BEAUTY ARTICLE
AROMATHERAPY 

 

The History Of Aromatherapy
Essential oils have been here since the very beginning of the world.


 The healing power of plants were acknowledged by
 many cultures and ancient civilisation for thousands of years:
 
 In Ancient India, religious writings reveal prescriptions and
 formula of healing plants. 
 In Ancient China, their herbal medicine has survived
 to the present day. In Chinese Medicine, it features a
 classic of over 8,000 plant-based formulas- making it the
 greatest record of plants that has ever been used in medicine. 

 The Egyptians have been using essential oils since the
 beginning of the Pharoahs. There are records that show
 clay tablets of the essential oils- edarwood and cypress
 being imported into Egypt.



 The word 'Aromatherapie' was first coined by a french chemist, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse
 who later devoted his life to researching the beauty of essential oils.
 An accident occured when he set his arm on fire during research- where he plunged out to
 the nearest cold liquid which happened to be, pure lavender oil.

He immediately noticed how his hand healed remarkably quickly with minimal discomfort,
but also left him with no scarring. Gattefosse realised that the healing properties of
essential oils were much greater than those synthetic preperations he had been working on.
Thus began his passion for essential oils, and in World War II, Jean Valnet continued
his work and used essential oils to treat wounded soldiers.

"Eighty percent of the world's rose species come from Asia."

Aromatherapy: The Beauty of Nature.


What are essential oils, and where do they come from?
Essential oils are high concentrations of aromatic extracts which are distilled from
a variety of plant materials such as grass, leaves, flowers, seeds, twigs, peels from fruit,
wood, and roots.

Essential oils live in the soul of plants.
The reason for the collective name of 'essential' is that they give plants their
distinctiveness and essence.

Distillation is a form to extract essential oils from plants.
For example, it takes ten tonnes of rose blossoms to produce a single kilo of
the purest essential oil derived from them.
This is why the purest essential oils are quite expensive.


In the movie, 'Perfume,' it shows how essential oils are produced.

During the distillation process, the steam also produces recondensed water-
and this product is often referred to as 'hydrosols,' 'floral' or 'aromatic' waters.
For example, when extracting the essential oils from Roses, not only do you get
the essential oil Rosa Damascena, but you also get 'Rosewater' produced from
the steam which can be used for toners, lotions and other skincare products.

To further help you to understand the extraction of essential oils, I have taken
some images from the internet and re-edited them to give you better knowledge.

 

Essential oils work in two ways- having an influence on the brain and
(depending on the type of plant,) it gives direct pharmacological effects on the body.

The different pharmacological effects in essential oils include:
Antibacterial cinnamon, clove, lime, rosemary and tea tree oil
Antiseptic
Antiviral ginger, hyssop, lemongrass, peppermint, sandlewood, tea tree oil, thyme
Antifungal clove, juniper, lavender, tea tree oil and thyme
Anti-inflammatory bay leaf, black cumin, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus and sage
Antioxidant

Aromatherapy: Mind, Body and Soul.
image credit to: fragrantveil.com

Aromatherapy is a sensous treatment for the mind, body and soul.  
Essential oils have the ability to purify the air that we breathe in,
whilst helping us to relax, calm, soothe, stimulate, and sharpen our senses.

"An antidote to the air pollution and 'scentsory' imbalance of modern life."- Aroma, L.A

I have categorized some essential oils into the following effects:

A Clear Mind.
Basil, Grapefruit, Lemon Oil, helps to freshen, and sharpen the mind making it more alert. 
It has an uplifting effect on depression, and helps to relieve headaches and migraines.
Neroli has a fresh floral aroma that brightens up spirits.
Orange is known to bring a sense of peace and happiness to the mind.
Lemon Oil, Bergamot or Melissa helps to de-stress, relieves depression, and it also
enhances ones mood. Lavender can also help to soothe headaches and migraines.

Aphrodisiac Desire.
Essential oils also have the ability to enhance sexual desires.
The name derives from Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of sensuality.
Jasmine, Rose, Ylang Ylang, and Sandalwood oils are all aphrodisiac essential oils.

Detox the body. Purify the soul.
Angelica, or Juniper can detoxify by elimating toxins throughout the body.
Lemon, purifies the air of smoke and heavy odours.
Ginger is used to combat nausea, dizziness or any motion sickness.  

Calms. Soothes. A Deep Relaxation.
Chamomile, Cinnamon Bark, Melissa, or Lavender, gives a calming effect by 
de-stressing the mind and soul.
Valerian, has tranquilizing properties and also helps to give emotional balance.
Ylang Ylang, is extremely effective in calming and balancing, bringing a sense of
deep relaxation.
Essential oils such as Lavender, Melissa, Valerian, or Sandalwood help aid in sleep.


 
Breathe.
Essential oils such as Eucalyptus, Angelica, Myrtle, Spearmint, Thyme, Marjoram,
or Sandalwood help breathing by opening up the lungs for better respiration.
Eucalyptus is also used in combination with Peppermint Oil to provide relief for the
airways of colds and flu.

Escape.
Unwind on a stressful day, relieve your tense muscles.
Smell and feel the world's nature surround you. 
Be in love, again. Be free.

For the full list of essential oils and their properties, please visit here:

Aromatherapy at Home.
  
The Body Shop sell pure essential oils which are combined to help
relieve stress, promote well-being of the body, mind and soul.

Their "Deep Sleep" is a combination of essential oils Geranium, Lavender, Orange
that help soothe and calm the senses, encouraging a good night's sleep...


Total Energy, Pure Detox, Divine Calm and Deep Sleep, by The Body Shop.

They sell beautiful Oil Burners and Diffusers, that you can put anywhere in your home,
whether it be in the living room, bathroom or the bedroom to fill the room with all
your sensual desires.
They also come in wonderful gift sets, which make excellent pampering gifts.

For more information, please visit www.thebodyshop.com

This is my home essential oil burner which I bought from
 Muji. I'm not entirely sure whether this is available in
 Europe- but it was very price-friendly.

 My favourite essential oils include:
 Lavender (for calming and soothing), Melissa, Lemon,
 Juniper, Bergamot, Geranium, Ylang Ylang, and Rose.  
 I have trouble sleeping when I'm stressed, so my essential oils
 Geranium, Lavender, help to give me a better night of beauty
 sleep. I definately recommend TheBodyShop's Deep Sleep.

 When I'm feeling drowsy and tired at home, I use Lemon that 
 really refreshes me up. I also light this up when I'm doing a
 spring cleaning at home, because it helps to purify the air
 a little better and with plenty of sunshine-
 it instantly brightens up my day! 

 
After a long and tiring day, I indulge in a bath with the scents of Ylang Ylang,
Rose, Lavender, or Melissa to help balance my mind and soul!  

Other stores that do excellent Aromatherapy goods:
Crabtree & Evelyn  http://www.crabtree-evelyn.com/
Kiehl's http://www.kiehls.com/ 
Muji http://www.muji.com/

Important! Please note:
- This article relates only to Aromatherapy, and this does not apply
to applying essential oils topically onto the skin.
- Because essential oils are highly concentrated, always dilute it.
- If you are pregnant, you should avoid Basil, Cedarwood,Clary, Coriander,
Hyssop, Jasmine, Juniper, Marjoram. Oregano, Myrrh, Peppermint,
Rockrose, Rosemary, Sage and Thyme.
- If you suffer from epilepsy, avoid Aniseed, Fennel, Hyssop, Sage or Thyme.
- If you have high blood pressure, avoid Pine, Rosemary, Sage and Thyme.
- It is advised not to drive after immediate treatment of aromatherapy at home,
as some may cause deep relaxation and a stimulation to the mind.

For more contraindications to essential oils, please visit here.

For further reading, please visit:
http://www.srmhp.org/archives/aromatherapy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatherapy