Essential Oils

are the volatile essences extracted from aromatic plants by steam, distillation, expression or solvent extraction. Essential oils are applied topically or inhaled, and act on physical, emotional and psychological processes.

(See also: Essential Oils, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Essential Oil

A natural oil which is extracted from plants or flowers through a very complex process that generally yields very little product, making it costly. Absolute is at least 10% pure plant juice.

(See also: Essential Oil, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

aromatherapy

The art of healing and wellness using essential oils and oil blends. Depending on the remedy, application may be internal, external or as an inhalant

(See also: Aromatherapy, Body Mind and Soul)

HYDROSOL

the water that is obtained along with essential oil after plant materials are distilled. In distillation, plant materials are heated in water to release plant oils. The steam and vapor are channeled through a tube to a condensing coil, where they cool and return to liquid form. The essential oils float on top of the water.

The hydrosol contains water-soluble plant constituents and trace amounts of essential oil. Hydrosols are sometimes used in aromatherapy together with the essential oils and may be spritzed in the air and on the face and body.

(See also: HYDROSOL, Alternative Health, Healing, Body Mind and Soul)

HYDROSOL: the water that is obtained along with essential oil after plant materials are distilled. In distillation, plant materials are heated in water to release plant oils. The steam and vapor are channeled through a tube to a condensing coil, where they cool and return to liquid form. The essential oils float on top of the water.

The hydrosol contains water-soluble plant constituents and trace amounts of essential oil. Hydrosols are sometimes used in aromatherapy together with the essential oils and may be spritzed in the air and on the face and body.

(See also: Hydrosol, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

ETHEREALS: see Essential oil.

(See also: ETHEREALS, Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

AROMATHERAPY

Aromatherapy has been practiced in one form or another since the beginning of civilization. Almost every part of the world has some history of using aromatherapy in their health care system. Modern-day aromatherapy began with the work of a French chemist, Maurice Gattefosse (1881-1950). He studied the psychological and physiological effects of essential oils on many patients from the First World War. Essential oils were found to promote wound healing and recovery, and prevent infection. 

Aromatherapy is the art and science of using oils extracted from aromatic plants to enhance health and beauty. The essential oils used in aromatherapy are sometimes called a plant's "life force", because they are essential to the plant's biological process, as well as being the substance that gives it its scent.

Apart from the physical benefits, essential oils can have subtle effects on the mind and emotions. Synthetic oils, even if chemically similar, will lack all the natural elements and the vital life force that make essential oils so valuable therapeutically. Many clinical conditions can be helped through the use of essential oils.

Clinical aromatherapy uses essential oils to achieve specific outcomes. Psycho aromatherapy can improve mood and perceptions through smell. Aromatherapy can improve breathing and eliminate nausea. Essential oils can ease muscle pain. Aromatherapy is enjoyed by ill children and the elderly and is very safe when a skilled aroma therapist provides the instruction.

(See also: AROMATHERAPY, Alternative Health, Holistic Health, Body Mind and Soul)

AROMATHERAPY - the art of healing & wellness using essential oils and oil blends. Depending in the remedy, application may be internal, external or as an inhalant.

(See also: AROMATHERAPY, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

massage aromatherapy: Application during a massage therapy session of a vegetable oil to which an essential oil has been added.

(See also: Massage aromatherapy, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

AROMATHERAPY: uses essential oils from flowers, trees, roots, herbs, berries and fruits, to treat emotional disorders such as stress and anxiety as well as a wide range of other ailments and to promote physical, mental and emotional wellness. Oils are either massaged into the skin in diluted form, inhaled, placed in baths, or applied on and around the body.

Aromatherapy is often used in conjunction with massage therapy, acupuncture, reflexology, herbology, chiropractic and other wholistic healing.

What is aromatherapy?

It is the controlled use of natural essential oils in the process of physical and emotional healing. You may have discovered that in some ways, you've been experiencing aromatherapy most of your life without even knowing it.

We have all experienced memory recall triggered by a particular scent; perhaps the scent of a favorite flower, or the perfume your grandmother used to wear, or an aunt's linen closet. The event can produce positive or negative memories. Certain scents may trigger negative thoughts of a person or place in your past. Whatever the case, the importance of scent in our lives is quite profound and in some ways, unique to each of us. Aromatherapy is a way to enjoy a controlled use of natural oils to enrich and benefit your life.

What are essential oils?

Whole, pure essential oils come from nature; they are the "essence" of plants. They are droplets of water-like fluid contained in the leaves, stems, bark, flowers, roots and/or fruits of different plants, and give the plant its unique scent. Essential oils are volatile, whereas they easily transfer from a liquid to a gaseous state at room temperature or higher. The amount of essential oil found in most plants is 1 to 2%, but can contain amounts from 0.01 to 10%. They can change in composition and location with a particular plant. For example, orange trees produce neroli oil in their blossoms, orange oil in their citrus, and petitgrain oil in their leaves. Essential oils are also very concentrated and extremely potent, and sometimes 75 to 100 times more concentrated than say, the herb it is present in. This is all the more reason to use these oils with thorough knowledge of their potency.

How are essential oils extracted?

There are two common procedures for extracting true essential oils:

1. Steam distillation
2. Expression

 The process of steam distillation has 5 steps:

1. Steam plant material
2. Collect steam carrying aromatic molecules
3. Cool in cold-water bath
4. Produce floral water and essential oil
5. Separate essential oil, then bottle

This process is also the most popular for obtaining the essential oils from plants. The steam is forced into a vat containing the plant material, which ruptures the oil glands and releases the oil. The volatile oils are cooled, separated from the water content, and bottled. It may take hundreds or thousands of pounds of plant material to distill a single pound of the essential oil. Bulgarian Rose oil requires about 4,000 pounds of hand-picked flower petals to make 1 pound of oil, obviously making this one expensive oil!

The second method, extraction, has 4 major steps:

1. Have citrus peels
2. Machine press
3. Obtain essential oils and fruit waxes
4. Separate oils, then bottle

This method is primarily used in the perfume and food industries, and does not produce a 100% pure essential oil. Solvents are used in the process to pull out the soluable molecules; therefore making them incomplete oils. Resins, concretes, absolutes, and pomades result from this method.

How are essential oils taken in?

Essential oils are absorbed into the body two ways; through the skin and through nasal inhalation. Our sense of smell, controlled by the olfactory system, is some 10,000 times greater than any other sense. The olfactory system is directly linked to the limbic system, which is responsible for our emotional state, memory, and certain regulatory function.

Essential oils also penetrate the skin, or the integumentary system. Because essential oils have a low molecular weight and are organic in nature, they are absorbed through the pores and hair follicles of the skin, and unlike synthetic chemicals, they do not accumulate in the body. Absorption can take place anywhere from 15 minutes to 12 hours, and take from 3 to 6 hours to be metabolized in a healthy body. Excessive fat or toughened skin may slow down the rate of absorption; whereas heat, water, exercise, or broken skin may speed it up.

How are essential oils used?

Aromatherapy is used to self-heal and soothe common, everyday health challenges. It is by no means a replacement for the opinion of a licensed physician, and should always be used with respect.

As with all things derived from nature, some essential oils are considered hazardous, and under certain circumstances, should be avoided. Some are phototoxic, neurotoxic, or carcinogenic, and safety precautions should always be considered when working with and administering any essential oil.

Here are common-sense safety points to note:

1. Avoid essential oils deemed as hazardous
2. Keep all essential oils out of the reach of children.
3. Remember essentail oils are very potent.
4. Do not take orally.
5. Follow dilution guidelines carefully. Never use an oil without first diluting.
6. Use 1% or less dilution during pregnancy.
7. Be aware of others with sensitivities or allergies.
8. Do not use on or near the eyes.
9. Do a skin patch test if prone to sensitivities.
10. Use extra care on broken or damaged skin.
11. Avoid phototoxic essential oils if history of skin cancer.
12. Keep them away from light and heat sources.
13. Use only therapeutic genuine and authentic essential oils.

(See also: Aromatherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Phytotherapy: Healing through plants, involving the use of herbs, aromatic essential oils, seaweeds, herbal and floral extracts.

(See also: Phytotherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

AROMATHERAPY

The use of essential oils (which are extracted from herbs, flowers, resin, woods, and roots) in body and skin care treatments is known as aromatherapy. Used as a healing technique for thousands of years by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, essential oils aid in relaxation, improve circulation, and help the healing of wounds.

Aromatherapy diffusers are utilized to fill the massage room with the scent of the oils. Specific essential oils are blended by the aromatherapist and added to a carrier oil, such as almond oil, to be used during the massage. Each of the oils has its own unique characteristics and benefits.

Use of this technique declined as the modern pharmaceutical industry developed. However, the French chemist Gattefossé revived the art by coining the term aromatherapy and by publishing a book on the subject in 1928.

(See also: AROMATHERAPY, Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Aromatherapy: The therapeutic use of fragrances and “essential oils” (the volatile oils distilled from plants), to improve the health and balance of body, mind and soul. For example, this technique is used to relax the nervous system, to stimulate circulation, lift depression, reduce inflammation and ease aches and pains.

(See also: Aromatherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of scent, particularly essential oils (concentrated plant extracts or diluted hydrosols), to promote healing, relaxation and overall physical and emotional well-being by applying the oil to the skin and/or inhaling the smell.

(See also: Aromatherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Aromatherapy: French chemist Rene Gattefosse's experiments with pure essential oils derived from aromatic plants led him to coin the term "aromatherapy" to describe the physical and psychological benefits of the powerful scents given off by these oils. Today aromatherapy remains a specific and specialized branch of herbal medicine.

(See also: Aromatherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

ENFLEURAGE: a French perfumery term describing the process of extracting essential flower oils, with purified fat. Also known as POMMADE.

(See also: ENFLEURAGE, Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Hydration Facial: Utilizes enzymes and hylauronic acids which promote superior hydration of stressed skin cells. A mask of paraffin and essential oils are applied to re-hydrate and revitalize the skin.

(See also: Hydration Facial, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Aromatherapy: Herbal medicine, use of essential oils from plants, flowers, trees and herbs to achieve health, vitality and rejuvenation of the body, mind and spirit.

(See also: Aromatherapy, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

cosmetic aromatherapy: Topical use of skin- and hair-care products that contain essential oils.

(See also: Cosmetic aromatherapy, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

olfactory aromatherapy: Direct or indirect inhalation of essential oils. Olfactory aromatherapy unlocks odor memories and encourages realignment of natural forces within the body.

(See also: Olfactory aromatherapy, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

phytoaromatherapy: A form of aromatherapy that uses essential oils and acts simultaneously on four human features: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

(See also: Phytoaromatherap, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Aromatherapy

The use of essential oils from plants, flowers, trees and herbs to achieve health, vitality and rejuvenation of the body, mind and spirit.

(See also: Aromatherapy, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)