Beauty Secrets From The East

How Scented Aromatherapy Oils Can be Helpful to Your Health and Beauty.

Aromatherapy brings together the medicinal properties that are known to exist in plants with traditional healing massage with oil. Over the centuries many cultures have used herbal oils to treat illness and encourage well-being and beauty. The first use was by infusing herbs in olive or Castor oil but by AD 1000 a Persian philosopher and physician developed the process of distillation, as we now know it.

Essential oils are extracted from the flowers, leaves, roots and stalks of plants and some trees. It is preferred that essential oils are derived from organically grown plants, thus avoiding the use of harmful chemicals.

Plant oils can be broken down into chemicals for example ketones, phenols and alcohols, which are believed the have healing properties and a key part of an aromatherapists training will be to understand the effects of these elements, as if used incorrectly they can be toxic.

Essential oils are absorbed into the body either by inhalation through the nose or through the pores of the skin during massage and molecules within the oils are thought to enter the bloodstream and into the nervous system to influence physical and emotional well-being. These oils are usually used diluted. A normal dilution is ten drops of essential oil to 20ml of carrier oil, though less essential oil would be used in cases of sensitive skin or if pregnant. Now let us discover some essential oils and how they may be helpful to your health.

Lavender is antidepressant, antispasmodic, antiseptic and sedative. It is useful for nervous tension, digestive disorders and skin conditions.

Peppermint is carminative, decongestant and antispasmodic. It is useful for respiratory infection and digestive disorders. Peppermint should always be used in a low dilution, not used on children under twelve and not used together with homeopathic remedies.

Tea tree is antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-fungal. It is useful for respiratory problems, skin conditions and gynecological problems.

German chamomile is sedative, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic and antispasmodic. It is useful in conditions associated with allergies, nervous tension, digestive disorders and skin conditions. It should be noted that this essential oil should not be used during pregnancy and in some cases may cause dermatitis.

Rosemary is decongestant, analgesic and stimulant and is useful for respiratory and circulatory problems, digestive disorders and nervous tension.

It should not be use if you are epileptic, pregnant or suffer from high blood pressure.

Sandalwood is decongestant, sedative and antiseptic and can be useful for nervous tension, respiratory problems, skin conditions and genito-urinary conditions.
Clary sage is analgesic, sedative and antispasmodic. It is useful for gynecological problems, digestive disorders and nervous tension. This essential oil should be avoided before and after drinking alcohol and not used at any stage of pregnancy except to encourage labor.

There is not extensive research into the claims for the effectiveness of aromatherapy, though the psychological effects of smell have had a great deal of investigation.

However researchers found that epileptics in a psychiatric hospital in Birmingham had fewer fits when they were relaxed from the use of essential oils. Trials in a London hospital also found that cardiac patients felt calmer when massaged with diluted neroli oil as apposed to vegetable oil alone. Other research on cardiac patients found that a particular type of lavender proved more effective than another and patients in a London cancer hospital participated in a study using nutmeg, Valerian and neroli oils, reported similar results.

These conclusions suggest that this effect cannot be attributed simply to massage alone.