Sunday, August 27, 2006

Aromatherapy Step by Step - Sensual Massage Oil - Feminine

Aromatherapy step by step

30 ml/2 tbsp almond oil (base oil)

2 drops Bergamot
2 drops Coriander
6 drops Jasmine
4 drops Rose
2 drops Sandalwood

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Aromatherpy - Bath for Insomnia

Aromatherapy

Run a warm bath. When the tub is sufficiently filled, add up to 10 drops of essential oil to the water, circulating it throughout. As the oil is moved, the scent will rise with the steam of the water.

Now get in, take your time, and enjoy the wonderful aroma while you soak!
Essential oil to be used for insomnia are:

* 4 drops Chamomile
* 2 drops Lavender
* 2 drops Neroli
* 2 drops Marjoram

Enjoy!

Aromatherapy in Your Home


Aromatherapy

When guests enter your home the first thing that greets them is the odeour. I use essential oil to create a nice atmosphere in my home.

My favorite is sweet orange - just use your favorite. Here are a few suggestions on how to make a lovely aroma in your house:

1. Put 4 drops of oil onto a cotton wool ball and place behind the heater or radiator in winter. Drops can also be used with the humidifier.

2. Put a drop or two of oil onto a cold light bulb in a lamp so the fragrance fills the room as it heats up.

3. Hallways are the place where we greet our guests. Use lemon, lime, bergamont or grapefruit.

For more tips on how to use aromatherapy and essential oil in your household subscribe to our ezine - just fill out the form on the right hand side. You may also ask your most burning question on aromatherapy!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Basil in Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy
[Photographer: Colin Higgins, Redruth, Cornwall, U.K, visit her website: http://b-graphic.co.uk]
Basil (Ocimum basilicum). This herb should be used in moderation and only for short periods, there is a concern about possible toxicity.
Use it in steam inhalations and in small amounts in massage and oil blends.
The main action of basil is on the nervous system and has balancing, reviving and strengthening effect.

For more info on this nice aromatherapy herb: Aura Cacia Basil Essential Oil.

Safety When using Aromateraphy!

Aromatherapy

Essential oils to avoid:
You might probably not be able to buy them because they are already on goverement "Poison List" and not to be sold:
Armoise, bitter almond, boldo, buchu, cade, calamus, camphor (both brown and yellow), cassia, cinnamon bark, costus, elecampane, exotic basil (high estragole) fig leaf, ho leaf, horse radish, hyssop,mustard, pennyroyal, sage (Dalmation) sassafras, tansy, tarragon, thuja, verbena, wintergreen, wormseed and wormwood.

If you are pregnant avoid:
Basil, Cedarwood,Clary, Coriander, Hyssop, Jasmine, Juniper,Marjoram. Oregano, Myrrh, Peppermint (which should also be avoided while nursing), Rockrose, Rosemary, Sage and Thyme.

If you suffer from Hight blood pressure:
Avoid peppermint oil and other oils you do not like the smell of.

Babies and children:

0-6 months: only use lavender and Roman charmomile. 1 drop of essential oil to ½ fl. oz - 10 ml / 2 teaspoonful of sweet almond oil for a massage or in a room fragrancer.
6-12 months: Use only anisseed, chamomile, Roman chamomile, lavender, mandarin, neroli and rose.

1-6 years: Use only aniseed, chamomile and roman chamomile, coriander, lavender, amndarin, neroli, orange palmarosa, rose, rosewood and tea tree.

7-12 years: Quater the dosage given for adults but avoid basil.

As always fell free to ask any questions you migh have about aromatherpy.

Monday, August 21, 2006

How to Store Your Aromateraphy Oils?

Aromatherapy

Essential oils should always be packaged in coloured glass, since this filers out the sun's untral-violet light.

The colour of the glass bottles must be dark either brown, blue, violet or green. They all offer some protection to your essential oils.

No matter the colour of your bottles, you should keep them in a place where sun will not reach them. Do NOT keep them in a window or in the bathroom. Over time this will dramatically speed up the process of ozidization due to them continually heating up and cooling down.
Keep them i a box or a small wall cupboard.

Choose a cool, dark place to keep them safely away from heat and children.

Citrus essential oils are most prone to oxidisation, so to avoid the damage caused by temperature variations, you could store them in your refrigerator. The best temperture is between 41-50 F or 5-10 C.

How does Aromatheraphy Work?

Aromatherapy

from Wikipedia

Theory

When aromatherapy is used for the treatment or prevention of disease, a precise knowledge of the bioactivity and synergy of the essential oils used, knowledge of the dosage and duration of application, as well as, naturally, a medical diagnosis, are required. In the Anglo-Saxon world, even among "natural" practitioners like herbalists or naturopaths, aromatherapy is regarded more as an art form than a valid healing science.
At best, it is viewed as a complementary and seldom the only treatment prescribed. On the continent, especially in France, where it originated, aromatherapy is incorporated into mainstream medicine. There, the use of the anti-septic properties of oils in the control of infections is emphasized over the more "touchy feely" approaches familiar to English speakers.
In France some essential oils are regulated as prescription drugs, and thus administered by a physician. In many countries they are included in the national pharmacopeia, but up to the present moment aromatherapy as science has never been recognized as a valid branch of medicine in the United States, Russia, Germany, or Japan.

Aromatherapy, phytoncides and other natural VOCs work in different ways. At the scent level they activate the limbic system and emotional centers of the brain. When applied to the skin (commonly in form of "massage oils" i.e. 1-10% solutions of EO in carrier oil) they activate thermal receptors, and kill microbes and fungi.
Internal application of essential oil preparations (mainly in pharmacological drugs; generally not recommended for home use apart from dilution - 1-5% in fats or mineral oils, or hydrosoles) may stimulate the immune system.

Aromatherapy Step by Step - The Basics!

Aromatherapy Step-by-Step

Essential oils have been around for millenia. Used by several different cultures in as many different ways.

As medicines, in ritual worships, as cosmetics and perfumes.

These are complex substances; each oil is made up of many components which combine to provide its unique physiological and psychological characteristic profile.

My next posts will be about the properties of essential oils, the methods by which they are extracted, stored and applied, and finishes with information on their safest and most effective uses.

Feel free to post any question you may have regarding aromatherapy.