Aromatherapy

Perhaps you have heard of aromatherapy, but you know nothing or just a little bit about what it is and what it can do. Aromatherapy uses the aroma from plants for holistic healing of memory, body and soul. Aromatherapy combines the physical and emotional effects of gentle massage with medical and psychotherapeutic properties of essential oils. Together with a well balanced diet, enough exercise and a daily intake of plenty of water or herbal teas aromatherapy helps to keep your body in top shape.

Aromatherapy not only helps to get the body to relax, it also improves mood and is also a good treatment for minor disorders that doctors can not find a solution. With the right combination of scents, you can stimulate the immune system, relieve muscle aches and pains and help the muscles to relax, lowering blood pressure, reduce stress levels, insomnia and other stress related disorders.

Many essential oils are also super skin care products and can help heal medical problems such as sensitive athlete’s feet and the like. What is this then the essential oil you may wonder? These essential oils are concentrated aromatic plant extracts, usually collected through a process of steam. Lavender Water is an example of an essential oil. They can be used, for example, hair care agents to improve the circulation of the scalp, prevent dandruff and help your hair feel better. Aromatherapy is also extremely useful as a first stop for all the little accidents that often happen at home (such as minor burns and cuts) and common problems such as sore throat or runny nose.

Some common ways to use essential oils is by inhalation, massage, baths and compresses. Essential oils, except in certain exceptional cases, should never be applied directly to skin in undiluted form. Follow these guidelines to receive the benefits of aromatherapy can bring.

Inhalation of vapor
Add two drops of essential oil into a cup of boiling water. Cover your head and neck with a towel and inhale the aroma.

Bad
For relaxation, fun and stress relief or to relax tense muscles, a few drops of an essential oil to bath water to help treat these disorders.

Take care of yourself
Take care of yourself by mixing in romantic oils in your skin lotion, face creams and shampoos.

Massage
Essential oils are mixed in base oil such as sweet almond or rapeseed oil.

Dressings
The essential oils present in the dressings are effective to reduce inflammation and the like.

How much should I take?
Essential oils are highly concentrated essences. The need therefore only very small amounts (few drops). If you take too much, you lose their beneficial effect and instead the opposite result. Some essential oils are very scent-intensive, such as cinnamon, ylang-ylang, love dreams, and then it is enough just 2-4 drops to achieve a nice scent throughout the room. Citrus oils however are very volatile, which means you usually can take more of these. It ‘is difficult to give general recommendations, as odor perception depends on room size, ventilation, personal sense of smell and the oil’s fragrance intensity.

Keep always to the recommended recipe for massage and bath, do not overfill:

Quick Facts
Essential oils

• Smells
• Dissolves readily in the fatty
• Dissolves poorly in water
• Are volatile and evaporate easily
• Have small molecules and reduces surface tensions which are two important factors for them to pass through our skin tissue and mucous membranes.

Remember that…
Defend the essential oils out of reach of children. Always dilute the essential oil with vegetable oil before using it on your skin. Essential oil should not come into contact with eyes or mucous membranes.

If you are allergic, you should first test the oils by diluting one drop of essential oil with a little vegetable oil. Apply to your elbow and wait a few hours of an allergic reaction.

The following oils should not be used in conjunction with solarium / tanning because they make your skin more sensitive to light: Angelica, Bergamot, Blood Orange, Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Lime and Verbena.

The following oils can easily irritate the skin in sensitive skin: Cinnamon, Lemon Balm, Rosemary, Basil, Fennel, Lemongrass, Thyme, Tea Tree, Peppermint, and Verbena.

The following oils should not be used during pregnancy: Cinnamon, Sage, Thyme, Basil, Cypress, Clove, Marjoram, Myrrh, Juniper, Olibanum.

The following essential oils should not be used in conjunction with epilepsy or high blood pressure: Fennel Sweet, Sage, Camphor, Rosemary.

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