I-Green - e-Learn - Aromatherapy & Essential Oils

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Aromatherapy & Essential Oils
“Each plant contains a unique combination of oils in its roots, leaves, seed, bark, and flowers that is known as its essential oil. The essential oils of selected plants are used in aromatherapy to foster balance and harmony of body, mind and spirit. Their therapeutic benefit may result from their effect on hormones and other chemical messengers in the body and brain.” Extract from Curing Everyday Ailments the Natural Way – Reader 's Digest.

ABOUT AROMATHERAPY
Aromatherapy comes from two words. Aroma means smell or scent and therapy means treatment. In short, aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to benefit the physical and emotional well being of our body. The origins of aromatherapy can be traced back the religious, medical and social practices of the ancient great civilizations. The Chinese were probably the first to discover the medicinal powers of natural plants around 4500 BC. However, the Egyptians were largely credited for first recognizing and fully exploiting the spiritual and healing properties of the aromatic essence.

Modern aromatherapy is credited to the French doctor and scientist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse who coined the name “aromatheraphy” to describe treatment with essential oils. While working in the laboratory of a perfumery, he burnt his hand badly and to relieve pain, he plunged his hand into the nearest available liquid which happened to be Lavender essential oil. Ironically, the burns healed very quickly with minimal scarring. The incident prompted him to research into the healing properties of essential oils. His research discovered that essential oils are more powerful in their natural state than when their active ingredients are used in isolation. Today, there is a widespread use of aromatherapy in many fields of conventional medicine. Aromatherapy harnesses the pure and natural essences of aromatic plants to restore the harmony of body and mind through massage, vaporizer/burner, inhalation, compression, bath, skincare and spritzer.

Essential oils are used in aromatherapy because of their therapeutic properties. For good results, always use 100% pure essential oils but not perfume oils that do not have the healing properties of essential oils.

ABOUT ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential oils are sometimes called the “Life Force” of plants. Essential oils extracted from various parts of plants such as flowers, roots, leaves, barks and fruits have long been recognized for their healing, cleaning, preservative, mood-enhancing and natural aromatic properties. Aromatheraphy is the use of these therapeutic essential oils to treat common ailments, promote healing, physical and emotional balance and well being. Up until a century ago, plants, herbs, roots, leaves and fruits are used to heal a variety of illness. Only very recently, with the advanced of sciences, man started to manufacture synthetic drug for healing purposes. However, the synthetic drugs, despite their medicinal benefits, also carry the risk of undiscovered side effects.

Essential oils enter into our body through inhalation and are directed by the olfactory system to the limbic system of the brain. The brain, in turn, responds to the scent which may affect our emotion and chemical balance.

Essential oils can also enter our body via absorption through the skin, and reach various parts of our body and internal organs through the circulatory system.

How Essential Oils Are Produced and Stored
Essential oils are mostly colorless, volatile, and strongly aromatic in concentrated form. They are extracted from various parts of plants normally through the process of steam distillation. The process involves heating the oil-giving parts of plants inside a stainless steel distillation vat. The pressure of the steam around the vat breaks down the plant cell material, releasing the essential oil. Upon cooling, the essential oils are separated from the water. The residual water is known as “floral water” and is used for other cosmetic purposes. Some plant materials such as citrus fruits are simply pressed to release the juice and essential oils while others such as rose and jasmine are extracted using a solvent and some heat; the solvent evaporates, leaving behind an extract as absolute (essential oils)

Essential oils are very expensive to produce due to the generally labor intensive process and the quantities of plant parts required to produce the oil. For examples, to produce 1 kg of Jasmine oil would require 4 million flowers and it takes1000 kg of rose petals to produce 1 kg of rose oil! Essential oils are sensitive to extreme temperature, ultra violet light, air and dampness. They will also corrode plastic and rubber. As such, they should be stored in sealed, dark glass bottles in cool, dry place, away from heat source and sunlight. They should never be stored in plastic bottles. Essential oils, if properly packaged, will last for more than a year. Some oils, such as lemon, orange and lime may not last that long.

Safety Precaution When Using Essential Oils
Essential oils are safe when used correctly. If in doubt, always consult a qualified aromatherapist or your health practitioner. Some precautions that you should keep in mind are:

1) Never take essential oils internally
2) Avoid contact with eyes
3) Do not use undiluted essential oils on the skin
4) If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or having medical conditions such as epilepsy and high/low blood pressure, consult a qualified therapist or your health practitioner before use

Buying Essential Oils
The quality of essential oils depends on several factors such as the growing conditions of the plants (soil, cultivation method and weather) and the timing of harvest. That is why the aroma and natural content of essential oils can vary significantly from the country of origin and the ways they are harvested and produced.

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to determine the pureness and content of essential oils.

Scientific methods such as Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometer Analyses are two methods for identifying and analyzing the content of essential oils. Essential oils are sold in concentrated or blended form. In blend form, the oils are diluted in carrier oil(s). Pure essential oils, either concentrated or diluted, has a sweet smelling, subtle scent compare to the strong synthetic fragrance which has no therapeutic value. Only pure essential oils have the therapeutic effects that cheap synthetic imitation cannot duplicate.

Because of the large amount of plant parts require to produce the essential oils, be aware that some products in the market have been adulterated with low quality, commercial-grade oils or other chemical substances to maximize profit.

I-Green sources its essential oils from reliable and established producers in countries where the plants grow indigenously to ensure essential oils of highest therapeutic quality. For a list of essential oils and it uses, see Blending Essential Oils e-Learn topic.