What Are Essential Oils ?
Aromatherapy
Aromatic essential oils were first distilled in Ancient Egypt. 3000 B.C, having been used for cosmetic purposes in scenting the hair and body. By Ancient Greek and Roman times, essential oils, in particular, basil, oregano, thyme, and rose, were also renowned for their therapeutic importance.
Scientific research in the twentieth century has confirmed the medicinal worth of many essential oils, demonstrating, for example, that they are capable of destroying or inhibiting viruses and bacteria, combating inflammation, or regulating hormones. Today aromatherapists use essential oils to soothe, stimulate, or heal the body, the mind, and the emotions. Anything we put on our skin gets absorbed into our body. Essential oils, in my opinion, is an excellent alternative to the skin conditioning and treatment offered by cosmetic products and conventional medicine, as it is important for me to stay with wholesome and 100% pure products and organic products, without harmful additives, chemicals, and harmful preservatives.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils with the goal of causing a positive change physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Alchemists labeled aromatic plant oils as 'essential' because they believed that the fragrances reflected the plant's true inner nature.
Scientific research in the twentieth century has confirmed the medicinal worth of many essential oils, demonstrating, for example, that they are capable of destroying or inhibiting viruses and bacteria, combating inflammation, or regulating hormones. Today aromatherapists use essential oils to soothe, stimulate, or heal the body, the mind, and the emotions. Anything we put on our skin gets absorbed into our body. Essential oils, in my opinion, is an excellent alternative to the skin conditioning and treatment offered by cosmetic products and conventional medicine, as it is important for me to stay with wholesome and 100% pure products and organic products, without harmful additives, chemicals, and harmful preservatives.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils with the goal of causing a positive change physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Alchemists labeled aromatic plant oils as 'essential' because they believed that the fragrances reflected the plant's true inner nature.
What Are They Made Of?
The oils are found in the roots, leaves, stems, or flowers or aromatic plants, in the bark of some trees (such as pine, fir, or rosewood), or in the outer peel of some citrus fruits (such as lemon or sweet orange). Essential oils can be obtained from many plants, and each oil is a complex mixture of up to 250 chemicals. The essential oils I prefer to use are organic, 100% pure, grown in the optimal location and soil ( usually grown outside of the US), and obtained by cold pressing (preserving as much essential in the distillation process and without the use of chemicals or additives.
What Are the Benefits Of Essential Oils?
According to Laurance Johnston, Ph.D. and Pamela Parsons, M.S., "a popular alternative medicine therapy, essential oil therapy is a natural, gentle treatment that can be used as an adjunct and sometimes as an alternative to the many conventional pharmaceutical medications that people with physical disabilities, including spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, frequently rely upon. Specifically,essential oils are used here to prevent respiratory infections, promote mucus clearing, fight depression, and promote sleep. And by expanding their healing armamentarium available, these oils have the potential to reduce our reliance on the pharmaceuticals and exposure to their side effects."
Smell can trigger vivid memories, involving sights, sounds, and emotional impressions of the events in our distant past. A whiff of oatmeal cookies can bring you back in time to when you were a child smelling the aroma in your grandmother's kitchen. In addition to such memories, the smells can initiate a cascade of physiological responses affecting our entire body and mental outlook. Those responses form the basis for an ancient healing tradition now called aromatherapy- a term coined by Rene Gatfosee, a French chemist for the perfume industry. He worked with volatile plant essential oils for fragrancing until one day he had an explosion in his lab and was badly burned. He plunged his arm into the nearest vat of liquid, which happened to be lavender. To his amazement, the pain stopped immediately, and no blistering or scarring accurred. As a result, he changed his focus completely to the medicinal effects of these oils.
In psychoaromatherapy, essential oils are used to either stimulate or relax the brain. Some oils have calming effects; others are enrgizing and can relieve depression. These oils can relief stress (such as slowing brain waves) and anxiety and promote a general feeling of well being. Certain essential oils have antidepressant qualities.
In therapeutic aromatherapy, essential oils treat medical conditions. for example, they can fight infections, promote wound healing, reduce inflammation, affect hormonal levels, stimulate the immune system, heat the skin in a liniment, promote blood circulation and digestion, and lessen sinus or lung congestion. Oils have shown to lower blood pressure and can reduce pain. Others are powerful antibacterial agents. These oils can treat infections of the skin, bladder, bowel, ear, gum, sinus, urinary tract, throat, and viral.
Aesthetic aromatherapy focuses on beauty issues such as hair and skin care.
In Europe, it is aromatherapy is considered an effective, reimbursable treatment that is increasingly being integrated with conventional medicine. Many investigations demonstrate aromatherapy's effectiveness, including double blind studies designed to eliminate the psychological placebo effect.
Here are the different types of essential oils, some benefits along with their contraindications:
Monoterpenes- Occurring in almost all essential oils, these substances are antiseptic, analgesic, and stimulating. Can irritate the skin in large doses and should be used with caution. (Thyme).
Sesquiterpenes- These are antiseptic, but also anti-inflammatory, calming, and analgesic. Non-toxic and usually well tolerated by the skin. (German and Roman chamomile).
Alcohols- Powerful anti-infective, antiviral, and bactericidal agents, the alcohols are stimulating to the skin, although their action upon it is gentle and non toxic. (Lavender, tea tree, geranium, and clary sage all contain important aromatic alcohols).
Phenols- Another antiseptic group, they stimulate the central nervous system and activate the body's own healing process. Potentially toxic and may be aggressive to the skin so these are to be used very cautiously. (Red thyme, cinnamon)
Aldehydes- Antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (effective against fever), and calming to the nervous system.
Ketones- Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, ciatricial (effective in helping to build new tissue), and sedative. Toxic and must be avoided if pregnant. ( some types of rosemary oil are rich in ketones).
Esters- Fungicidal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and cicatricial, and beneficial to the nervous system. ( Roman chamomile contains 75-80 % esters).
Oxides- Expectorant but can be irritating to the skin. Oil containing oxides (certain types of eucalyptus) should be used with caution.
Lactones and Furocoumarins- Antipyretic. The main cause of phototoxicity- they will make the skin change color when exposed to strong sunlight.. ( Some types of citrus fruit oils, such as mandarin).
Precautions When Using Essential Oils: Essential oils are pure and potent and need to be used with caution !
* Essential oils without a carrier oil cannot be used directly on the skin. Do not let the oils touch the skin, it can burn the skin.
* Always do a patch test first before using essential oils, to test for sensitivity. If the essential oil has a carrier oil and is safe to place on skin, test it first by putting a small drop of the oil in the bend of your elbow. Wait 24 hours to see if there is any itching or redness.
* Be cautious about putting essential oils on your skin, especially citrus oils.
* NOT to be used by babies, the very young children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
* Use care not to get oils in eyes and do not ingest, not to be taken internally.
* Always do a patch test first before using essential oils, to test for sensitivity. If the essential oil has a carrier oil and is safe to place on skin, test it first by putting a small drop of the oil in the bend of your elbow. Wait 24 hours to see if there is any itching or redness.
* Be cautious about putting essential oils on your skin, especially citrus oils.
* NOT to be used by babies, the very young children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
* Use care not to get oils in eyes and do not ingest, not to be taken internally.
There are 6 Easy Ways You Can Inhale the Undiluted Essential Oils
Be careful not to let the oils directly contact the skin- nose, fingers, eyes, etc.
Inhaling essential oils through your nose goes into the respiratory tract, and allowing the essence to enter the blood stream, and activating the centers in the brain. This primitive portion of the brain, that is activated by the aromatherapy, controls the body's basic survival functions, by influencing key hormone-secreting glands affecting the entire body. Hence, a smell can quickly influence the entire body- affecting the mood, the emotions and the immune functions.
These actions are below the threshold of consciousness. This means that the most important functions necessary to our survival are powerfully affected by smell- and we aren't even aware of it as it happens. Fortunately, you don't need to be aware of the smell at all to be affected.
Keep in mind that conversely, the same is true for odors that bring disharmony and imbalance. For example, the phermones of fear and violence can trigger the same in another, increasing violence.
I've read that when you inhale the essential oils, it can be likened to a tuning fork that automatically locks your brain waves into a precisely tuned frequency where you can experience powerfully focused healing, helping psychological and medical conditions.
For many people, it can help to eliminate negative emotions so you can reach a place of emotional balance to help you deal with any situation coming your way.
When using essential oils, the effects may seem small or take longer to show an improvement at first, but with time, this can often reverse some of the effects of the ailments you have experienced a long time.
I recommend using the essential oils as one part of a whole package in acquiring bliss, peace, freedom from stress and to obtain good health. The other necessary parts include diet, physical exercise, listening to your body and getting the rest, the enjoyment of life, and the fresh air it requires, Being present in the Now every moment, getting Myofascial Release to help with the blockages and/or pain in the body, and the self -discipline of creating positive experiences, managing your ego and mind "chatter" and releasing all negative thoughts. The beginning is the hardest part, as you attempt and re-attempt to lay down these new positive patterns. It may seem impossible to tackle all of this but believe me, it is possible and can be done by everyone - we were built to be able to handle it and like a baby learning to walk, once you've not given up and taken those first steps, walking then running will be a piece of cake. It's not too much to ask of considering the freedom and bliss you will receive and experience for the rest of your life!
Inhaling essential oils through your nose goes into the respiratory tract, and allowing the essence to enter the blood stream, and activating the centers in the brain. This primitive portion of the brain, that is activated by the aromatherapy, controls the body's basic survival functions, by influencing key hormone-secreting glands affecting the entire body. Hence, a smell can quickly influence the entire body- affecting the mood, the emotions and the immune functions.
These actions are below the threshold of consciousness. This means that the most important functions necessary to our survival are powerfully affected by smell- and we aren't even aware of it as it happens. Fortunately, you don't need to be aware of the smell at all to be affected.
Keep in mind that conversely, the same is true for odors that bring disharmony and imbalance. For example, the phermones of fear and violence can trigger the same in another, increasing violence.
I've read that when you inhale the essential oils, it can be likened to a tuning fork that automatically locks your brain waves into a precisely tuned frequency where you can experience powerfully focused healing, helping psychological and medical conditions.
For many people, it can help to eliminate negative emotions so you can reach a place of emotional balance to help you deal with any situation coming your way.
When using essential oils, the effects may seem small or take longer to show an improvement at first, but with time, this can often reverse some of the effects of the ailments you have experienced a long time.
I recommend using the essential oils as one part of a whole package in acquiring bliss, peace, freedom from stress and to obtain good health. The other necessary parts include diet, physical exercise, listening to your body and getting the rest, the enjoyment of life, and the fresh air it requires, Being present in the Now every moment, getting Myofascial Release to help with the blockages and/or pain in the body, and the self -discipline of creating positive experiences, managing your ego and mind "chatter" and releasing all negative thoughts. The beginning is the hardest part, as you attempt and re-attempt to lay down these new positive patterns. It may seem impossible to tackle all of this but believe me, it is possible and can be done by everyone - we were built to be able to handle it and like a baby learning to walk, once you've not given up and taken those first steps, walking then running will be a piece of cake. It's not too much to ask of considering the freedom and bliss you will receive and experience for the rest of your life!
Interesting Facts on Essential Oils
* Keypunch-operator errors were cut in half after piping essential oils throught the ventilation system. As a result, Japanese corporations use variuos scents to increase worker performance.
* New York subway passengers became less aggressive when the cars were scented wit hplasent food aromas.
* Essential oils were found to keep truck drivers as alert as does caffeine.
* It takes 2,000 pounds of rose petals to produce one pound of oil.
* Essential oils are highly concentrated. The chemicals in one drop of oil are equivalent to thirty cups of tea prepared from plant material.
* Essentail oils are highly complex, containing from 100-400 different chemical compounds in one oil, giving it a wide range of seemingly improbable properties within the same oil.
* Because of the cost of making essential oils, most commercial product fragrances are chemically synthesized. Although the synthetics may seem to smell like the real thing, synthetics do not work in the body in the same way, are not readily eliminated, and tend to provoke more allergic reactions.
* New York subway passengers became less aggressive when the cars were scented wit hplasent food aromas.
* Essential oils were found to keep truck drivers as alert as does caffeine.
* It takes 2,000 pounds of rose petals to produce one pound of oil.
* Essential oils are highly concentrated. The chemicals in one drop of oil are equivalent to thirty cups of tea prepared from plant material.
* Essentail oils are highly complex, containing from 100-400 different chemical compounds in one oil, giving it a wide range of seemingly improbable properties within the same oil.
* Because of the cost of making essential oils, most commercial product fragrances are chemically synthesized. Although the synthetics may seem to smell like the real thing, synthetics do not work in the body in the same way, are not readily eliminated, and tend to provoke more allergic reactions.
Do I buy Just Any Essential Oils and Do They Differ From Each Other?
There are discrepancies with essential oils that can have an effect on how beneficial the product will work for you.
1. The process the essential oil was used to derive from the plant or the tree.
2. The location, climate, soil, of where the oil was grown.
3. If the plant or tree was grown free of chemicals.
4. If the oils has additives or chemicals, is 100% pure, or is 100% organic.
1. The process the essential oil was used to derive from the plant or the tree.
2. The location, climate, soil, of where the oil was grown.
3. If the plant or tree was grown free of chemicals.
4. If the oils has additives or chemicals, is 100% pure, or is 100% organic.
Contraindications and Cautions With Essential Oils
Certain oils should not be used with babies or pregnant women.
Always dilute if topical.
Always dilute if topical.
Essential Oil Remedies
I have put together formulas of essential oil that are helpful with stress, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. EO is not like a pharmaceutical drug, it works with
enhancing the body's proper function, not changing it into something it shouldn't be and it doesn't have harmful side effects.
enhancing the body's proper function, not changing it into something it shouldn't be and it doesn't have harmful side effects.