What Is Aromatherapy?

What is Aroma Therapy?


Aromatherapy: it's in the air! Simple aroma oils distilled from botanical can make the body feel better, boost the spirits, and ease the mind. Whether applied in a massage, used in a fragrant bath, or sprayed, these gentle, effective aroma therapies provide pleasing alternatives to synthetic based aroma's.

Aromatherapy:  The use of volatile plant oils, for skin care, psychological and physical well-being.

Aroma-therapy is the use of essential oils extracted from whole plants for whole people. Aroma or smell therapy, when inhaled the natural chemicals enter the ol factory system, and from there it is processed in an area of the brain call the brain stem. The brain stem travels from your head down the spine, visualize a tree the stem is the trunk and the branches are pathways leading to our limbs, and connect to organs. The brain processes the natural chemicals (essence) and delivers them to the nine systems in our body. Each system regulates the body to function correctly and remain healthy.

The Benefit of Physical Application

Oils, are applied to the skin and absorbed to the blood stream thru our sweat glands and hair follicles. The components of the various oils are believed to aid in a variety of health, beauty and hygiene conditions. Essential oils molecular structure is so tiny they can travel quickly and efficiently, an example would be applying essential oils to your feet, they will travel throughout your entire body within minutes.

The Benefit of an "Aroma"

Just smelling an essential oil can uplift your spirits and make you feel better. This is because the sense of smell is interrelated to an area of the brain which is primarily concerned with emotion and memory. The essence of essential oils is believed to offer whole body, holistic benefits.

BREATHE EASY - Eucalyptus, Fir, Pine
DREAMTIME - Tangerine, Lavender, Eucalyptus
ENERGY BOOSTER - Rosemary, Bergamot, Peppermint
FEEL GOOD - Lavender, Geranium, Lemon, Ylang-Ylang
HARMONY - Lavender, Geranium
IMMUNE BOOSTER - Sweet Orange, Eucalyptus, Juniper, Pine, Ginger
JET LAG - Grapefruit, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Ginger
JOYFUL - Lemon, Sweet Orange, Grapefruit
MENTAL CLARITY - Basil, Peppermint, Rosemary
MUSCLE RELIEF - Rosemary, Juniper, Lavender, Eucalyptus
REJUVENATING - Eucalyptus, Pine, Peppermint, Geranium
RELAXATION - Tangerine, Lavender, Lemon, Marjoram
SENSUOUS – Ylang-Ylang, Lavender, Ginger, Sweet Orange
STRESS FREE - Tangerine, Lavender, Geranium
UPLIFTING - Geranium, Marjoram, Ylang-Ylang

Essential oils are extracted by a variety of methods, and these methods are normally decided upon by the type of botanical material to be used and what oil is to be extracted.

Distillation converts the volatile liquid (the essential oils) into a vapor and then condenses the vapor back into a liquid - it is the most popular, and cost effective method in use today in producing essential oils.

Water Distillation:
When the condensed material cools down, the water and essential oil is separated and the oil decanted to be used as essential oil.
The water that is separated in this process is also used and is marketed as "floral waters" (also called hydrosol or sweet water) - such as rosewater, lavender water and orange water.
Water distillation can be done at reduced pressure (under vacuum) to reduce the temperature to less than 100 degrees, which is beneficial in protecting the botanical material, as well as the essential oils.

Steam distillation:
When steam distillation is used in the manufacture and extraction of essential oils, the botanical material is placed in a still and steam is forced over the material.
The hot steam helps to release the aromatic molecules from the plant material since the steam forces open the pockets in which the oils are kept in the plant material. The molecules of these volatile oils then escape from the plant material and evaporate into the steam.
The temperature of the steam needs to be carefully controlled - just enough to force the plant material to let go of the essential oil, yet not too hot as to burn the plant material or the essential oil.
The steam which then contains the essential oil is passed through a cooling system to condense the steam, which form a liquid from which the essential oil and water is then separate.

Essential oils I look at as a luxury. Because they require a great volume of plant material and a lot of energy to prep and process the material for such a minimal amount of essential oil.
But, in reality essential oils are essential to maintain a healthy life style.

Please Join us for an informative Essential Oil Call on Wednesday Evenings

Please join Anna and Barbara as they discuss the comforting qualities of Citrus Essential Oils for the Winter season.




2/3/2010
8PM Eastern
7PM Central
5PM Pacific

The Effects From Dry Atmosphere On Our Body

Ions are floating in the air around us all of the time and have either negative or positive charges. Changes in their concentrations or in the ratio of positively to negatively charged molecules can have remarkable effects on plants, people and animals. It is known in science that ion depletion is the source of a wide range of human health problems, both mental and physical.

These air ions are important to you because if they have a high proportion of negative ions in the clusters you will feel lively, uplifted and enthusiastic. Too many positive ions in the clusters will have you feeling depressed, lethargic and full of aches, pains and complaints, and dehydrated with very dry skin. At first your skin is rough, dry and flaky. The skins health progressively gets worse, because positive ions create free radicals, which harden the lipids in the cell nucleus, causing wrinkles and cracks in the skin. Free radicals as they multiply can lead to more serious health issues.

                                                                                 

Essential Oils contain negative ions and balance the dry static atmosphere. They are similar effect on us as the atmosphere after a soaking rain. When the sunshine's and the moisture begins to evaporate, the ether is a sweet vapor. It energizes and makes people happy, or at least they become aware of how nice the atmosphere is. We can create this atmosphere indoors.

Put essential oils in your diffuser on a regular basis. Mist essential oils in your bathroom. Or if you have a humidifier put essential oils in the water, or on the back of the stove in your pot of water.
The air you breathe will be fresher and the atmosphere healthier.

Lavender, Geranium, and Patchouli Essential Oil blend awakens your senses with a floral bouquet of fresh cut green grass mixed with wild flowers. It is refreshing, uplifting intellectual notes balance and subdue a calm, where there was tension and fatigued.
This blend supports a healthy respiratory system, calms the central nervous system, clears mental fatigue and balances out high stress levels.

Do not ignore the potential to change the dry effects dry air has caused on your skin. You can protect the skin from dehydration by using Lavender Sunshine Lotion. It protects the skin barrier and holds moisture in the skin. With added Red Raspberry Seed Oil to my lotion you will feel the super moisturizing effects, the hydration, and enjoy the appearance of healthy beauty. If you prefer Lavender Moisturizing Cream to lotions; you will enjoy the rich moisturizing effects from our

Virgin Coconut Oil and Lavender to revitalize new collagen and skin fiber. This penetrates deeply and softens the driest skin.

ANTI OXIDANTS AND EMOLLIATING OILS FOR DRY SKIN

The winters here in northern Michigan are long, cold and brisk with never ending bursts of wind. Cold frigid temperatures zap all the moisture out of the air and our bodies.
It is very important to stay hydrated during the winter months both internally and externally. Let’s look at the external conditions. The air in your home in order to be at a healthy level of humidity should be about 27 to 40 percent. If you use essential oils in the atmosphere you will reach a healthy level of negative ions faster than running humidifiers with plain water. Essential oils release negative ions and oxygen two elements necessary for the health of your skin and hair. By alleviating the imbalance of positive ions to negative ions, or increasing the amount of negative ions when the humidity is too low you will protect yourself form free radicals, which destroy living cells. The nutrients and herbal extracts in our moisturizing creams and herbal salves will assimilate faster and more efficiently. The lipid fluid in our cells will be able to absorb and process the essential oils, herbal extracts and nutritional elements our creams, salves, aromatherapy blends are designed for. Choosing pure essential oils, virgin coconut oil, jojoba oil, cold pressed olive oil, organic herbal extracts, and natures’ bounty in general will protect our cells from drying out and cracking. This simple choice will slow down the aging process drastically. Our products are loaded with anti oxidants.

Virgin Coconut Oil has been used for thousands of years through out Asia and the pacific as both a food and medicine. Coconut was once wrongly accused of increasing cholesterol levels, due to it saturated fat content, however, it has been discovered that there are different kinds of saturated fat and some types are good for you. Virgin coconut oil contains a unique form of saturated fat that actually helps prevent heart disease, stroke, and hardening of the arteries. It is identical to a special group of fats found in human breast milk that have been demonstrated to strengthen the immune system, improve digestion and protect against bacterial, viral, and fungi infections. The coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the ability to make new collagen. Even on open heart surgery patients the virgin coconut oil applied directly to the incision healed the tissue 35% faster than the placebo. Due to the amino acids (which are found in human breast milk) lauric acid, caprrylic acid, and capric acid. These fatty acids are more easily metabolized. Virgin Coconut oil has UVA and UVB protection barriers, it can be worn directly on the skin for your protection. This is one of the reasons I am so fond of virgin coconut oil and use it in all my creams, and it is a main staple in our kitchen. I cook with it, bake, and use it in place of butter.

Jojoba’s most essential quality is it preserves soft skin. Another redeeming virtue is it fortifies our hair, because it is very rich in protein. Jojoba is an outstanding emollient; because it has fortifying benefits it helps our skin and hair maintain its luster and leaves the skin feeling smooth. Jojoba is an anti oxidant, due to its molecular structure it will not oxidize, therefore will not become rancid. Jojoba mimics our own sebaceous skin oil; it protects and lubricates our skin and hair. Jojoba, is soothing and eliminates many skin problems, protects against premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.

Roman Chamomile essential oil is useful for soothing irritated skin. A natural anti oxidant and moisturizing essential oil with UVA and UVB protection for our skin.

Calendula infused oil is an anti oxidant, proliferates new cellular skin tissue, it is anti bacterial, anti viral and anti fungal, it is soothing and hydrating, the skin becomes smooth and soft. It contains UVA and UVB protection for our skin.

Rose essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties to tone the skin capillaries and reduce redness. Also used for its uplifting, ant-depressant effects on the limbic system.

Rosemary essential oil is great in shampoo; it keeps the scalp clean and the hair follicles active. This in return prevents pre-mature balding. It is also good for dandruff because it has antiseptic properties. Rosemary essential oil relieves headaches, aches, pains in muscles and is used as an analgesic.

Sage essential oil is an astringent, good for toning skin tissue. It contains an estrogen hormone an effective constituent to tighten aging, saggy skin.

Lavender essential oil prevents hair loss and helps hair grow. It also proliferates new skin tissue. Relieves redness in skin caused by burns, and will heal burns while it puts the fire out (relieves the stinging associated with 1st and 2nd degree burns). Lavender essential oil will heal blisters as well as wounds. It is toning and soothing at the same time, making it a great adaptagen.

Peppermint essential oil stimulates and circulates different systems within our body, easing pain and discomfort, when our bodies revitalizing energy is blocked.

Lemongrass essential oil is an anti oxidant, antiseptic, astringent, bactericidal and natural deodorant. For skin care it is good for excessive perspiration. Lemon grass has specific benefits for tightening large pores and to tighten and tone the skin. It has been documented to help poor circulation and muscle-tone. For the nervous system it is use for headaches, nervous exhaustion and stress-related conditions.

Orange Essential Oil is high in Alpha Hydroxyl Acid which is an anti oxidant. It is natures mildest astringent and will release dead skin from the surface of our body. It is an uplifting aroma and helps you wash away the blues. It detoxifies the body and boosts the lymphatic system.

Lemon Essential Oil is an astringent, anti bacterial, an air purifier, anti viral, and high in vitamin A, and a stong anti- oxidant.

Flavonoids are a diverse group of plant pigments with antioxidant properties. These substances are responsible for color in many fruits, vegetables and flowers. In addition to providing color that attracts insects or animals, these pigments protect plants from environmental stress. In addition to being potent antioxidants, some flavonoids have antiallergic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activity. Over 4,000 flavonoids have been characterized and classified.
The pigments in our flowers, fruits and vegetables protect us from environmental toxins as well; which is all the more reason we should be breathing, eating, drinking, washing, and wearing the extracts from whole plants.

Lavender The Most Universal Essential Oil for Today's Lifestyle

Lavender - The most universal oil on our Apothecary shelf.

Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil

Since the beginning…Creation
Creation has been staged in a garden
The garden is our environment where plants, animals, and people co-exist.

The setting is the same every morning
The sun rises with the morning dew
A tranquil mist flows over natures bounty.

We live with the same principles
The rhythms of nature in harmony

With the sun rise comes the morning due
A tranquil mist lies over our body
Aromatherapy natures’ bounty
Begins to renew our natural balance
Every system in our body
Begins to revive and come alive

Take note of what you need
With Aromatherapy you will succeed.

Essential oils consist of chemical compounds which have hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen as their building blocks. These can be subdivided into two groups: The hydrocarbons which are made up almost exclusively of terpenes and the oxygenated compounds which are mainly esters.
Oxygenated compounds
Esters are probably the most widespread group found in essential oils, which includes linalyl acetate found in Lavender, bergamot and clary sage. They are characteristically fungicidal and a sedative often having a fruity aroma.
Alcohol, another oxygenated compound is one of the most useful groups, it has good antiseptic and anti viral properties with an uplifting aroma, they are also non-toxic. Some of the most common terpene alcohols include linalool which is found in Lavender. 

Lavender Essential Oil has been recorded in aromatherapy as one of the most functional oils to help strengthen the immune system and to help us fight the flu. This universal oil has been used to comfort the stomach. It is gentle enough to apply directly on the belly without diluting it.
Lavender is an adaptagen virtually used to revive, strengthen, and restore and yet it is a soothing oil. It will comfort us while it restores and assists in healing. It is also a tonic, for faint, weak systems, palpitations, weak giddiness, spasms and colic.
Lavender Essential Oil assists the nervous system during depression, headaches, hypertension, insomnia, migraine, nervous tension and stress related conditions.
The application of essential oils is a science. Our blood and essential oils share several common properties. They fight infection, contain hormone like compounds, and initiate regeneration. The ability of lavender to bring balance, generate new skin tissue, promote hair growth, and relieve inflammatory conditions in order to bring balance to many physiological systems of our body is due to the fact that both essential oils and human blood contain the same chemical structures.. The ability of some essential oils to work as hormones helps them bring balance to the 9 different systems of our body.
It’s a comforting feeling to know we are protected with natures bounty. This compatibility with human protein makes essential oils identity acceptable by our body.
The lipid soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to our cell membranes. The molecules of essential oils are so small, their ability to penetrate into our cells happens quickly. When applied to the feet essential oils can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes.
In the human body, essential oils stimulate the secretion of antibodies, neurotransmitters, endorphins, hormones, and enzymes. Oils containing limonene are very important to ward off the 'C' word. Other oils, like lavender, have been shown to promote the growth of hair and increase the rate of wound healing. They increase the uptake of oxygen and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the fuel for individual cells. Research indicates that when essential oils are diffused, they can increase atmospheric oxygen and provide negative ions, which in turn inhibits bacterial growth. This suggests that essential oils could play an important role in air purification and neutralizing odors. Because of their ionizing action, essential oils have the ability to break down and render potentially harmful chemicals nontoxic.
Because essential oils are composites of hundreds of different chemicals, they can exert many different effects on the body. Lavender oil can be used for burns, insect bites, headaches, stress and PMS, all at the same time.
Essential oils do not disturb the bodies natural balance or homeostasis, if one constituent exerts too strong an effect, another constituent may block or counteract it. Synthetic chemicals in contrast, usually have only one action and often disrupt the bodies homeostasis.

SINCE THE BEGINNING…AROMATHERAPY & ESSENTIAL OILS