"Humans
have made use of aromatic extracts of plants for thousands
of years AROMATHERAPY can
be both pleasurable and beneficial."
Welcome to the wonderful world of -
AROMATHERAPY
LALA JAGDISH PRASAD & CO.
Aromatherapy
has been around for a very long time. It is one of the
oldest forms of health and beauty care. Many ancient
civilizations used essential oils and hearbs for medicinal
perposes and spiritual rituals.Aromahterapy is the art
and science of healing and therapy through the use of
plant extracts, known as essantial oils - to promote
balance in the mind and body.Your
sense of smell is the mosy powerful sese you have. A
single whiff of an aroma can evoke feelings and memories
long forgotten.
When you inhale
a fragrance, the smell itself bypasses your " thinking
brain " and gose directly to the limbic system,
the part if the brain that controls certain impulses,
such as sex and hunger, as well as emotions. Because
of this, these aromas, when used properly, are quite
valuable for the purpose of mood alteration. Many hospitals
and some hotels diffuse certain aromas into the lobby
areas in order to produce a sense of calm and well-being
in their clients.Aromatherapy
had been around for 6000 years or more. The Greeks,
Romans, and ancient Egyptians all used aromatherapy
oils. The Egyptian physician Imhotep recommended fragrant
oils for bathing, massage, and for embalming their dead
nearly 6000 years ago. Imhotep is the Egyptian god of
medicine and healing. Hippocrates, the father of modern
medicine, used aromatherapy baths and scented massage.
He used aromatic fumigations to rid Athens of the plague.
The modern era of
aromatherapy is dawned in 1930 when the French chemist
Rene Maurice Gattefosse coined the term aromatherapy
for the therapeutic use of essential oils. He was fascinated
by the benefits of lavender oil in healing his burned
hand without leaving any scars. He started investigating
the effect of other essential oils for healing and for
their psychotherapeutic benefits.
During world war II,
the French army surgeon Dr. Jean Valnet used essential
oils as antiseptics. Later, Madame Marguerite Maury
elevated aromatherapy as a holistic therapy. She started
prescribing essential oils as remedy for her patients.
She is also credited with the modern use of essential
oils in massage. Aromatherapy works the best when it
works on the mind and body simultaneously.
What are
Aromatherapy Essential Oils?
Essential
oils are extracted from certain species of flowers,
grasses, fruits, leaves, roots, and trees. Each individual
oil has its own qualities and is used for many diverse
purposes. It takes a great deal of work to produce a
tiny amount of essential oil. Sixty thousand rose blossoms
are required to produce one ounce of rose oil, whereas
in the lavender plant the essential oil is more abundant
and 220 pounds will provide 7 pounds of oil. In the
case of jasmine, the flowers must be picked by hand
before the sun becomes hot on the very first day they
open, whereas the sandalwood tree must be at least 30
years old and thirty feet high before it can be cut
down for distillation. Between these extremes, a whole
range of growing and picking conditions apply to the
plants that will ultimately provide the precious essential
oils. The price of each oil reflects these conditions,
and because it takes eight million hand picked jasmine
blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil, you can understand
why it is one of the most expensive oils on the market.
How do Aromatherapy
Essential Oils work?
Essential
Oils penetrate the body in two ways, through the nose
and through the skin. Our sense of smell is often underestimated,
but it is approximately 10,000 times more sensitive
than any other sensory organ we possess, and skin is
the body’s largest organ. The effects of essential
oils can be felt simply by breathing in the aromatic
vapor. The aroma molecule that we breathe in is translated
into a signal in our receptor cell in the nose. This
signal is sent to the olfactory bulb and then on to
the limbic and hypothalamus parts of the brain. These
are the parts of the brain that regulate hormonal activity
in our body. The second way for essential oils to penetrate
the body is through the skin. Because essential oils
are organic in nature, and have a very inherently low
molecular weight they are absorbed through the pores
and hair follicles of the skin. Some individuals will
consume/digest Essential Oils, however, unless done
under direct supervision of a certified Aromatherapist,
we do not recommend doing so.
How long will
Essential Oils last?
Unfortunately
essential oils do not have date stamps when sold, so
it is impossible to tell how old they are when you buy
them. With careful attention through our inventory and
sales management we can assure you that you will not
receive any ‘old’ oils. The therapeutic
life of essential oils is about two years, though some
experts say it is much longer than this
Right
Way of Aromatherapy Massage
Always
dilutes oils before applying them to the skin. Use a
carrier oil such as, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond
Oil, Jojoba Oil or any other pure, unblended vegetable
oil. Donot use "baby oil", as this is a miniral
oil, and unlike vegetable oils will not be absorbed
by the skin. 1% dilution : 5-6 drops
essential ols per ounce of carrier oil. 2% dilution
: 10-12 drops essential oil per ounce of carrier
oil. 3% dilution : 15-18 drops essential
oil per ounce of carrier oil.
Right Way of Aromatherapy Bath
Long
before the term alternative medicine was being used,
aromatherapy was being practiced by the Egyptians for
over 5,000 years. When being used by the Egyptians oil
was being extracted from the many aromatic plants around
them through infusion and then used for their not only
cosmetic and medicinal purposes but also for embalming
as well. They then passed the knowledge they had gained
on to the Greeks and it served as the beginning of their
research into how to use the oils and fragrance of some
flowers for their relaxing and stimulating effects.
In fact when looking back further in history we find
that ancient man depended very much on his environment
for their basic needs and to survive which led them
to discover the more natural ways of preserving food
and how certain conditions could be treated using herbs
and aromatics.
First
of all we will look at Eastern Roots. The use of aromatics
are shown in a Chinese Herbal Book by Shen Nung dated
2,700 BC and which provides specific details on over
300 plants and how they can be used. Also the ancient
Chinese would burn incense and wood as part of their
religious beliefs and practices and even in today’s
modern society many Chinese still observe these practices
today. You will also discover that the Chinese used
aromatics in relation to the acupressure, massage and
other therapies that they used.
Whilst now in modern society many people place a very
high premium on their health and well being but due
to the high cost of traditional and conventional medicines
available (surgery and Medicare) more and more people
are turning to aromatherapy and essential oil therapy
as well as other forms of alternative medicine.
The basics of using essential oils in an aromatherapy
bath are as follows:-
1. It facilitates equilibrium of both the physical,
mental and spiritual health of a person through natural
means.
2. In some cases it has been found that alternative
treatments are considered as strong and effective as
complementary treatments to regular medical practices.
3. The main component of aromatherapy is the essential
oils and are highly concentrated essences which are
known for their healing effects.
Add up to a maximum
of 15 drops of pure Essential oil, to a bath full of
warm (not hot) water. Float the oil on the surface and
stir with your hand before relaxing in the bath for
10/15 minutes. For a hand or foot soak use 2 to 3 drops
in a bowl of warm water.
General
Safety Information
Do not take any
oils internally without consultation from a certified
aromatherapy practitioner. Most essential oils should
be diluted before applying them to the skin. If you
are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer,
or have any other medical problem, use oils only under
the proper guidance of a certified aromatherapy practitioner.
Use extreme caution when using oils with children and
give children only the gentlest oils at extremely low
doses. It is safest to consult a certified aromatherapy
practitioner before using oils with children. The best
way to test an essential oil for allergy interactions
with your body is with a skin patch spot test. If you
have a known allergy to a plant or fruit, most likely
you will be allergic to its essential oil. Essential
oils are very concentrated oils and ‘more is not
better’ in their application. In higher proportions
they can have a counter-effect to the intended use.
Read about an essential oil before applying it and take
extra care to read about the safety precautions of each
oil. Do not apply citrus essential oils, especially
bergamot, before direct exposure to the sun. These essential
oils increase photosensitivity to the sun and tend to
be highly irritating to the skin. Essential oils are
not soluble in water. Make sure you dilute or fully
disperse them before getting into the bath. If you should
ever experience an irritation to the skin from an essential
oil, do not rub the area with water. Doing so will cause
the irritation to spread. Apply any vegetable/carrier
oil to the area; this will cause the essential oil to
be absorbed and should ease the irritation within minutes.
Always avoid contact with the eyes. Keep essential oils
out of the reach of children and animals.
Below
is a list of general safety guidelines that should be
observed when using any of our products and especially
our essential oils range. Always see the Material Data
Safety Sheets (MSDS) for specific detailed information
1).
Keep out of reach of unattended children, pets and anyone
with special needs. Always ensure the integral
dropper is in place as this acts as a guard against
over consumption should the product fall into the wrong
hands. 2). Keep products away from delicate
eye areas. If an accident occurs with neat essential
oil flush the eyes
with cold full fat milk or vegetable oil to dilute.
If an accident occurs with diluted oil flush with clean
warm water. If stinging is still present seek immediate
medical advice. 3). Keep products away from plastics,
polished surfaces and all naked flames or sources of
ignition. 4). Do not take essential oils internally
unless under strict medical supervision or if in consultation
with an
aromatherapist qualified to this level. 5). Never use an undiluted essential
oil directly on the skin. Always dilute in a suitable
base product. Lavender
& Tea Tree can be used neat in very small amounts
1-2 drops but not on a regular basis. 6). If you are pregnant, suffer from
epilepsy, high/low blood pressure or any other specific
condition please
seek medical advise before using any of our products.
Care must also be taken with certain oils (especially
citrus oils) before exposure to direct sunlight.
Remember if you are unsure don’t use it. 7). When adding essential oils to bath
water dilute the oil first in a small amount of full
fat milk or dispersing
bath oil base. If neither is available be sure to agitate
the water after adding the oil so it does not settle
on the
top of the water and cause irritation. 8). Try to regulate the use of any
essential oil as constant use over time may in isolated
cases cause
sensitisation, nausea or headaches. 9). Certain oils may cause skin sensitivity
or adverse reaction in some individuals. Discontinue
use
immediately if this occurs. If susceptible to this kind
of reaction it is always best to do a patch test before
use
on a larger area. 10). Do not use machinery or drive
a motor vehicle immediately following a relaxation treatment
especially
after using soporific oils e.g. Clary sage.
DISCLAIMER
The above information is provided
as a guide only. Whilst every effort has been made to
ensure that the above information is accurate and up
to date Essential Oils Direct accept no liability in
respect
of any omission or error in the information provided.
The buyer should always satisfy itself as to the ultimate
suitability for an intended application. Essential Oils
Direct accept no liability in the unlikely event of
an adverse
reaction occurring when using one of its products. No
liability is accepted in respect of any reputed therapeutic
characteristic.
Remember
If you are unsure whether a product
is suitable for use.
Don't use
it
Always seek professional/medical advice
before use.
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