Essential oils: What you need to start your ‘aromatherapy journey’

In this article and the next we will keep to basic blends so that beginning your journey with aromatherapy will be easy for you.

Aromatherapy is a holistic approach to improving one’s wellbeing by using oils for healing therapy.

What you will need to start up

• A few 10ml glass amber or blue dropper bottles
• A few 10ml roller-ball bottles
• Carrier oil such as coconut, sweet almond, olive, grape seed or sunflower
• Pure essential oils of frankincense, myrrh, cedarwood, lavender, orange, lemon, peppermint or spearmint, geranium, clary Sage, cinnamon leaf and vetiver

What to look out for when buying essential oils

There are many essential oil products currently on the market. But how do you know what to buy? Here are some tips on what to look out for.

• Look for oils bottled in dark amber or blue glass dropper bottles. The label should clearly be marked as pure essential oil as well as its botanical INCI name. An example of this is lavender which is Lavandula Angustifolia.  
• The botanical INCI name is the most important on the label as it will tell you which species of plant the oil comes from. Some plants can produce numerous essential oils such as the orange tree. Essentials are extracted from its leaves, branches, the rind of the fruit and the blossoms.  
• Buy from a reputable, trusted source with excellent reviews.
• If the oil is cheap, than you should carefully consider if you want to buy it. Essential oils are not cheap. To extract them, a lot of plant material is used. It takes 10,000 roses to make just 5ml of rose essential oil. Cheap products might mean that it has been blended with an inferior chemical that can cause harm to your skin and lungs.

The first daily blend you can try

Reduce my pain blend:

• 10ml dropper or roller-ball bottle
• 9ml carrier oil of choice
• 8 drops peppermint (Mentha piperita) essential oil
• 8 drops myrrh (Commiphora Wildii) essential oil
• 8 drops frankincense (Boswellia Serrata) essential oil

Apply this on the area of pain several times a day. For headaches, apply or roll this on the temples and behind the neck.

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