labels, and other supplies and ingredients needed.

Step 3: Preparing

When you’re preparing for your make and take you want to think through every aspect of the class.

• Do you need handouts to give to your students?
• Do you have the recipe ingredients needed? Essential oils, carrier oils, other ingredients the recipe calls for.
• Do you have all of the supplies that you need to make the recipes? Jars, bottles, rollers, pipettes, small bowls, double boiler, etc.
• Don’t forget items such as paper towels, coverings to protect work surfaces, and anything needed for clean up after the event.
• Take a few minutes to also think about how you want your classroom set up.
• Invite and promote your class however you determined in step one.

Step 4: Teaching Class

Keep things simple! Cater your information and your blending project to the experience level of your students. Create a sense of community within your class and get your students sharing their ideas and asking questions. An icebreaker before the start of the class can be a great way to create this community.

Encourage guests to smell the different essential oil aromas throughout the class, get people to engage with the oils, find out what scents they like, ask them questions, and talk about essential oil experiences and benefits they have enjoyed. You want to have an interactive and engaged audience.

Here is a quick outline:

• Welcome everyone
• Introduce the topic and DIY Recipes
• Talk about how essential oils can help
• Highlight 3-6 essential oils for your chosen topic, or just one if your topic is a single oil spotlight
• Share more about the recipe/recipes you have chosen
• Instruct on how to make recipe one
• If you have a second recipe, instruct on how to make
• Closing thoughts, special offers available, next class if applicable
• Offer to assist with essential oil orders if selling essential oils
• Answer any questions and thank the audience for coming

DIY Essential Oil Recipes for Make and Take

When you’re choosing an essential oil recipe to teach during your class, make sure you’re always choosing a recipe you’ve made before – you don’t want to be experimenting when you’re teaching others.

While each student in the class should be making the same project (think about how crazy it would be to be teaching how to make many different products at the same time) – you can allow your students to express their creativity and personal preferences by letting them choose what oils they use or by offering a few blends that they can pick from.

Option 1: Everyone make the exact same recipe and blend. This is a great option for beginner students because they can follow along with you easily. This is also a perfect option if you are new to teaching classes because it really keeps things simple.

Option 2: Everyone can make the same type of recipe (like a roller bottle) but students can pick from 2-3 different recipe blends. So if you are making focus roll on recipes, have a few recipe options for a focus blends. This allows for the students tastes to play a role. One may not want to use rosemary in their focus blend but would love orange and peppermint.

Option 3: Everyone creates their own blend. This option may be best if your group has some experience. For example, you’re teaching about 5 oils during your class for sleep, you can then let your students choose up to 3 oils (or whatever number works best for you) to use in the recipe project. So if making an inhaler recipe, let them choose what essential oils for sleep they want to use in the recipe and they can experiment with blending.

If you’re making something like a salve or anything that requires a heat source, consider making the base product yourself while you explain the process to your students. Not only is this a time-saver during your event, but it also protects you from any liability if a student would get burned or otherwise injured by the heat source.

For example, I love melt and pour soap recipes, but this type of recipe could be challenging, especially in a large group because everyone would need to heat up the soap base.

Essential Oil Make and Take Ideas & Recipes

Here are essential oil ideas to help you decide, pick a topic from column one and 1-3 recipe types from column two. Roller recipes and inhaler blends are simple to teach and great for beginners to make.

Wrapping Up Make and Take Classes

One last note – make sure you’re enjoying what and how you’re teaching during your make and take classes. Your passion for the subject, the oils, and the products will shine through to your students/customers and make your class much more enjoyable and increase the likelihood that people will be excited about your next class. Remember, the more classes you teach, the easier it will become!

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