Welcome to our new regular column titled Aromatherapy. Here, we’ll bring to light everything there is to know about this ancient art of healing that has always been a part of our lives, probably without us even knowing it.
Each month, we’ll go through some good-to-know facts on the subject and feature different items of aromatherapy and useful tools too. Enjoy!
Aromatherapy is a method of promoting healing and wellbeing by using scents from volatile plant oils (also known as essential oils), which are either combined or used alone. Historically, this was carried out by applying the oils directly to our body or by inhalation. It is a truly holistic way of addressing physical, psychological and spiritual issues using natural aromatics which today are also included in scented candles, vapours from diffusers, special skincare products, etc.
This natural healing method dates back to thousands of years when aromatic oils were used for a multitude of reasons from treating common illnesses to enticing the opposite sex as well as for sun protection and repelling bugs.
Extraction Of Volatile Plant Oils
The most popular method of extracting volatile plant oils, or essential oils are through steam distillation and parts of plants that are distilled for their oils include the flowers, tree bark, roots, leaves, and resins. Distillation may be repeated after the ‘first oils’ are collected, but the oils from the remaining distillations will not be as potent as the first.
Besides steam distillation, have you ever heard of animal fats or vegetable oils being used for extracting these volatile plant oils? Ancient Egyptians were known for this! They placed flowers or other parts of plants on a thick layer of fat which was then left to melt during the day. The essential oils extracted from the plants were then collected in vases and used for a multitude of purposes.
Also in the scope of aromatherapy is the use of flower water. This fragrant water is produced by boiling flowers, leaves or other parts of a plant in a large pot of water and straining out the scented water. This flower water is nowhere near potent as essential oils, but they are still very useful as room fragrances, remedies for skin issues (they make great toners!), light perfumes, etc. They are also much less expensive compared to essential oils.
Today, aromatherapy is taking the world by storm for personal and family use as well as in the business sector. In countries such as France, it has always been an integral part of public healthcare – Did you know that many hospitals in France diffuse essential oils in their wards and that pharmacists there prescribe essential oils in vegecaps for coughs and flus?
FACT
The history of aromatherapy and the exploration of its origins is quite fascinating.The practice has been around for well over 6000 years, where the first people to use it were probably the ancient Chinese, who prescribed it for a variety of ailments. From there, it was used by the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Greeks – in fact, Hippocrates (the father of modern medicine) used aromatherapy to clear Athens of a plague, and often used it in his personal treatments.
Boost Your Everyday Mood!
The most popular aromatherapy scents worldwide happen to be lavender, lemon and peppermint. They work wonders to boost your mood as well as your work and study performance!
- Lavender. This ever popular ingredient has found its way into all sorts of products from toiletries to candles to teas. Lavender is super- calming, with a beckoning scent that helps relieve emotional stress and nervous tension.
- Lemon. This is one of the most famous citrus scents in aromatherapy, with its invigorating and refreshing properties as far as scents go. It’s great for clearing the mind, and has been known to help with mental fatigue of fogginess.
- Peppermint. For an instant pick-me-up, very few come close to the refreshing scent of peppermint in the world of aromatherapy. It works wonders to boost mental energy, and also, it’s a popular go-to scent when one has a blocked nose.
