Practices of Using Essential Oils in History
Essential oils had a big role in the history of traditional medicine, especially in the Ayurvedic field. It’s not only herbs that are sought after back then. Specific oils have healing effects that are potent but safe. Here are the three major uses for essential oils throughout the history.
Beautification
Cleopatra, being one of the most beautiful and influential women in the history, is known to use essential oils for her beauty routines. Rose oil, almond oil, castor oil – all of these, and more have been great companions to the timeless beauty of Cleopatra.
Despite having one of the prominent sought-out beauty routines in history, she’s not the only one who used essential oils. These products are popular even among royalty especially those that are hard to find or those that have a hefty price.
Aromatherapy
But more than being beauty tools, the appealing fragrance of these oils attracted way more attention back then. They are widely utilized in perfumery. And the practice of incorporating essential oils in perfumes and colognes still lasts until today.
While the term aromatherapy itself did not exist until the 20th century, essential oils are still used in similar practices. To improve the emotional, mental, and physical health of a person, they used aromatic oils long ago.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurveda is one of the oldest traditional ways of healing. Essential oils have a big part in this field. There are oils that do not have a fragrant scent. But there are also oils that do not have that much of a therapeutic effect. It might be due to the lack of natural compounds that are good for the skin and hair. It could also be because of the process of extraction. But a lot of essential oils are actually useful in Ayurvedic medicine. And to this day, these effects are utilized to improve beauty and personal care.
Essential Oil Uses
Each essential oil has its own uses. They are versatile enough for household uses and personal care at the same time. And with a wide selection of essential oils available, you’ll never go out of choices to pick from. But prior to using any of these oils on your body – whether, through topical application, ingestion, or aromatherapy, it’s best to know the effects of the oil before trying them out.
Here are the various uses of essential oils.
Household Uses
Most of the uses of essential oils are for cleaning. Whether it’s for cleaning the house or purifying the air in your home – there’s an oil for that. But most of these practices make use of the fragrance of the oils. There are bug repellent sprays infused with an oil and deodorizers for linen, clothes, or any material at home. You can also clean every corner of your house and your appliances with a mixture of oils and other organic ingredients.
Skin Care
The moisturizing ability of essential oils is wonderful. They do not only deliver water content to the deeper layers of the skin. But you can also rest easy knowing that the oil helps condition it to prevent the hydration from evaporating. But aside from that, there are a lot of therapeutic properties that work best for skin care.
These effects range from anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and even to the ability of an oil to promote faster healing. These oils are not simply for daily skin care. They even help prevent and treat some conditions such as acne.
Looking for an oil to use for your skin care? Find out more of their uses here and how to properly apply them! There’s no harm in learning the right way of application especially if you can get all the good things without the dangers of using it!
Hair Care
For a lot of hair and scalp issues, a drop of hair-nourishing essentials does the trick. When you find the right oil, you can use it according to your needs. Argan oil is one of the best oils you can use for your hair. It is rich in nutrients and essential fatty acids that help make nourish and repair hair. The oil maintains the volume, resilience, and luster of your hair. It protects your locks from damages. Other than the oil, you can also use argan oil shampoo and conditioner products to improve your hair in just a few weeks.
Hair oils are perfect replacements for a lot of products. Aside from having the same effects, imagine getting to keep the moisture and lushness of those tresses. Bearded men are also quite familiar with essential oils since it’s one of the essentials for facial hair care.
Aromatherapy
Essential oils are just the holy grail of aromatherapy. Each unique scent brings forth different reactions for the mind and the body. Some oils work well in easing symptoms of negative emotions and thoughts. This is why rose oil is popular in aromatherapy since there are studies exploring its positive impact on depression and anxiety.
There are more uses for aromatic oils. Some of them you can bring with you to take a whiff of their scent. It will help you regain focus and find balance in your emotional and mental state. For mixtures, take note of the perfect balance.
Here are the things you should remember for creating a mixture of aromatic oils.
- Top Note – this is the first impression you’ll get from the aromatic oil. The top note often has a light scent that does not last long. It tends to evaporate and lose its traces in only a short period of time.
- Middle Note – this is the heart of the aromatic mixture. It has a more rounded scent and helps the transition from a light scent to the deep fragrance of base notes that tend to have an unpleasant initial impression. It lasts longer than the top note and is mellower.
- Base Note – the least volatile of all oils and have a deep and solid fragrance to it. Its scent stays long after the diffusion of the mixture. It is the lasting impression that lingers.
Culinary
But as most people know, a lot of oils are also used for culinary purposes. Olive oil is one of the most popular types of oil used for cooking and baking. It is pretty common for oils made from herbs and nuts to have value in the culinary field. And not all of them are safe to use for topical application. This is why you need to learn about them more.
Remedy/Treatments
Just like in the past, people still appreciate the healing effects of these oils. While they do not necessarily treat conditions and injuries on a big scale, most of them still promote faster healing. Lavender oil, for example, soothes sunburns and minor cuts. Applying this oil helps boost the biological process of the skin to repair itself.
Various Ways to Use Essential Oils
There could be risks in just applying essential oils without knowing how to use them properly. Learning about the right methods help bring out the full effects of an oil. It also prevents any dangers done to your body. These are the common ways you can use an essential oil.
Refer to this simple yet informative guide to essential oils, their benefits, and their uses. It might save you a trip to the doctor’s office.
Topical Application
For skin and hair care, this is the most common method since it guarantees full exposure to the benefits of the oil. The extract is massaged onto the skin, hair, and scalp, or mixed with other formulas. Here are different methods that you can use to apply the essential oil to your body.
Most of bath and body products now contain essential oils because of its nourishing compounds. Use it for cleansing or create a mixture with other ingredients or formula and use in a bath to help boost its effects.
For diluted or pure oils, you can apply them directly on skin, hair, or scalp. It’s a form of massage but it focuses on coating a specific area in the oil. This also works for beard care since most oils are used as conditioning products to help give it a smooth texture.
This is applicable for helping soothe muscle and joint pain. Most essential oils used for massage ease the tension on the muscles to help it relax. Most people use oils to massage areas of the body that have pressure points. You can also use it to massage the temples to aid in easing away headaches of any kind.
Compress soothes and reduces inflammation of the muscles and joints. Some types of compress also relieve the body from any kind of pain. They help concentrate the effects of the essential oil on one area to promote faster healing.
Internal
Ingesting essential oils has risks. First of all, remember to only use oils for culinary purposes. Drinking essential oils is not in any way, recommended. Before doing so, it’s best to consult a doctor or a professional practitioner.
There are oils that are toxic to the body and harm it from the inside. Avoid it by knowing your product and how to use it properly.
Aromatic
Essential oils are famous for aromatherapy. Each fragrance reinforces positive thoughts and emotions for the user. Discover the different ways you can use an oil.
A diffuser is just a tool that helps oils reach an evaporating state to spread its fragrance around the room. Some oils can have a really potent scent which is why a few drops are only used. This is one of the best ways to use an essential oil especially for children and pregnant women. It also helps with the humidity around the room.
Steaming is one of the more traditional ways of aromatherapy. And its modern form is through diffusing. But there are still people who steam essential oils. The standard process for this is to put essential oils on a burner and place it on top of a small fire. It helps release the aromatic compounds in the oil.
Perfumes and colognes work in the same way. As do deodorizers. But you can also use oils for the skin and hair to give them a nice moisture and scent. You can do this by putting clean, distilled water in a spray bottle and mix it with a few drops of oil. The same thing goes for a deodorizer or bug repellent to use at home.
Some oils are diluted with lighter carrier oils to help ease their potent scent. This way, you can directly take a whiff of their fragrance from the bottle. This is one of the methods used for regaining focus which uses minty scents like that of a peppermint.
Infusing essential oil in the material of candles and incense to give them a nice scent is an example of dry evaporation. It releases a soothing fragrance once burned. You can also simply infuse it in a tissue or cotton ball and sniff them when needed.
Why Use Essential Oils
Get a lot of benefits from using essential oils. But first, you should know which product suits your needs the best. And always remember that quality is the key. You’ll get the best results from using a high-quality product.
Benefits of Choosing Essential Oils
What makes essential oils worth a shot is that they are affordable but quite versatile. Imagine having an all-in-one product that also has great effects without the extra hefty price of commercial products. Learn about the benefits of using essential oils.
You can get a bottle of essential oil for a small container of a moisturizer. You can get it from a lot of sources depending on its type and quality.
The versatility of essential oils is really famous. You can use it in a lot of ways and not just in one specific method.
The natural compounds that an oil retains rival the effects of the chemicals in commercial products. And you can get them from one bottle of oil.
Compared to commercial products, essential oils are definitely safer. They contain minimum amounts of chemicals and buying from the best brands mean that you’re getting high-quality formulas.
Discover how essential oil products fare against your ordinary formulas. Safe and with various uses? These goods are definitely worth a try!
Safety Standards in Using Essential Oils
While essential oils are basically safer to use than chemically-infused products, there are still safety standards in using them. Learn about them here.
Who Can Use Essential Oils
While anyone can use essential oils, some products are not recommended for everyone. It is also risky to use these oils when pregnant or nursing. And children are highly sensitive to the composition of the oils. Even some scent can bring negative effects. For those who are prone to having allergic reactions, consult a doctor or do a patch test first.
Proper Use of Essential Oils
There are right ways to use an essential oil whether it’s for topical application or aromatherapy. It’s important to take precautions, especially when ingesting an oil since there are only specific products that are safe for ingestion.
Read labels and directions on the bottle before using. It’s important to do it properly to get the intended results and avoid the risks of causing negative reactions. If there are no instructions on the label, read guides that help you understand how oils work.
Choosing Products
High-quality products work the best. Whether they’re for your skin, hair, beard, or for using in aromatherapy, you should only settle for the best. Look closely at the price, ingredients, and the effects that it has. Remember that it’s also important to take into consideration the risks of using the product. You should also know where you can get the essential oil that you need.
Get to know these top brand choices that provide only high-quality essential oils. Explore the world of essential oils and learn all about the healing properties that nature can give you together with these brands. Your sensory journey starts now!
