Ever since the beginning of ancient times the benefic attributes of flowers and trees were utilized for medicinal purposes. All ancient civilizations relied on cures extracted from plants to heal their people or to improve the quality of life.

It took hundreds of years of studying the plant components to find out how we can benefit from nature’s offerings but today we can enjoy all the wonderful miracles that essential oils have to offer with this market ditching the usual industrial methods and prices. With our new editorial we’re going to find out what is aromatherapy and how it can change our life so if you want to educate yourself on how to make your own beauty-care products at home or how to take care of your body while using organic solutions, you came to the right place.

The concept behind Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is based on essential oils and plant compounds and it’s aiming to improve our health and condition. Despite having people that doubt or consider this type of therapy as wishful thinking, Aromatherapy treatments have been proven scientifically to perform amazing in numerous cases.

Among top benefits we can mention mood improvement and relaxation, skin healing and maintaining, hair strengthening and scalp healing, immune system and digestive system protection along with respiratory system recovery. For example, In France Aromatherapy is part of classic medicine, with a few essential oils are even prescribed as drugs and can only be purchased or recommended by a doctor.

To find out which essential oil is necessary for every patient, French doctors use something that is called the Aromatogram. The medical staff will first take a part of the infected area or tissue, grow it on petri dishes and get each culture in touch with common essential oils to determine which one has the best results. Only after this stage is completed the patient then gets his organic recipe for the cure.

Main uses

Uses of Aromatherapy and oils	Details
Anxiety	One of the top 3 disorders cured by essential oils is anxiety. By using the organic essential oil you stimulate your brain to recover on a normal pace and regain a calm state of mind.
Stress	The scent induced by essential oils is able to reduce stress, as well.
Insomnia	There are numerous causes for insomnia and most of the times adults battle this terrible condition for periods of time with a direct impact on their life. Luckily for us, essential oils are able to provide valuable help when battling with insomnia while inducing a good night sleep for you to wake up rested in the morning.
Body aches (muscular aches)	We get this feeling if a certain part of our body was exhausted during extended periods of time. The aches can last for a few hours or even days, depending on the effort invested but Aromatherapy has a direct impact on this type of conditions as well.
Circulation problems	Blood circulation conditions can lead to serious conditions and harsh consequences but Aromatherapy can cure most of them if you decide to use essential oils for prevention.
Digestive problems	Again, one of the most common uses for Aromatherapy and essential oils. These amazing substances will be able to help you with your digestive problems if inhaled orally.
Menstrual pain	Pain during menstruation can reach intense levels but luckily oils are actually very capable to relieve some of it.
Menopause problems	Menopause comes with a lot of hormonal dysfunctions but Aromatherapy offers a lot of solutions in this area as well.

Main substances

Common and uncommon Aromatherapy products	Details
Basil oil	Basil is on top of Aromatherapy products that are able to offer real results in battling depression. Basil oil can also be used to battle migraines.
Bergamot oil	Bergamot features a prolific use in digestive issues. If you’re having problems with your bladder or your stomach you can administrate a treatment based on this oil to relieve your pain or regain your health.
Black pepper oil	Commonly used to stimulate blood circulation, heal bruises or relieve muscular pain.
Citronella oil	This oil keeps all the insects away from your home or when you’re out camping.
Clove oil	When being applied topically, clove oil is able to act as an analgesic, especially if you’re facing a toothache. Clove essential oil can also prevent nausea and vomiting.
Eucalyptus oil	Able to perform as a healing agent if you’re having the flu. Eucalyptus will clear your respiratory system and will get you on your feet in no time!
Geranium essential oil	This essential oil is often used for its antiseptic and astringent properties.
Jasmine oil	Jasmin oil has incredible aphrodisiac qualities so if you’re trying to work this aspect apply a few drops of jasmine oil on your bed sheets or on your clothes.
Lavender oil	Lavender not only has a beautiful smell but it also features powerful properties for Aromatherapy usage. The oil extracted from this plant can be used as an antiseptic for minor cuts and the substance will help your skin recover and it will also provide enough strength for the tissue to regain its initial form leaving you without any scars.
Lemon oil	Just like any citrus oils, lemon is good for weight loss but it can also be used to lift your mood. Aromatherapists use it for battling depression as well.
Tea tree essential oil	This is without a doubt a powerful product with the ability to fight bacteria and with powerful disinfectant qualities. Tea tree oil is perfect to be used when you have a mouth rinse.
Thyme essential oil	Suffering from fatigue, nervousness or stress disorders? Thyme oil will provide all the help necessary to find your natural balance and prosper on your daily activities. Not only this is offers a good organic boost if you’re feeling tired most of the day but it will also calm you down if you feel nervous before any big meeting.
Yarrow oil	Yarrow oil is said to help reduce joint inflammation on a long term usage but it can also be used for cold or flu symptoms. This is also a powerful substance so be sure to perform all the proper research before performing any treatment whatsoever.

 

The holistic methodology – a new approach to medicine

In today’s medicine Aromatherapy is without a doubt one of the most popular complementary therapies, offering a wide range of highly effective treatments to acute and chronic stage of several diseases. Homemade use products or mixes can help strengthen our immune system and prevent the conditions from coming back so the popular use of essential oils is hard to be questions since they represent a cheap and effective alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

The way that this type of treatment is applied makes a huge difference as well. Aromatherapy has a holistic approach and that means the aromatherapist will consider the person’s medical history, his or her emotional condition when receiving the treatment and lifestyle choices before planning the treatment. The main idea is that you will receive treatment as a person not just the symptoms of your illness will get attention.

The cause of why this condition interfered with you as an individual is also determined and treated. Irritable bowel syndrome for example can be the result of stress so in this case no amount of pills will help you cure this condition if you continue to live a stressful life. Instead Aromatherapy will provide a long term solution with a treatment not only for your irritable bowel syndrome but also for your stress. This will most likely cure the condition and improve your life.

As a matter of fact, regardless of the amount of stress that today’s modern life comes with, Aromatherapy will provide useful answers for this damaging condition. Resulting to pharmaceutical drugs in this condition will only numb you without any particular cure being implemented. Instead of opting for that Aromatherapy comes with a more useful solution that will comfort you on a long term.

What happens to me when I go see an aromatherapist?

A trip to an aromatherapist will go just like any trip to a regular doctor so there’s nothing to worry about if you’re interested in trying essential oils and Aromatherapy treatments. The aromatherapy will ask you details about your medical history, your habits, your way of eating and sleeping  along with certain aspects of your current health status. In UK you will also get asked if the aromatherapist can share information with your general practitioner or if he or she can inform your doctor that you’re receiving Aromatherapy treatments and care.

Aromatherapy has a different approach compared to classic medicine and basically that means your treatment is personalized and applied to you as an individual. All treatments will center you as a person and you will not have a standard treatment for your condition. This means that the purpose of why you want treatment will be debated along with other specific details that are specific to you and your condition. After this information is settled the aromatherapist will recommend you an essential oil or a certain mix as treatment.

If you’re suffering from stress or anxiety, most likely your aromatherapist will prepare a massage for you and you will have a few essential oils mixed to be applied on your skin. This is where you need to intervene and communicate with your aromatherapist if you have certain allergies for nuts or seeds. Besides this you can rest assure and enjoy your therapy for relaxation because essential oils have no chemical substances in them so the risks of triggering an unwanted reaction are practically inexistent.

Your initial session should last around 2 hours, most time being designated to questioning, testing and trying to find out the best treatment for you and follow-up sessions will last about one hour or so. We recommend you take at least two sessions per month but your aromatherapist will most likely provide you with all details, according to your mental or physical state.

Evidence and results

Despite having some people that doubt alternative therapies and their methods, Aromatherapy is backed by a lot of research that is continually re-affirming the positive impacts that this type of treatments are able to bring to our bodies and to our minds. The results are now hard to dismiss and a recent study performed in the USA has confirmed that Jasmine for example is a powerful and relaxant aid to restful sleep.

With insomnia being a common cause in our current times, the research shows that the main reason of the study is finding out if aromatherapy is able to bring improvement through its methods and in this case the answer was positive. Dr. Bryan Raudenbush and his colleagues at the Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, discovered that subjects who slept in rooms fragranced with Jasmine had a more peaceful sleep and reported higher afternoon alertness than when spending the night in a  room with no added fragrance at all. Similar research around the world has proven the same incredible benefits of aromatherapy with the ability to obtain results in numerous illnesses of the mind and body.

Cruelty-free therapy

One of the best things about Aromatherapy is that it doesn’t involve any cruelty or any unnecessary testing on animals. The oils used in Aromatherapy have been tested on humans for a few thousand years so it’s absolutely secure and safe to appeal to this form of alternative medicine when seeking for new treatment.

There we have it: your initiation into aromatherapy is now completed. Hopefully we managed to provide an answer to all the questions related to what is aromatherapy and how essential oils can improve our health state but if you have a specific question of your own feel free to use to comment section below. We promise to do our best to help out.

In the mean time be sure to keep yourself healthy and balanced.