Essential oils can be extracted from thousands of plants and herbs. They have been used for centuries to treat infectious diseases. Over the years each essential oil has been found useful for treating a specific set of ailments and illnesses. In laboratory tests they’ve been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.

The growth of aromatherapy skin care products in the marketplace has been on an upwards trend for many years. These products are used by millions of people every day all over the world. Aromatherapy oils are developed by a distillation procedure which draws out the “essence” of the plant which then becomes the essential oil that we buy in the health stores.

In addition to being used as a treatment for illnesses, aromatherapy blends are often used to simply change a person’s mood or put him or her into a different mental state.

Aromatherapy and cancer. Aromatherapy blends have never been advocated as a treatment for cancer. But some physicians and health care professionals do recommend it as a way to mitigate some of the side effects of cancer or cancer treatments. Many essential oils can positively affect moods helping to keep the patient in a positive mental attitude without resulting to prescription drugs.

Aromatherapy blends have uses beyond the medical. Many people are surprised to learn that some of these blends are great as insect repellants. For example, if you don’t like using chemical products on your skin or in your house, you can try an aromatherapy alternative. Citronella oil is useful for repelling mosquitos. Quite a few people use citronella candles while on evening picnics with excellent results. In addition, you can buy citronella laced lotions to rub on your skin to protect against mosquitos. If you study the literature, you’ll also discover aromatherapy blends to repel moths, fleas, ticks, and many other insects.

Unless aromatherapy blends are diluted heavily, they can be very sensitive to the skin. So if you have just started to apply a particular blend, to make sure that you won’t have a reaction to it, test a sample on your skin first. In addition, because these blends are so concentrated, be very careful when using them on children.

Because of their intense concentration, when smelling aromatherapy oils, never put your nose directly over the bottle and inhale. If you do, you’ll probably temporarily overload your olfactory senses and probably get a headache. A safer way is to mimic the way that master cooks smell their dishes. Open the bottle and wave the scent towards your nose with your hand. This will give you a much better realistic indicator of what the oil will smell like in a natural setting.

Aromatherapy is very popular and because of this you’ll find some companies trying to rip you off. Real and natural essential oils are expensive. So you’ll find some companies selling synthetic essential oils - and advertising them as real essential oils. If you are using synthetic essential oils, you are not really engaging in true aromatherapy and you will probably not get the same results.

Technorati Tags: , ,