How do flower essences work?

Our emotional state affects everything—from how we think and sleep to how we relate to others and show up in the world. When we experience stress, emotional overwhelm, or challenges, our body can store these experiences in subtle ways, creating energetic blocks that disrupt our natural sense of balance and wellbeing.

Flower essences help by gently addressing these emotional blocks, releasing internal tension, and supporting the body’s natural ability to rebalance. Over time, unresolved feelings or stress patterns can manifest not just emotionally, but physically or behaviorally, leading to fatigue, irritability, or a sense of being stuck. By working on the emotional and energetic level, flower essences help you reconnect with a calmer, clearer, and more grounded version of yourself.

They work subtly but powerfully, supporting the nervous system, which plays a key role in how our body responds to life. When emotional health is supported, physical health often benefits too.

Flower essences have been used for thousands of years by cultures around the world, including the ancient Egyptians and Indigenous Australians. In the 1930s, English physician Dr. Edward Bach developed a system of 38 remedies—now widely known and used across the globe, including the popular “Rescue Remedy.”

Many people report that flower essences help them manage anxiety, stress, grief, or emotional patterns they’ve struggled to shift. If you're feeling overwhelmed, out of balance, or just not quite yourself, flower essences offer a gentle, natural way to support your emotional wellness.

What are flower essences?

Flower essences are made by sun-steeping flowers from a particular plant into purified or spring water which encapsulates the imprint of the flower and the healing energy. The water is then collected, strained and potentised through dilution methods, Brandy is added as a preservative and this becomes the stock essence. The plant is not harvested or destroyed in the process and the stock essence does not have any physical parts of the flower left in it.

The stock essences I have chosen to use in my flower essence blends are from 88 different native Australian flowers and are made here in Western Australia. Australia’s flowering plants are arguably the oldest on the planet and due to the geographical isolation of Australia, our flowers have had to adapt for enhanced survival which has resulted in them exhibiting unique characteristics and producing more powerful and effective essences.

Are flower essences the same as essential oils?

People often think flower essences are the same as essential oils, but they are quite different from each other. Flower essences do not contain any physical parts of the flower and they do not have a scent (apart from a slight smell of the brandy that has been added as a preservative). Essential oils, however, do contain physical components extracted from the plants and they do have a scent. Our Flower Essence Drops do not contain essential oils because many essential oils are not suitable for ingestion but we have added them to our Flower Essence Mists for the enhanced benefits of the oils and to make them smell amazing when you spray them into the air.

How do I choose which flower essence to use?

Our flower essence blends have been specifically made for many common issues. It is best to decide which of these issues is most important for your health and growth right now to help you choose which one to use as your main blend. Read the descriptions and choose the one that relates to your priority issue and focus on that one to use morning and night for at least a month. If you cannot see a blend suitable please contact us and we will send you a questionnaire and make up a custom blend just for you. You can use other blends at the same time but just when require them. For example, if you are going through a difficult time you might decide to use our Support Flower Essence drops as your main blend morning and night and then use our Calming Flower Essence drops when you feel you need it.

Should I use the flower essence drops or the mist?

I personally like to use to both but you can use whichever one you prefer or both at the same time to enhance effectiveness. One is not more effective than the other the only difference is the mists contain essential oils so they cannot be used orally whereas the drops can be.

Are flower essences safe and effective?

Flower essences are safe to use and there is little chance of an adverse reaction due to the dilution process and the fact that there is no plant material present in the essences. They are best used to support and enhance your well-being and are not intended to be used as the sole therapeutic modality in the case of a serious illness or a replacement for medical treatment.

Due to flower essences working on an emotional level research studies using conventional methodologies are difficult to set up and funding can be hard to generate which means there is little published research on the benefits of flower essences. This is also the case for many other holistic treatments but lack of published research should not be associated with a lack of effectiveness and there is a large amount of research data evidence available showing the interconnectedness of physical illness and disease to be a result of emotional imbalances. Many healers throughout history also understood this notion and we shouldn’t ignore the fact that flower essences have been successfully used to traditionally treat physical and mental imbalances for thousands of years.

How do I take the flower essence drops?

When administering the drops avoid touching the dropper tip to any surface such as your mouth, skin, your pet’s mouth etc. Hold the dropper above your mouth and place 7 drops (which is the equivalent of a 1/4 of a dropper full) into the mouth or under the tongue morning and night. Alternatively, add the drops to a drink of water & consume.

If you do not wish to take the flower essence drops orally you can add them to your bathwater or apply the drops to your skin. The flower essence just needs to make contact with you for them to be beneficial.

Can the mists and drops be used on children and animals?

Yes. Our mists and drops are safe for both children and animals. In fact, they often work quite quickly, as kids and pets usually have fewer emotional blockages than adults.

• Children: The dosage is the same as for adults for children aged 2 years and up. If you wish to give flower essence drops to babies from 3 months of age, the best way is to add a few drops to their bath water.

• Animals:‍ ‍Our Contented Pet Flower Essence Drops are specifically formulated for animals, but any of the drops in our shop are suitable for use on animals. Use 4–7 drops twice daily, or as required. Drops can be given directly by mouth or mixed with food or drinking water. Alternatively, place drops onto the paws so they can naturally lick them off or apply them to the skin on the stomach for easy absorption.

  Contented Pet Flower Essence Mist is the only mist from our shop that can be used on animals, as it contains safe essential oils for animals. Do not spray the mist directly onto your pet; instead, mist it in the air or around them.

How do I store the flower essences and can they go bad?

Store both the flower essence drops and flower essence mists in a cool, dark spot away from direct sunlight. If stored correctly and because we only make small batches at a time your essences will last years but we have put an expiry of 2 years on the labels for legal regulations.

As mentioned above avoid touching the dropper to any surface because if contaminants are introduced into the bottle then it will shorten the shelf life and may affect the effectiveness of the essence. If the dropper does come into contact with a surface such as your mouth or the floor etc. wash it with dish soap and rinse it well with purified or spring water before placing it back into the bottle.

Can I use flower essences if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?

Yes, flower essences are safe to use whilst pregnant and breastfeeding but the following warnings apply:

1. Alcohol is used as a preservative but in a minute amount of approximately 0.03ml per 7 drops so if you would prefer not to ingest any you can evaporate the alcohol by adding the drops to hot water or using them topically in your skincare products or bath water.

2. If using our Flower Essence Mists or Roll-on’s please refer to the label as a few of our blends contain certain essential oils which may not be suitable to use during pregnancy and you should check with your Healthcare Practitioner before use.

How can I use flower essences if I am alcohol sensitive?

Our flower essences contain brandy as a preservative but each dose only contains a negligible amount of alcohol (approximately 0.06ml per 7 drops). If you are avoiding alcohol due to sobriety, religious or other reasons you can still easily use the flower essences topically by adding them to your bath water, or skincare products or by using our Flower Essence Mists or Roll-on’s instead of ingesting them orally. The essences just need to be in contact with you for them to be effective.

Does it matter what time of day I take my flower essences?

You can take your flower essences at any time of day just work them into your daily routine so you take them at a time that suits you and when you will remember to take them. Some people leave them beside their bed so that when they wake in the morning and when they go to bed at night they take them. Other people leave them in a spot like the kitchen so when they are making a cup of tea or doing the dishes this is a prompt to take them. Another way is putting the total amount of drops for the day into your water bottle and consuming them that way which works well for children or anyone too busy to remember to take them twice a day.

Can I use more than one flower essence at a time?

The short answer is yes but try taking just the blend that you are needing the most right now morning and night and then taking any other blends when you require them. For example, if your child has issues sleeping and concentrating and you find the sleeping issue more important, then give them the Sleep Flower Essence Drops morning and night and the Concentrate Flower Essence Drops when required.

How long does it take for the essences to take effect?

This is different for everyone as we are all unique and different to one another and it also depends on the issues we are dealing with. Sometimes you will feel the flower essences work immediately, especially the flower essence blends such as Support, Calming or Sleep and others blends can start subtly and make obvious changes more gradually. A typical cycle for emotional change is around a month so to fully experience the impact of a flower essence blend it is recommended that you take your most needed blend morning and night for at least this time.

It is also important to know that to notice specific changes in yourself you need to be objectively aware of your emotional and mental states which can take practice. To do this we need to take time to regularly tune into how we are feeling by self-reflecting and observing. You can do this by taking at least five minutes a day to be still and just focus on yourself. This could be whilst you are showering, about to go to sleep, watering the garden, going for a walk, doing the dishes or whenever you can just take five to concentrate on yourself without distractions. Sometimes people like to write down how they are feeling or ask the people closest to them if they have noticed any changes because often others see the changes before we notice them ourselves.

How long can I take a flower essence blend?

There is no right or wrong amount of time to how long you can use a flower essence blend. Many people successfully use flower essence blends for long periods of time and because there is no physical build-up in the body they are completely safe to use long term. Others like to stop using a blend once they have felt the intended benefits which makes room for trying another blend that may be required.