Essential Oils Guide

Essential oils contain highly concentrated essence obtained from aromatic plants. The art of Aromatherapy helps in using these oils to promote peace of mind and healing of body. All the essential oils which are used in Aromatherapy are used either alone or in different combinations this helps in getting the desired effect. One of the most important things is to understand the effect of the essential oils and how they work. These oils are found in different plants. They can be found in different parts of twigs, flowers, bark, and leaves. For example: in basil it is found in leaves, in roses it is found in petals, found in wood in sandalwood, and many other plants and flowers.

These oils are extracted through plants which is very time consuming and also very expensive. It requires high degree of perfection and expertise. The fact that this process requires around 220 pounds of rose petals to produce around 4-5 teaspoon of oil, this is the main reason it is left for the professional. The essential oils are expensive as they require huge quantity of plant material and great expertise. But they are highly effective as only few drops at once helps in getting the desired effect. The synthetic oils are comparably not too expensive, but they don’t have the healing power as compared to essential or natural oils.

A massage and essential oils guide to relaxing your senses

There are various uses of essential oils and one of them is the oil massage. This is the best way to maximise the healing power. If we combine the massage with essential oils then we can get a powerful calming power and an energising effect. It mainly depends on the quality of oil chosen and also the strokes of the masseur. The quick movements help in stimulating and the slow movements help in relaxing. When the essential oils are used in a massage it is important to dilute the oils in a carrier before applying it on skin. It is advised to apply these oils in the way indicated as they have really powerful concentrates. So if they are directly applied to skin it can result in irritation.

Types Of Essential Oils:

Carrier oils are one of the essential oils that are available in variety providing the best results when used. Some of them are:

• Almond Oil – This oil gets absorbed easily by the skin and leaves a smoothing effect to it. The smell is much lower than any other oils and contains vitamin D which is considered great for skin, hair and nails.
• Apricot kernel Oil – Oil that contains vitamin A and is good when used on face to reduce the signs of aging or prevent the face from drying.
• Avocado Oil – It is one of those oils that are very rich in nutrients besides being heavy in nature. It is very good when applied as it prevents skin from aging and prevents skin damages on sensitive skins.
• Grapeseed Oil – This oil is especially for people with oily skin and is among those least expensive oils.
• Hazelnut Oil – Another special kind of oil which penetrates in the skin easily and is also referred to as Jojoba Oil which is light and rich in vitamin E. This oil is beneficial for treatment of acne, dandruff, and spots.
• Olive Oil – It is one of those kinds of oils that can be used in a pinch but would leave around a strong smell. It is also considered to be one of the most essential oils.
• Peach Kernel Oil – This oil is much lighter than any other and contains vitamins A & E. It is generally considered to be very good when applied on face.

A Guide to the Most Important Essential Oils:

All the essential oils are known to deliver great results when used with their strong sense of smell which is known as “olfaction.” The time the essential oils are inhaled the olfactory receptor cells gets stimulated in our bodies due to which the impulse is transmitted to our emotional centre of the brain also known as the “limbic system.”

This limbic system is well connected to the areas of the brain which is linked to memory, blood circulation, and breathing. It’s also connected to our endocrines glands that are known to regulate hormone levels of our bodies.

When the essential oils are used for massage they do not get inhaled or absorbed through our body that well. They penetrate tissues and find the way to the bloodstream which is the place where it gets transported to our organs and the systems in our body.

Each and every essential oil has a different absorption strength which can vary from just 20 minutes to about 2 hours. Thus it is recommended that one does not take a shower just after a short duration of their massage to ensure that the actual effect of the massage is felt.

Essential Oils and Notes:

Generally all the essential oils are described according to their notes. It has been classified as per 3 notes namely:

• Top Note
• Middle Note
• Evaporate Note (also referred to as how long a fragrance lasts)

The Top Notes are among the most stimulating or uplifting oils which have strong scent. The perfume made out of this kind of oil may have a fragrance and have its effect for more than 3 hours and some may even last till 24 hours. Some of these Top Note oils are basil, clary sage, bergamot, sage, peppermint, lemongrass, thyme, neroli, eucalyptus, etc

The next range of long lasting fragrances comes from the Middle Notes which can leave its effect for 2 to 3 days affecting the metabolic or the body functions. It is regarded as less potent than the top note oils and some the examples of them are as follows: Chamomile, geranium, balm, hyssop, lavender, juniper, rosemary

The slowest oils that evaporate among the essential oils are known as Base Notes or Evaporate Notes. They have a very long lasting effect and can last up to a week or so. It is often regarded to have a sweet as well as soothing scent which leaves a relaxing and comforting effect to our bodies. Some of them are clove, ginger, rose, jasmine, cedarwood, frankincense, sandalwood, etc.

A Guide To The Right Blend of Aromatherapy Oils

In order to create the perfect and balanced combination of all the three notes it is important that their right set of rules and estimation is used. It is not necessary to have a fixed set of rules to get the best results as the combination varies from ingredients to ingredients. The familiarity with the ingredients with the right effects makes it much easier to create the best combination giving out the best results when used for ourselves.

Numerous recopies are available online which have been provided by experts that give out some of the best and effective combinations.

Historically in earlier times essential oils were regarded as the best alternatives and a source to great and healthy living. People used them while taking bath or relaxing their senses when the body gets to stress out.

One of the recommended uses while taking a bath is to run a warm bath within a closed area. The moment the tub gets filled the person needs to add 10 drops of the essential oil to the water and circulate it through out. As the oil gets moved the scent rises within the steam of water. This would ensure a great aroma bath and the most relaxing steam bath ever.

People also use these essential oils as a part of soothing foot bath when they feel they have a sore feet or worn out. The aroma therapy foot bath is getting popular these days which have been one of the traditionally used methods to provide relaxation to tired feet. It can easily be done at our homes by filling in a container with lukewarm water and adding a few drops of any favourite essential oils.

Benefits of ESSENTIAL OILS

The essential oils are known for their enormous valuable healing properties. They have been successful in bringing out great results in curing people from various health and skin related issues. They are known for delivering energetic rebalancing effects which work on the physical bodies, and emotions. They are also known to penetrate in the pores of our skins and the cell membranes. This provides a diffusion effect to the skin and the body tissues.

Another great property of the use of the Essential oils is that it enhances the circulation of the immune system and its function. These are among the numerous benefits attached to the use of essential oils on our bodies. To list down some of the specific benefits we can say it can cure some of the following problems or diseases very easily:

• Pain Relief
• Stimulate Immune Function
• Anti-inflammation
• Relieve Stress
• Cure Minor Burns
• Calm and sedative effects
• Cures Back injuries
• Regenerated Damaged Tissues
• Protects from Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, Headaches, etc

Therefore all the advantages on one side the factor that one should take care of while purchasing Essential Oils is the credibility of the place where it is purchased from. The reason for this is that there are many cheats in the market who take advantage of selling duplicate products in order to make easy money. These sub standard or duplicate products when used can also result in side effects too. The companies which are well known and have been in the industry providing these products should be given more importance rather than going for companies offering cheaper and less standard products. Its related to our health and well being therefore it is recommended to go for certified and well tested products rather than companies which are not known or offer sub standard products.