Aromatherapy – What It Is All About

In Aromatherapy, volatile plant oils as well as essential oils are used for physical and psychological well-being. ‘Essential oils’ is the term used for the pure essence that is extracted from a plant. They are found to offer physical as well as psychological benefits if they are used safely and correctly. There are numerous essential oils available.

The area of Essential Oil Profiles lists more than 98 essential oils. Hydrosols, Co2s and Absolutes are commonly used in aromatherapy. Essential oil encompasses the absolutes as well as C02s.

 One of the important points to remember is that essential oils are not the same as perfume oils or ‘fragrance oils’ or ‘fragrances’, as they are sometimes called. There are unnatural chemicals in perfume oils as well as fragrances and these do not provide any of the therapeutic benefits that are got from essential oils. Unfortunately, the term aromatherapy is improperly used by many companies to refer to products containing unnatural as well as perfume oils. Hence it is necessary to check the ingredient label to make sure that the aromatherapy product one is buying is genuine.

What benefits does Aromatherapy give you?

Inhaling essential oils is commonly believed to give physical as well as psychological benefits. The aroma that is given out by the natural essential oils helps to stimulate the brain and triggers a reaction. However the lungs also draw in the natural constituents (chemicals that occur naturally) of the essential oils and this can provide physical benefit. However one can suffer from unwanted consequences if the essential oils are not used properly and safely.

Does it benefit you to actually apply the oils? When oils are applied on the skin, they get absorbed into the bloodstream. The different components of different oils are responsible for aiding in all sorts of hygiene, beauty and health conditions.  Because essential oils are so concentrated and powerful, applying them on to the skin in an undiluted form should be avoided. When essential oils are applied to the skin, pure vegetable oils or ‘carrier oils’ are generally used so that the essential oils get adequately diluted. Some carrier oils that are common include grapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil and sweet almond oil.

There are other benefits too. For instance, some oils act as a natural pesticide or repellent. Citronella candles are used in summer to repel mosquitoes. Citronella essential oil is one of the ingredients that is used in candles that have mosquito repellent properties.

Essential oils are also sometimes blended together for the pleasing aroma that they give out. Blending of oils can be done to provide therapeutic action for specific conditions. A synergistic blend of essential oils that are mixed in the proper proportions provides a greater total benefit than that which you get with each oil when it is working separately.

All aromatherapy products that are available are not necessarily natural and pure, even if they have a label that has the word ‘aromatherapy’. These products, which contain ingredients that are artificial do not provide any benefits that true aromatherapy provides. At best they may offer some limited benefit and at worse, none at all.

Buyers are encouraged to check the list of ingredients to check if there are any impure (chemical) components or fragrance oils. As a general rule, avoid buying any product that does not have its ingredients listed. On the other hand, some sellers hesitate to list their ingredients even on fine quality aromatherapy blends to avoid the competition from copying them. Asking the seller directly and gauging his response is the best way to ascertain the quality of the product.  They will also advise you as to which oil may be harmful to your health.