Aromatherapy

Archive for October, 2008

Have you ever looked at people with beautiful glowing hair and wished yours looked the same? Maybe you are a guy with the very start of male pattern baldness and would like to find some alternatives treatments for your baldness. Perhaps you already have nice hair, but would like to find a way to maintain your locks for a long time. This is where essential oils can come into play. Essential oils are well known to have healing effects, so why not give them a try for your hair, too?

There are many reasons why your hair may not look as good as you would like. Men, as you know, almost all experience some form of male pattern baldness at a certain age. Believe it or not, women can experience the same. Certain illnesses, medications and even pregnancy can affect the look and feel of hair. In addition, repeated uses of styling products, perms, dyes and even styling tools such as hair dryers, curlers and heated straighteners will take their toll on your hair after awhile, too. Of course, there is little you can do to completely stop baldness or illnesses, but you can fight back naturally with some appropriate essential oils.

How can essential oils help your hair? That is a good question and many people wonder the same thing. Essential oils have been used around the world for decades to fight off everything from lice, to skin conditions to colds and flu. It makes sense that it could also give your hair a lustrous shine. When you start looking at essential oils to help your hair, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, you should remember that some oils will work by aromatherapy. That means that you will inhale the scents through a diffuser. You won’t see results overnight, but you may notice a gradual improvement. You can also use essential oils to actually put on your hair. These are oils, thus, using too much will make your hair oily. Use only a couple of drops for the right amount.

What kind of oils can help your hair? There are many oils that can give your hair the healthy boost it needs. Did you know that tea tree oil can benefit your hair in many ways? It can ward off lice as well as help with scalp irritations. You can also find shampoos made with tea tree oil. Lavender, cypress and rosemary may help with hair loss. This cannot reserve natural balding, however, if you are experiencing hair loss due to pregnancy, illness or other, then these oils may be beneficial. Other good oils that you can use to improve your hair include basil for oily hair, lemon to help hair look shiny and give it natural highlights, rose can sooth an itchy head and peppermint is known to promote hair growth and alleviate dry hair. Been noticing the white flakes and have dandruff? Then look no further than clary sage, lavender, myrrh, patchouli and ylang-ylang.

Vanilla essential oil is becoming very popular today. This is because it is known to infuse loving vibrations.

Where Vanilla Essential Oil Comes From

The vanilla “bean” is actually a dried pod of unripe fruit, which is native to Mexico and Central America. The Aztec Indians are from this area and they actually combined these vanilla beans with cocoa to make a drink that they called “Xoco-Latl.” Cortez, who was a Spanish explorer discovered this vanilla and took it home with him to Europe. However, most of the vanilla that is used today comes from Madagascar. It is available as a liquid extract or as a synthetic flavoring.

Vanilla Essential Oil As Aromatherapy

There are no direct medicinal applications for vanilla. However, vanilla is often used to create an essential oil that will help you to relax, soften your anger, cause you to become less irritable and make you less frustrated. Vanilla essential oil can blend nicely with sandalwood, bergamot, rose, balsams and other spicy oils.

Making Soap From Vanilla Essential Oil

Soap making can be fun, healthy and rejuvenating. This soap is wonderful for your skin unlike store bought soap, which can dry out your face. One type of soap that you can make is Almond-Vanilla soap. For this soap you will need 1/3 cup whole almonds, 1 (4 ounce) bar of Castile soap, 1/4 cup of distilled water, 1 tablespoon of almond oil and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla essential oil. You will need to grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor, then either shred or melt the Castile soap. In a heavy saucepan you will need to bring the water to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Once you remove the pan from the heat you should add the almond powder, almond oil and vanilla essential oil. Stir this mixture until well blended, then mold it and set it aside to dry for 5 hours.

Making A Scented Spray From Vanilla Essential Oil

Vanilla essential oil can also be used in homemade perfume. This may seem difficult to do but it is actually very easy. Once you have created this perfume, it can also be used on bed linens or as an air freshener. All you need is a 2 ounce spray bottle filled with some distilled water, a1/2 teaspoon of high proof vodka and 40 drops of vanilla essential oil. Once you have placed all of your ingredients into the bottle, you should then mix it gently and either allow it to age for a week or use it right away. Each time that you use this spray you should shake it gently so that everything is mixed together.

There are shelves crammed full of all kinds of essential oils now that aromatherapy is getting more popular. But prices for the same oil can vary remarkably. Suppose you need one of the most versatile aromatherapy oils in existence, tea tree oil.

Did you know that there are over two hundred plants in the tea tree family, and they all produce similar-smelling oil? However, there are only a few specific kinds of tea tree plants that can make you feel better. The others make you feel no change at all, if you’re lucky. Some companies use additives or solvents or other kinds of oils to cut production costs.

Some even use any part of the plant, while the real beneficial scent cells that help you are only in certain parts of a plant, or need to be harvested fresh instead of dried. So how can you tell that you’re getting the best quality for your money? You look for therapeutic grade essential oils, sometimes called “medicinal grade essential oils”.

How Can You Tell?

There are certain things on the bottle that will let you know if an essential oil is one of the therapeutic grade essential oils and not an evil twin.

The bottle will be dark. This keeps the oil safer longer.
The Latin names of all the organic material will be on the label. For example, the tea tree Latin name you want to see is Melaleuca alternifolia.
Some labels will say boldly that they are NOT for anything else other than burning in an oil lamp. Put those back.
The labels will often proudly proclaim that there no pesticides were used on the plants or herbs before harvest.
They might be certified therapeutic grade essential oils by one or both of these groups – ISO or AFNOR.

What Is ISO Or AFNOR?

These are the watchdog groups of the aromatherapy business that set the standards for what grade an essential oil can be sold at. It’s not quite the same as Grade A, as they use tests American agencies don’t.

The ISO is short for the International Organization of Standardization, which in other languages other than English makes more sense than IOS. It started in 1947 and tests not only therapeutic grade essential oils but many other products as well. It has branches all over the world.

AFNOR is short for The Association Francaise de Normalisation . Yes, it’s French. It’s the French government’s equivalent of the ISO. The tests for therapeutic grade essential oils are especially strict.

Tangerines were originally from China but were transported by early traders to Europe around the early 1800’s. It did not take long for this tangy fruit to travel to the United States where the largest harvests come from today. Tangerines are for the most part, harvested in November. The tangerine is a sweet and tangy fruit which has a deep orange color and does not contain any pips. Tangerine essential oil is extracted from the peel of the tangerine by cold expression. This essential oil is used for dietary, aromatic or topical use and is used as a calming agent. Tangerine essential oil is an excellent oil to help uplift the spirits and bring about a sense of security. Tangerine essential oil is also highly enriched with the antioxidant d-limonene and is extracted from Citrus reticulate of the Rutaceae family and is also known as the European mandarin.

Creams And Vaporizers

Tangerine essential oils are used to soothe the nervous system and can be used as a tonic to help with the digestive system. It has also been known to help with diarrhea, constipation and flatulence. Tangerine essential oil is also very good for the skin and helps to prevent stretch marks. It is great for increasing blood circulation and helps to prevent fluid retention. Tangerine essential oil has all of these properties while relieving stress and anxiety. When tangerine essential oil is put on a small oil burner and vaporized it is very calming to the senses and gives off a soft citrus scent. It is very pleasing to the senses and helps with the digestive system when inhaled. When tangerine essential oil is blended in massage oil or diluted in bath water, the oil will help with the nervous system. The massage oil is especially helpful with the digestive system complaints of flatulence, constipation and diarrhea.

As a cream or lotion, tangerine essential oil, is a great help for uncomfortable symptoms in pregnant women. It improves the blood circulation and helps to prevent fluid retention, while working to prevent stretch marks. It is best not to expose the skin to sunlight after applying, as it has been known for phototoxicity. Other than this precaution, tangerine essential oil is a non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing oil. This oil must be diluted before use on sensitive areas such as the genital area, neck and face and should not be used on infants or small children. It is also not intended to diagnose, cure, prevent or treat any disease.

There are many essential oils on the market that are used as part of the scientific method of aromatherapy. Some of the essential oil essences include lavender, carnations, chamomile, rose, etc. In fact, just about any plant, flower, leave, spice etc. can be processed to create an essential oil that can benefit an individual or alleviate mental, physical and emotional imbalances in an individual’s life.

One additional essential oil is the Sunbreeze essential oil. Sunbreeze essential oil has many practical uses when applied to an individual’s body. Therefore, it is important to know what are the ingredients contained in Sunbreeze essential oil, a number of ways that this oil can be applied, and the benefits that can be derived.

Ingredients In Sunbreeze Essential Oil

Sunbreeze essential oil is a combination of three tree oils. Those three ingredients are Cassia, Menthol and Camphor.

The Cassia is an evergreen tree that is found in the southern most part of China. The Menthol ingredient is extracted from the peppermint tree that is indigenous to Europe. and the ingredient of Camphor is extracted from the wood of the Camphor laurel tree. This tree is found in Asia and in the countries of Formosa and Borneo.

Application And Benefits

There are three basic ways that Sunbreeze essential oil can be applied in order to achieve the maximum benefits of this oil. When applying this oil it is important to follow the strict instructions regarding the usage of Sunbreeze essential oil.

The first major benefit of utilizing this oil deals with energizing the mental condition of the individual. This benefit is derived by massaging the oil onto the temples of the head as well as massaging the base of the neck where the skull meets the cervical vertebrae. Application of the Sunbreeze essential oil in this manner helps to alleviate headaches, sleepiness, and help to promote brain activity. In addition, application of this oil will help to minimize muscle tension and incidences of motion sickness.

The second benefit surrounding the use of this oil can help to lessen a variety of ailments. Some of these ailments include minor injuries to the skin such as bug bites and small cuts. In addition, the massaging of this oil onto the appropriate part of the body can help to relieve, rheumatism, muscle pain, a toothache, arthritis, upset stomach, etc.

The final application of Sunbreeze essential oil is different from other application methods. This method is the placing of a small drop on the tongue. Application of Sunbreeze essential oil in this matter is useful when experiencing sinus congestion, vomiting, an upset stomach, motion sickness or a sore throat.