Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts from herbs, flowers, plants, trees, and seeds. These oils affect the limbic part of the brain wherein the smell is attached to a memory. For example, you may smell eucalyptus and immediately think of your mother using the oil for your cold symptoms. You may not realize that the molecules of the oil are small enough to penetrate further than the epidermis. So in essence, the oil is working topically and psychologically.
Essential oils that have been specifically designated as great for skincare usage include bergamot, lemon, orange, rosemary, tea tree, lavender, roman chamomile, geranium, sandalwood, rose, and vetiver. ("If you want great skin…..throw away your cosmetics," by Helen Bairstow and Jennifer Jefferies.) With skincare, there are five ways to use essential oils: compression, bathing, massage, spritzing, and direct usage. Compression would involve placing drops of oils in water, soaking a cloth, cotton ball or pad, etc. in the solution, and then applying that to your skin. Bathing in essential oils is accomplished by dropping five drops of oil in your bath water. Massage is the best way to maximize the benefits of essential oil usage. Essential oils need to be diluted because of their intensity; therefore, you need to mix them with a carrier oil such as jojoba oil or grape seed oil at the ratio of one teaspoon of carrier oil to three drops of essential oil. Spritzing an essential oil involves putting six drops of the essential oil in a spray bottle with water or green tea. Finally, direct usage is limited to certain essential oils since most cases require the essential oil to be diluted. According to research, essential oils are 70 times stronger than the plant they came from! ("If you want great skin…..throw away your cosmetics" by Helen Bairstow and Jennifer Jefferies.) Two examples of oils that can be used directly are tea tree and lavender.
If you walk away with one thing, please walk away knowing what aromatherapy is….. Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils to improve one’s health and life, whether it be to treat acne or get rid of those pesky ants. It is more than the aromatic candle or the scented reed to “set the mood”…. Aromatherapy is using essential oils to treat the mind, body, and spirit.