What is aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is using the help of essential plant oils to help your physical or mental health. Normally, the essential plant oils are inhaled or applied to the skin like a cream or lotion. Sometimes you can inhale and apply to your skin in sort of an aromatherapy double treatment. The most important thing to consider when you are delving into the aromatherapy world is that essential plant oils are highly concentrated and that they are derived from organically grown plants and herbs of the highest quality.
A fact that is often missed on people is that the practice of aromatherapy has been around for a long time, and many ancient medical texts (Egyptian, Greek and Chinese to name three of them) are dedicated to this ancient art of healing the body and bringing it to a proper balance. A really fun fact is that the ancient Egyptians often incorporated honey into their aromatherapy as both a catalyst and a matrix. Aah, gosh just thinking of the smell of heated honey is soothing to me even as I write this article but I digress. So..
Why is aromatherapy making such a strong resurgence now?
Because it WORKS!!! And in this day and age, any healthy methodology that allows a person to relax, heal and ease stress is a good thing indeed. Another reason is that it has been getting more and more healthy and “whole” due to the huge influx of purely organic essential oils. But really, why would you use anything but organic essential oils when pursuing an aroma-therapeutic course of action for your health?
So How Can You Achieve Your Beauty Goals With Aromatherapy?
The science and art behind aromatherapy is based on the principle that certain plants release elements or essences that have the natural power to heal the body. I like the sound of that. In fact, most modern medical drug treatments, and almost all traditional medicine is plant based, and has been for multiple thousands of years so we are really just returning to our roots.
The Chinese were writing treatises on willow bark (the basis of modern aspirin) and the power of fungus or bacteria (penicillin anyone?) to treat infections and the like in the human body over five thousand years ago. The Egyptians were training doctors in all forms of medicines including essential oil treatments three thousand years ago, and the ancient Greeks sent field medical technicians out to their battlefields armed with surgical implements, bandages and essential oils. Add to those time honored medical practices the simple fact that certain plants (lavender for example) have been proven scientifically to calm stressed people, and to aid in the healing process for sick or injured people.
The list of beneficial plants is enormous; it would take a thousand pages to describe all of them; and their component health benefits, but in many ways the modern science of aromatherapy has taken all of the legwork out of that particular research endeavor for you, by blending multiple essential oils. There is an aromatherapy treatment for every ailment or ache you can think of, from menstrual cramps to post-postpartum depression to sore muscles created by over exercising. There are multiple lines of aromatherapy oils available that are purely organic and manufactured in a “green” or eco-friendly way, which is far healthier than non-natural production or product.
OK get to the point already, how does it help with my beauty regime? Well, I’ve mentioned it twice now. You can use it as an aromatherapy double treatment, which means that when you have aromatherapy essential oils in your skincare products, you are not only healing your skin but you are also decreasing stress which has a visible effect on your skin. Have you ever looked in the mirror when you were stressed? YIKES!! Enough said.
In addition, science has stepped in to further the explosion in Aromatherapy use and application
Multiple scientific treatises in the last five to ten years support the premise that the inhalation or topical application of essential oils supports multiple biological processes in the body, from lavender stimulating free radical scavenging and immune system response to injury; to clary sage stimulating hormone production at varying levels. The scientific exploration of aromatherapy is very new, but the future proves to hold the key to what so many ancient people knew as fact; essential plant oils are integral to over-all health.
Explore what aromatherapy has to offer you
Whether you choose aromatherapy as a sole treatment for a given complaint, or choose to use it in concert with other treatment modalities, it is a way to introduce the most powerful and time-tested tool in the arsenal of good health and beauty. Plants, who’d have ever thunk it! Learn more about aromatherapy and its uses then take the plunge!