Since I graduated from a cosmetology high school I thought I share with you some things I learned there, including aromatherapy that will be our topic for today. I also had nutrition as one of my subject so this topic will be separated into two posts.
Part One: Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a holistic approach in a form of a therapy like the word says itself. It is a use of essential oils that to support physical and mental health. In the following I will try to explain it in a nutshell so that I don’t shove too many informations in a short period.
We have two main categories of oils: Carrier oils and Essential oils
Carrier oils – such as: olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil, grapeseed oil etc.
Carrier oils are naturally derived from vegetarian sources and have a very neutral smell. They aren’t harsh like essential oils, which gives them the privilege to serve us as a base in combination with essential oils.
Essential oils – such as: lavender oil, orange oil, rose oil, macadamia oil etc.
Essential oils are volatile, which means they evaporate rapidly and contain that natural smell and characteristics of the plant itself (can and probably will give you headache if inhaled for a long time in highly concentrated circumstances). This can make them too strong to apply directly and undiluted.
Carrier oils do not evaporate or have a strong aroma, making them the perfect pair especially in strong essential oils. How it works is they simply reduce the concentration of the essential oil without altering its therapeutic qualities. When you combine an essential oil with carrier oil you can also control its concentration before applying.
Now that I broke it down for you guys a bit, let’s get into the goodies we are all here for.
Best essential oils for anxiety and depression:
Lavender oil- has calming and relaxing effect, helps with inner peace, panic attacks, nervous stomach and nervous tension in general. Lavender scent improves the quality of your sleep. Little tip: Use Lavandula Agnustifolia – soothing lavender not Lavandula Latifolia- stimulating lavender commonly used for scent in candles.
Rose oil- it’s known for its ability to reduce emotional distress and it’s personally a Master Jedi for my relaxation. Fun fact: essential oils have energy vibrations. Rose has one of the highest frequencies of any essential oils, Many believe it opens your heart so that it consumes and spreads more love. Just like rose quarts but that’s a different topic.
Bergamot oil- used to reduce pain from headaches and muscle tension as well as stimulate hormonal and digestive juices. Releases emotional pain, reduces stress and works as a powerful antidepressant.
Application and use:
Now that we got our oils ready we need to know how to use them in the most beneficial way and to use them safely ofcourse.
As I mentioned previously putting essential oil straightly on to your skin can cause irritation due to its high concentration. Therefore use one drop – one drop method and just add one drop of carrier oil one drop of essential (always the same amount).
Pressure points – they are all over our body. Most beneficial in aromatherapy for calming yourself down are the ones on and close to our head and face. Simply dot a tiny drop of carrier and essential oil on your finger and rub it in slowly in a circular motion on the pressure point.
Here are some of the best pressure points:
Tw 15- located on both shoulders, between the base of the neck and outside of the shoulders.
B 10- located one finger width below the base of the skull, one half inch outside of the spine.
Gv 24.5- located exactly between the eyebrows also known as the “Third eye.”
Putting in oils in your bath
ONLY ADD A FEW DROPS (one drop-one drop method). One of my favorite methods it is a truly heavenly experience. Delivering you double benefit because you are inhaling it through your nose and absorbing it through your skin at the same time.
Inhalation- simply sniffing, opening the bottle, putting it into boiling water and breathing it in slowly. There are also diffusers that mix oils and water or you can just add a tiny drop in your candles.
TIP: Be on a look out for pure essential oils that have the botanical Latin name written on their bottles. Beware of those with “fragrance” or “perfume” written on their label! They are synthetic oils and they don’t have the same therapeutic benefits. They can be very harmful as well if put directly on skin.
I hope I inspired you to take some alone time and relax with our most powerful stress soldiers given to us by mother Earth. If you like this post and want me to get more detailed with history of aromatherapy, oils, pressure points etc. feel free to comment and like this post and since sharing is caring feel free to share as well.
Be as happy as you can be.
Lots of love, Ellodie.
Ellodie aid 