If you are in need of some relaxation and anti-stress, using aromatherapy can be incredibly beneficial and wonderful, particularly with the relaxing scent of lavender. Contrary to common belief, aromatherapy is not just a matter of fragrance, but of healing.
To utilize aromatherapy, one uses aromas for therapeutic purposes. Highly concentrated extracts from herbs, flowers, and other plants are utilized for healing.
These extracts are also known as essential oils. Specific properties of essential oils can create healing effects within the human body.
When these fragrances are inhaled deeply or applied to the skin (via carrier oils) beneficial results will occur. Let's explore the basics of this art.
Some of the well-known benefits are relaxation, increased energy, and pleasant memory association. Other benefits include an enhanced immune system, appetite stimulants or suppressants, weight management, and hormone regulation.
To achieve healing benefits, it is necessary to use full strength, undiluted essential oils. Look for the term "100% essential oil" on labels.
It is important to realize that essential oils may be labeled as l00% essential, but this does not guarantee that they are pure. The essential oil industry grades the quality of 100% essential oils on a scale of 1 through 5.
A grade of 1 is the purest, highest grade. Lower grade oils are extracted using lower quality processes.
Some of these processes include adding chemicals to extract oil or using heat to enhance the extraction process. Methods like these destroy the vital essence.
They definitely do not produce a pure, safe to inhale product. Therefore, these inferior ones cannot be recommended for therapeutic purposes.
Lavender is one of the more versatile and useful of all herbs, with a long history of use in medicinal healing. The essences extracted from this herb are used for medicinal purposes for both humans as well as pets and lavender is also a popular fragrance found throughout the cosmetic industry.
The scent of lavender is associated with comfort, and aromatherapists have long used lavender in the treatment of depression and nervous conditions. Though mainstream medicine has regarded aromatherapy as an unproven therapy with only placebo effect benefits, a recent study in Japan proved otherwise.
The study found that inhaling the fragrant compound linalool made stress-elevated levels of neutrophils and lymphocytes return to near normal levels (both neutrophils and lymphocytes are key parts of the immune system). Lavender was cited as the plant which has the highest concentrations of linalool.
The herb lavender was originally native to Mediterranean countries. Today it can be found in Europe, Australia, and the southern portion of the United States.
There are two different types of lavender: spike lavender has broad spatula-like leaves; French lavender leaves are narrower with small dark flowers. It contains a higher content of ceneol and camphor and produces three times as much oil as other kinds.
The higher content of these ingredients makes it less pleasing, however, and French is considered the more fragrant of the two. Numerous studies have reported that they may be beneficial in a number of conditions, including migraines, headaches, depression, anxiety, mood swings, fear, and exhaustion.
Lavender can also be used during labor and it has been found to be useful for eczema and dermatitis. In addition, lavender has also been used to treat cancer in the breast, liver, and spleen.
Other conditions it has been used for include: heart palpitations, arthritis, joint inflammation, fainting, neuralgia, vertigo, insomnia, epilepsy and other seizures, rheumatism, sore muscles, sprains, flatulence, colic, nausea, vomiting, toothache, acne, wounds, snakebites, hoarseness, loss of voice, allergies, sunburn and sunstroke, abscess, alopecia, asthma, athletes foot, insect bites, boils, burns, colds, colic, coughs, cystitis, earache and respiratory infections. Lavender lifts spirits, stimulates appetite, and even dispels flatulence.
It is a major ingredient in the use of smelling salts. Pets also benefit through its healing properties.
It is used not only as a sedative, but also as a flea and tick repellent. Besides health and cosmetics, it is also used in flavoring foods such as desserts, gelatin, puddings, candy, and tea.
In some areas of the world, it is added to salads. It is used in a variety of commercial fragrances, such as perfumes, soaps, and toiletries.
It is a scent commonly used in potpourri and sachets. It was once used as an insect repellent in the storing of clothes.
Even though they blend well with each other, lavender blends especially well with cedar wood, clary sage, geranium, pine, nutmeg, and all the citrus oils. Try some today!
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry has worked since 1986 as an interior decorator specializing in home decor. He has written hundreds of articles about decorating home and office spaces including finding the right kind of scentsy.
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