Alexis Unlimited

Hello World!  I’ve posted before about essential oils and since I like them so much, thought I would do another about essential oils & aromatherapy for beginners. So, here I am at the beginning… I’d also love to hear from anyone else who uses essential oils. Please tell me what you use them for? And which ones are your favorites?  It would be great to hear from you.  Enjoy the read!

Aromatherapy for Beginners: Scents to Uplift, Balance and Calm

Bath and beauty companies have led most of us to believe that

aromatherapy is beneficial for our relaxation, skin care and bathing. While it definitely helps in these regards, medical aromatherapy, a scientific approach to aromatherapy that uses the potent natural chemical constituents found in key essential oils, can also dramatically affect your pain, inflammation, boost your energy, improve your sleep and improve your healing.

Aromatherapy is your therapeutic use of natural oils

from flowers, plants, trees, resins and other elements in nature that have

healing properties. Aromatherapy is as old as nature itself, but we have been using the art and science of aromatherapy therapeutically for at least 6000 years. There is plenty of archaeological evidence to suggest that aromatherapy oils were regularly used in the ancient temples of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Our ancient ancestors must have observed that the scents of flowers, trees and other plants had an impact on their stress levels, anxiety, sleep, mood, pain and more.

Not only is aromatherapy one of the most powerful and fast-acting

natural therapies we have available, it can be a supremely enjoyable

experience for us. Fragrant scented oils absorb through your skin into your bloodstream during massage. Alternatively, they can be diffused into the air where they are inhaled through your nose, giving many of the molecules direct access to your brain.

Thanks to our drug, surgery and radiation based system of medicine, most of us have been led to believe that medicine must be harsh to be effective; aromatherapy seems too pleasurable to be effective medicine for us, but because it quickly gains access to your blood and your brain, impressive results are common and often fast-acting.

When you smell essential oils.

the oil-based potent plant extracts—you’re actually breathing in the

molecules of essential oils wafting in the air around you, which send signals directly from the cells in your nose to your brain.  Your brain then sends messages back to your body depending on the original message sent to your brain. This varies depending on the scent (or scents) and the chemical elements they contain. These signals then act accordingly, either to reduce your inflammation, relax your nervous system, boost mood enhancers, increase your energy or reduce your pain; or some other action depending on the initial chemical elements detected in the essential oil you’re using.

Over the last several decades, research at some of our world’s leading universities on the effects of essential oils on your pain, inflammation, infection, depression, dementia, and many other symptoms you may have, and have found them effective for many of the ills we experience.

Essential oils have unique therapeutic traits

and can contain over 100 chemical elements, each of which produces

unique effects in your body. Even the same plant grown in different conditions can result in different chemical constituents and therefore different therapeutic effects. Additionally, each plant can produce more than one type of oil, for example, there are two types of essential oils derived from the orange tree: neroli oil from the blossoms and orange oil from the peel of the oranges. But it isn’t necessary to understand the complex chemistry of the plants and their oils, to reap the rewards they offer us.

Oils can be divided into 3 main types depending on their properties, including:

1) Uplifting

Uplifting oils boost your mood and your energy levels. They make you feel

good.  Most of the citrus oils are considered uplifting.

They include: bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, neroli and wild orange. Peppermint is also one of your main uplifting oils.

2) Balancing

Balancing oils tend to regulate your imbalanced hormones and brain messengers known as neurotransmitters, which have a balancing effect on your body.

Some balancing oils include: frankincense and clary sage.

3) Calming

Calming oils tend to relax your nervous system and some even have

sedative properties to improve your sleep quality.

Some of the calming oils include: lavender and vetiver.

I use a few drops of lavender oil in my bath water before I go to sleep. I love it! It makes me feel good; it smells great and I sleep better as I’m more relaxed.

Many oils span multiple categories and can have a combination of uplifting, balancing and calming properties for you. For example, while frankincense is balancing, many people also find it calming.

Choosing Oils

It is important that you choose high quality oils since your therapeutic effects are greatly diminished in lesser oils. While there are many types of oils out there, few are produced to maintain the integrity of the plant.

Avoid oils from some of your large bath and body product shops

since these oils tend to be very low grade, are frequently diluted with other cheaper oils and often contain synthetic or toxic ingredients. Some even contain cancer causing and hormone disrupting ingredients like phthalates.

Also, avoid oils that are labeled “fragrance” oils, “perfume oils” or “natural-like” oils since they’re usually synthetic chemicals that offer you no therapeutic value whatsoever.

Instead choose undiluted, pure essential oils.

You should keep in mind that some oil contains claims that their products are “pure” or “natural” but that these terms mean nothing as there are no quality control standards that are required to be met to make these claims. Choose a company that insists on independent, third-party testing to ensure the integrity of their oils.

Because essential oils are highly concentrated,

a little goes a long way, and it is best to use them as directed. Avoid taking

essential oils internally unless you’re skilled in this art. Also avoid contact with your delicate mucous membranes of your eyes and mouth. It’s always best to dilute an essential oil and conduct a test patch on your inner wrist and wait 48 hours to see if you have any adverse reaction.

Some oils can cause photo sensitivity, which means they can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. These oils are usually citrus and bergamot oils, so avoid using these oils within a few hours of direct sun exposure.

Enjoy your journey into the world of aromatherapy!

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I love essential oils. This is a very basic idea of what these oils can do for you;  I hope you gain good information from reading this…

I use lavender and orange oil on a regular basis and I love them! Lavender relaxes me at night and orange oil is energizing, and it smells wonderful. Peppermint oil is another of my favs. It relieves my neck tension so I don’t get headaches when I use it. Another great thing about essential oils is that they aren’t expensive; and they sure smell better than medicine. 🙂

Have a great healthy day!