Herbal Aromatherapy |

by Misty Allen

As the owner of an aromatherapy company, I get asked all the time: “How do I get started using essential oils? Well, one of the simplest and rewarding ways of doing this is getting into the “aroma” part of aromatherapy — the inhalation and enjoyment of the scent of the oils themselves. This in fact is a gateway to utilizing the whole realm of therapy available from pure essential oils. Once you get familiar with the oils and the way they smell by diffusing their aromas, you’ll be more apt to investigate the powerful medicinal aspects of aromatherapy and its many application techniques.

Diffusion of an essential oil means to distribute the oil in the air around you. Essential oils easily evaporate — more easily than water — so this is a pretty straightforward thing to do. At the same time, there are ways to get even more essential oil in the air, at a higher concentration than, say, if you just let a bottle sit open on a table. This is where an aromatherapy diffuser comes it. The diffuser evaporates the essential oil faster, using one of many possible methods (more on that in a moment). And why would you want to evaporate the oil faster? If you just left a bottle sitting open, you and your family would occasionally smell the aroma coming from the bottle; if you’d like your whole room or house to be filled with that aroma, you’d use a diffuser.

The least expensive diffusers work very well for bringing aroma into the air. They often use heat to evaporate essential oil — others use a small fan — and both these types often have a small replaceable pad onto which a few drops of essential oil are placed. These diffusers have the advantage of low cost and ease-of-use, though they generally are only for small spaces, like a single bedroom or small office. More advanced diffusers, called ultrasonic diffuser, are like small ultrasonic humidification units, built to diffuse essential oil along with a mist of air. They are well-liked, particularly in dry environments — the ultrasonic diffusers are also made to fill a somewhat larger space with aroma.

Another very inexpensive diffuser is called a “reed” diffuser. It draws up essential oils in some sort of base formula and evaporates it from the tips of the reeds. These are generally avoided in aromatherapy, because the base mixture often contains synthetic chemicals that are not excellent to breathe in. One can do away with the base chemical altogether, putting the reeds only in pure essential oil if you so desire. Also available are tea lights, which use a candle to warm a small bowl of water from which the essential oils evaporate from the surface of. These are lovely to use, though they do require close attention such that the burning of the candle is safe, and that the water does not evaporate before the oil.

The most advanced aromatherapy diffusers produce a fine, concentrated mist of pure essential oil, without water or heat. In medicinal aromatherapy practices, therapists will sometimes have their clients actually breathe the visible vapor of an oil or oil blend to help them get well. In Europe, one can find an apparatus that looks like an oxygen tent, though instead allows the patient to breathe in oils that are considered highly anti-viral or anti-bacterial. This employs what is called a “nebulizing diffuser” (this is not the same as an “ultrasonic nebulizer” in that no water is used). The nebulizing diffusers are wonderful in that they can be used in both small spaces, just for aromatic needs, or for larger areas where a high concentration of essential oils are desired in the air. At the same time, they can take a little more attending to — needing the occasional cleaning — and typically use precision glass pieces to make the fine mist of essential oil evaporate properly. Even so, the best of these available today are small, quiet, nice looking and easy to maintain.

The essential oil one can diffuse vary as much as the diffusers themselves. If you’re just wanting to make your space smell wonderful, choose a few of your favorite aromas and just go for it! Use small amounts at first to conserve your oils, while you get an idea of how much essential oil diffusing for so long suits your tastes. Some people are more sensitive than others, so take your friends and family into consideration as well. Note that children generally need much less oil to notice and have a response to, so lower your starting volume for the younger ones of your family. Blending oils from the same family is easy to do, and generally results in a very fun scent. To simply bring great cheer to a room, woods and needle oils work especially well, as their scents are broadly loved. Balsam Fir, Pine, Spruce, Black Spruce and Juniper Berry go very well together; the Citrus oils also combine well — you can blend virtually any combination of Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange, Tangerine and Mandarin and make a very uplifting combination. If you like floral aromas, you can try blending your favorites of those as well, though they take a little more close attention to the ratios of each oil so that one does not overwhelm another. When you start, it’s not a bad idea to take notes about how many drops of each oil you’ve used and adjust them to make your favorite combination the next time. There are many pre-made diffuser blends of pure essential oils available as well, so consider giving them a try.

Blend recipes can often be found that are made for specific therapeutic needs — though in many cases, a single oil is called for in a “therapy”. Sleep can be helped for many people through just diffusing a high quality French Lavender essential oil; Memory and concentration can be enhanced by cold pressed Lemon oil or a steam distilled wild Rosemary. Immune system support is often provided by many of the oils from herbs, such as Melissa (Lemon Balm), Hyssop (a highly-regarded anti-viral oil), and Eucalyptus Radiata (recently shown to improve the efficacy of our white blood cells in their immune system action). Without too much work, you can find the right oils for your needs, and blending needn’t be too precise for these actions from a diffuser (though you would want to take care to be more precise with other modalities, like topical application, and in extreme cases, oil ingestion with the guidance of a doctor).

And there we have it: an easy way to get started with aromatherapy. Diffusing essential oils can be done purely for the pleasure of the aromas, or for profound health effects when using therapeutic grade medicinal oils. There is a diffuser available for everyones needs and pocketbook; and your homemade blends, or pre-mixed formulas can be enjoyed by everyone using these wonderful tools.

About the Author:
The author has made available reports on specific anti-microbials such as tea tree and other therapeutic essential oil.

by Rebecca Taylor

A person’s reaction to scent can be both subtle and powerful. It can trigger some of our fondest childhood memories as well as attract the opposite sex. Let’s take a look at how our sense of smell can affect us every day.

Adding Cologne and Perfume For You

Colognes and perfumes allow you to heighten your natural scent and show people that you take care of yourself. Knowing you look and smell your best is a great way to build confidence and can easily help you to land a date or help people see you in a new light. Make sure that you don’t over do it with too much perfume as you want the effect to be subtle, not startling.

Richly Scented Candles

Candles infused with natural scents are a great way to dress up your home and create an air of comfort for you and your guests. The highly scented candle does not even need to be lit to have its effect on the olfactory nerves and can even be used as a interior design feature with their various colors and textures. Each room can be given its own personality by the simple change of smells created by the different candles.

Aromatherapy

Next we will want to look at putting a scent on someone we love. Aromatherapy products are a great way to create intimacy with your loved one by covering them in subtle scents that make them feel secure and loved. Aromatherapy massage oils and gift baskets are a great way to add touch and smell into the communication between partners.

There are really very few moments that wouldn’t benefit from an aroma infused addition. It can be as simple as a plug in scent for the home, to the lotion you use on your hands, but adding those pleasant smells is all it takes to improve your mood.

One of the easiest ways to add comfort and improve your mood is to add pleasant smells around you where ever you are. Take the time to find out what impact the various aromatherapy products and perfumes have on you and the important ones around you, so you can add depth and enjoyment to your daily life.

About the Author:
Learn more by dropping in on Rebecca’s blog on creed cologne for men where she talks about mens creed cologes.

by Kim Johnson

Even before modern times, aromatherapy was being used because of its aromatic and therapeutic effect. Oils that have been extracted from flowers and herbs are used because of its known effectives to heal. During Ancient times, aromatherapy methods were used for offerings and sacrifices to Gods and Goddesses to make sure they will have a good harvest and more.

Initially used in conjuction with giving gifts to Gods, the buring of oils also had a benefit to those practicing the ritual. While they believed that the smoke would make the Gods glad and in turn will make their wishes granted, the smoke also bioelectrically affected the persons involved.

Different oils have different scents and each scent is used for certain rituals. There is appropriate oil for purifications, mental awareness and revitalizing one’s energy. This practice has been with us for centuries now. Religious group also do this practice for their spiritual beliefs.

Today, while normal aromatherapy uses oils only for massage and inhalation to help released tension and stress, ritual oils that are used are targeted for a more extensive process.

Ritual aromatherapy works to the extent of attracting financial gain and love to come your way. It can also be use to clam and remove the stress. Once you smell the aroma of this therapy it will lead your conscious psychic energy together and somehow will create the desired change.

During the process, the practitioner becomes receptor of the conscious mind. The aroma stimulates bioelectrical energies to claim the central nervous system. It weakens the tension of the muscles so that the psychological awareness will be stronger. Once the aroma is aligned with the strong energy, it projects into the atmosphere and creates change.

This is a very simple but yet so powerful that you do not need to do visualization because the body will be revitalized naturally. If you are looking into getting more involved into using aromatherapy, it may be a good idea to speak with your physician about the benefits, and risks.

About the Author:
Looking for a complete guide to aromatherapy? Visit yourcompleteguidetoaromatherapy.info for more information and resources on essential oil recipes. Also, visit our sister sites to learn about cheap whipped body butters.