Aromatherapy

Archive for January, 2007

Thyme has a definite role in aromatherapy. Its scientific name is Thymus vulgaris and is steam distilled. It is 100% pure organic essential oil. It is reddish brown in color and it has a slightly oily and medium consistency. The active ingredients of thyme are thymol, carvacrol, terpinene, cymene, bornel, and linalool. Thyme was used in early civilizations and both Dioscorides and Hippocrates described how thyme was used. Thyme is distilled twice to remove any substances that can be an irritant.

The first strength of the aroma is medium to strong. Thyme is used in several ways for medicinal purposes. It is known to help arthritis, cuts, flu, insect boys, lice, oily skin, poor circulation, dermatitis, colds, and sore throats. There are many uses for this popular essential oil. The only safety concerns are that it not be used in patients that suffer from hypertension. It also can be an irritant to the skin and mucous membrane. Thyme is from the same family as sage and is a strong stimulant. As with all oils, the thyme oil is potent. Use only as directed for maximum benefit.

Thyme can be used as a stimulant to the circulation and raise low blood pressure. Thyme is also good for those who are feeling drowsy, depressed, or fatigued. It’s an appetite stimulant and is good for those that have been seriously ill. Thyme is also known to stimulate the brain and improve memory.

There are some wonderful benefits to using thyme. Diluted in oil it is wonderful for a massage. Massage those parts that you can reach, or have someone else massage any affected area. It will help relieve sore muscles and minor pains of arthritis.

If you add six to eight drops in your bathwater and soak for at least 10 minutes, you will sleep better that night. You can use thyme as a steam inhalant by placing two drops of oil in a steaming bowl of water, draping your head with a towel and taking deep breaths. Using one drop while cooking can help digest your food more efficiently.

Thyme is a strong antiseptic and is often used for disinfecting hands before surgery. It is helpful in gastric infections. Thyme is effective for treating all forms of infection. It’s especially effective against mouth and throat infections, colds, coughs, and sore throats. It can be used as an inhalant, mouthwash, or gargle. Thyme is also good for mouth and gum infections.

There are so many uses for this essential oil, thyme is used in cooking and aids digestion. It’s also good for urinary tract antiseptic, and for use in treating infections in the bladder and urinary tract.

Thyme is used also to ward off infections. By stimulating the production of white corpuscles, it increases the body’s resistance to any organisms that are trying to attack from the outside.

As well as the other benefits that thyme has, it can also be used in hot compresses to relieve pain and joint pain related to rheumatism. Used in hair rinses, it can also be used for sores and wounds. In addition, because it is an antifungal it can also be safely used for athlete’s feet.

Thyme is used in over-the-counter products such as Listerine mouthwash and Vicks VapoRub. It is well-known for its antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Thyme tea is often used for coughs from emphysema, bronchitis, and even whooping cough. Tea made from thyme is also good for colds and flu.

To make the tea you need two teaspoons of dried herb for each cup of boiling water. Let it steep for ten minutes. You may want to add sage to the tea if you have a nagging cough. Thyme was an active ingredient in the over-the-counter cough syrup called Pertussin. You can make the tea a little stronger and it’s effective in treating sore gums.

There are many uses for this essential oil and its all-natural essence makes it a wonderful addition to your essential oil collection. With the many uses of thyme, wouldn’t it be a good idea to stock up on this essential oil and seriously consider some of the cures that can be gained from it.

Lavender is only one of the most versatile essential oils in the world today. It is extracted from the lilac colored flowers of a tall plant. Lavender has an effect on mind, emotions, and the body. It’s also often used as a disinfectant, treatment of insect bites, and used to repel insects. This versatile essential oil is a product you should always have on hand if you use aromatherapy. English Lavender is a perennial plant favorite in gardens and loves dry soil and much sunshine. It blooms from July through September and fills your garden with a beautiful soothing scent. The color is a brownish lilac and when the essential oils are distilled, it turns into a yellow thin liquid. The botanical name is Lavendula Officinalis and is extracted through steam distillation. The scent is fresh, sweet, floral, and slightly fruity. A book titled “Essential Oils†will give you safety instructions before using lavender and never use undiluted essential oils.

There is no suggestion that use of lavender oil is unsafe if used in the proper amounts. You should never take any oils internally and never apply undiluted essential oils direct to the skin. Before using any essential oil, you should conduct a skin patch test to see if you have any reaction. Use of essential oils are not recommended if you are pregnant, epileptic, have cancer or liver damage or any other medical problem for which you are being treated. Essential oils are safe if used under the proper guidance of someone who is qualified to advise you of safety issues.

Here are some of the effects lavender has on the mind and emotions.

In small amounts, it is very calming.

In larger amounts, it can be very stimulating.

It promotes restful and rejuvenating sleep.

Balances mood swings.

Soothes the nervous system.

Reduces stress and tension

A mood enhancer.

It also has definite effects on the body as well. Some of those favorable effects are:

Healing of the skin.

Relaxation of tight muscles.

Improves digestion.

Lessens aches and pains.

Breaks up congestion.

Reduces inflammation.

Lavender is also used as a disinfectant, soothing the itch of insect bites, and even helps repel insects. Many other uses of lavender include helping treat acne, asthma, bruises, burns, colic, cuts, earache, flatulence, oily skin, and sprains, stress, stretch marks and even whooping cough.

Wonderful recipes for lavender use can be found on the Internet. Here are just a few that are common recipes for common ailments.

Depression: Blend one drop of lavender, one drop of ylang ylang, three drops of grapefruit blend and two drops of frankincense. Last, add one drop of lemon or jasmine.

Combat Anxiety: Families of service personnel, here is a good one, not only for your family member in combat but for family members waiting at home as well. Three drops of lavender, two drops clary sage, blend in another drop of lavender, one drop of rose, two drops of mandarin, and one drop of vetiver.

Calming, Relaxing Aromatherapy blend to be used with a diffuser: Use a blend of a ration of two drops roman chamomile to each drop of lavender. It’s then ready for use in the diffuser.

Acne cure using aromatherapy essential oils: Two recipes were found for acne treatment. The first one is; ten drops of lavender, seven drops of tea tree, or New Zealand tea tree, two drops of bergamot oil and one drop of geranium oil. The second is; twelve drops of lavender, seven drops tea tree or New Zealand tea tree oils, leave out the bergamot oil and put in one drop of geranium essential oil.

Lavender is the best all-round aromatherapy treatment. It’s subtle smell but strong property ingredients make this an essential part of your aromatherapy supplies.

For those that already have English Lavender growing in their gardens, you already know the calming effect the scent of these beautiful flowers can give you. Why not go a little further and make them an important part of your indoor environment as well. You will reap many benefits from this beautiful flower and powerful essential oil.

There are few things more frustrating than not being able to get to sleep. After a long day of accomplishing whatever life has put in front of us for the day, be that working in the office, out on the slopes or home with the children, we all need to be able to unwind then slip into bed and have a relaxed nights sleep. If you spend your time tossing and turning instead then you need to find alternatives to improve your sleeping habits. One option, of course, is taking sleeping medications, but why not do something better for your body? Don’t use chemicals. Use a natural approach to helping you relax and sleep and what could be better than using aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy is the ability to use essential oils to improve both your physical and emotionally well-being. These essential oils can improve many things for you from alleviating headaches and anxiety to helping you relax and sleep. Essential oils are distilled from various plant materials including bark, flowers, berries, leaves or fruit. Essential oils are reasonably priced and available at your local grocery store or from any health shop.

Although there are many essential oils that can be used to help you relax or make it easier to get to sleep there are a few that are particularly good in fulfilling those needs. Studies have show that the top five are lavender, chamomile, bergamot, sandalwood and mandarin.

One of the single most popular essential oils is lavender. This herb can be grown in your own garden. It’s a bushy plant with pale violet leaves that bloom all summer long. Among its varied uses, its good for digestion or as an anti-depressant, it has been found to be especially good at calming the nervous system, relaxing the body and enabling blissful sleep. You can use this essential oil in a warm bath or with a diffuser, which is also known as a mist maker.

From the chamomile plant only the flowers are used to make this excellent therapeutic essential oil. As a tea it is know to calm upset stomachs. Used in aromatherapy, it is at its best helping with those who suffer from insomnia. It has a fruity slightly sweet fragrance. Both the German and Roman chamomiles are good for this purpose.

Bergamot comes from citrus fruit rind. It does its job by relieving stress and enabling the subject to relax. It has a lovely citrus scent that will make you feel refreshed and give you that sense of well-being. Interestingly bergamot is the main ingredient in earl grey tea.

Sandalwood does indeed come from wood. To get the right intensity of oil from the trees they must be at least forty years old, but the older the better and a tree eighty years old will produce better oils. Sandalwood is a calming agent; it relieves nervous tension and helps you relax.

Lastly there is Mandarin, which has two different types of oil, one green and the other red. It has several advantages one of which is that it is gentle enough that you can use it with children as well as adults. Interesting the scent is closer to that of a bergamot oil and less like the tangerine it’s expected to smell like. Mandarin oil is a very successful treatment for sleep difficulties almost rivaling lavender.

Sometimes using a combination of these wonderful scents can help you to feel more relaxed and ready to have a good night’s sleep. So, take lavender, chamomile and bergamot, mix them together using jojoba as your carrier oil (a carrier oil is what you use to mix the other oils into) and then you have a wonderful aromatherapy concoction ready to relax you. You can use these either in a diffuser or on your pillow, or even in an eye pillow. Having used the best of the top five you know you can count on a peaceful sleep.

There are other mixtures you can make that use similar combinations but are made for different purposes, though the outcome of helping you to relax is still the purpose of the mix. Try a calming perfume, it’ll smell lovely while helping keep you relaxed.