Aromatherapy. What is it?
It’s often defined as:
- A form of alternative medicine in which essential oils are used for their therapeutic benefits.
- The use of aromatic materials such as essential oils.
- A wholistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being
- Therapy by way of scent
These are just a few of the ways people have defined aromatherapy. You can have therapy by aroma with a fresh bouquet of flowers in a room. You can also have therapy by aroma if you sit among the pine trees or the floral and herbs gardens. These are all forms of aromatherapy.
Yet, when it comes to the art and science of aromatherapy as we know it, the one true source is the use of essential oils. It’s their essence that gives us the benefits and solutions that we cherish most.
Have you ever passed a bottle of sweet orange essential oil under your nose? The aroma takes you mentally to the peeling of an orange, seeing the juice pop up from the skin and giving you its sweetness.
What about the beauty of a rose garden, the allure of a gardenia bush or the mystique of a night blooming jasmine? These are the plants, leaves, roots and stems that the herbs, flowers and trees give of themselves in the form of an oil. The very essence of the oil is what you can benefit from.
How Does Aromatherapy Work?
For the most part, aromatherapy is thought to work by stimulating receptors in your nose. These receptors then send messages through your nervous system to the limbic system. The limbic system is that part of your brain that controls your emotions.
Emotions are what flares up when you smell a certain essential oil and it reminds you of a place, a time in history, your grandmother, or mother for that matter. Sometimes you cry based on the memory that the oil recalls. Other times you’ll have a good laugh because you associate the essential oil with a fun time in your life.
How Are Essential Oils Used?
You can use them in inhalers. Better yet you can add a few drops to a diffuser or humidifier and scent up a room or two.
Then there’s the ultimate gift of experiencing a natural perfume made from essential oils.
In the world of beauty, essential oils are used in skin care products for acne treatments, maturing skin or bath salts for the ultimate relaxing experience. In hair care, they’re known to help with a flaky scalp, alopecia or even hair growth.
You’ll find them in serums, moisturizers, conditioners and shampoos, to name a few.
What Essential Oils Do You Store for The Ultimate Aromatherapy Experience?
No home should be without lavender, peppermint, tea tree, sweet orange or eucalyptus. These are basics.
- You have your relaxing/calming oil in lavender.
- Peppermint is known to help with nausea, treat headaches as well as fight bacteria and fungus.
- Tea tree is antiseptic and a disinfectant. It’s used in shampoos and skin care products .
- Sweet orange helps with anxiety and depression. It’s an uplifting oil.
- Eucalyptus helps keep bugs away, control blood sugar, clear your chest as well as soothe cold sores.
You can always add rosemary, grapefruit and geranium. They’ll extend your oil pantry and enable you to create more unique experiences in aromatherapy and beauty products.
This list will get you started. It’s a good idea to seek out a class and delve deeper into aromatherapy, essential oils and their usage. Your nose and your skin will thank you for it.
That’s it for this week. As always …
Dedicated to Your Beauty,
Juliette Samuel,
Esthetician/Author/Publisher,
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