Ever happened, that you are just passing by a house and the aroma of the stew coming out of that place instantly makes you miss your mom’s cooking?
Or perhaps you are sitting in a park and a stranger jogs by, whose perfume suddenly reminds you of someone dear you haven’t seen for years?
And then one day, the scent of coffee sends your mind to home, which is miles and miles away!
But do you sometimes just sit and ponder upon the whys of it? Like why does this happen? Why do certain fragrances take you to your past, or someplace else, or even become a strong reminder of an important person?
Well, it simply means that smells are powerful. They can influence your brain and have a strong effect on your memory. This is exactly how aromatherapy works. Now you must be wondering, what is aromatherapy?
In this therapy, you are suggested to use different aromas of essential oils to help you fight your mental and physical battles. Using this can relieve you of your stress, alleviate your mood and kill your depression for good and it can even treat your pain.
Aromatherapy; All You Need To Know
Essential oils from plants are the key component of aromatherapy. During the process, they’re used in different ways depending on the effect you want from them. Aromatherapy candles are one of the popular ways.
Although the word aroma indicates that these oils are to be inhaled, they can also be massaged onto your skin or used during a bath.
Aromatherapy is not something cooked up by essential oil traders to increase their sales. It has got a complete history and a legitimate list of benefits. Although more research is still required to confirm those effects. Yet there are some studies available that confirm their effectiveness to treat several diseases. Read on to know more!
Did Aromatherapy Exist Before?
Although having gained popularity recently, aromatherapy has been around for ages. Sumerians and Babylonians have used plants medicinally and the records obtained from the land of Egypt indicate that the people there used perfumed oils, scented barks, and resins in 3000 B.C.E to treat various illnesses and it doesn’t just stop there.
The practice then passed on, and Romans and Greeks also became fans of scents. Despite these historical pieces of evidence, the term aromatherapy was not coined until 1937 when Rene Maurice Gattefosse used it in his book Gattefosse’s Aromatherapy in which he discussed the potential of essential oils to treat different medical conditions.
When it comes to the distillation of aromatherapy essential oils, the discovery of the process is attributed to 10th-century Persians. In the 16th century, Germans took a step forward and published information regarding the process for the first time.
How To Put Aromas To Use During Aromatherapy?
As described above, the sense of smell is strongly connected to the part of your brain that stores memories. Thus, certain scents trigger particular memories. Scents connected to good memories can make you feel relaxed or even happy while those related to bad memories can result in causing anxiety or stress. You can put these neural connections to use by surrounding yourself with pleasant aromas.
There are different ways to apply aromatherapy. However, two ways are more common and used by most aromatherapy enthusiasts. These include inhalation and topical application.
- If you prefer to get your dose of essential oils through inhalation, you can get them evaporated into the air by using different gadgets and techniques. Those include aromatherapy diffusers, sprays, oil droplets to breathe in, or a steam bath.
- You can also get the therapy by having oils absorbed through your skin. For this purpose, you can get oil massages, take baths with drops of them mixed with your bath water or use essential oil skin care products. Also, note that essential oils should never be directly applied to the skin. They should always be first mixed with some carrier oil.
Note: To create a 0.5 to 1 percent dilution, add 3 to 6 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier. To achieve a 5 percent dilution, use 30 drops of essential oil in one ounce of carrier. A maximum concentration of 5 percent is generally considered safe for adults.
The Benefits Aromatherapy May Offer
Although there are many benefits of aromatherapy, it should not be used to cure a disease entirely. Instead, it should be used as a complementary therapy. The conditions it can help you with include, anxiety and depression, body aches, fatigue, nausea, insomnia and stress, headaches, and even with some types of muscular aches.
Moreover, aromatherapy can simply make you feel calmer by helping you to establish a sense of harmony between your mind and body. It can also provide you with a sense of well-being and help you escape your problems temporarily, thus increasing your productivity.
The Risks of Aromatherapy
There are a few risks in using aromatherapy therefore one must consult an aromatherapy specialist, massage specialist, pharmacist, or essential oils expert to deal with those risks efficiently.
The risks include the allergies people may have to different kinds of oil since there are many different types of these oils and not every oil would suit everyone. Also, people with extreme medical conditions should avoid using essential oils since there is a chance that these oils may worsen the issue.
Also since there is very little research available on most essential oils and they are not medically approved, one should never try to ingest them or use them without dilution. The maximum recommended concentration in dilution is 5%.
Wrapping Up
Everyone has their own favorite scents. Therefore, you must pick your favorite scents for aromatherapy yourself. Some of the popular essential oils used for different purposes include lavender, vanilla, jasmine, rose, chamomile, geranium, basil, etc. Most of these help calm your nerves and make you feel more at peace with yourself. You can even use a combination of the above-mentioned oils. Aluminate Life has a range of essential oil blends that will help you relax and unwind; Sleep Essential Oil Vial, Calm Essential Oil Vial, Release Essential Oil Vial, and lots of other options!
Just remember that whatever scents you choose, use them to escape your day and keep your focus on providing yourself with a sense of tranquility. Experiencing aromatherapy benefits can help you get the feeling of peace you have been in search of. This makes aromatherapy, especially the scented candles, a perfect addition to your self-care routine.
