There are many different aromatherapy benefits that help people find health and well being. Perhaps the most important are the completely natural qualities of aromatherapy, the emphasis on preventative measures and on clients learning to take responsibility for their own health care.

Essential oils are a precious gift from Nature, derived with only minimal human intervention, as you will discover in the following section . The vegetable base oils used to dilute essential oils before massage are also natural. Both base and essential oils work in harmony with the human body, minimizing any risk of adverse reactions.

In the modern world there are many chemicals and synthetics in common use, to which increasing numbers of people suffer allergic reactions, such as asthma, skin rashes, digestive upsets, and so on. Aromatherapy’s natural qualities help to redress the problems caused by excessive use of these unnatural substances.

Focus on Prevention

The emphasis of aromatherapy can be summed up as ‘Prevention is better than cure’. In practical terms, this means that an aromatherapist will look at a client’s lifestyle holistically and suggest simple changes that can prevent illness or disease arising in the first place.

For example, one of the most common problems that clients present with is backache. Aromatherapy massage reduces pain and dispels the stress and tension that are a major cause of back pain. However, there are many other potential causes of backache. The aromatherapist will go through these

with the client to see if physical causes such as an uncomfortable work chair, a sagging mattress or an unsupportive car seat might be contributing to the problem. Redressing such causes will alleviate some, if not all, of the problem.

Prevention leads naturally into the arena of self-responsibility. The aromatherapist will encourage clients to look after themselves, to be involved in, and take responsibility for their own health care. In this way clients can actively seek their own health and well being, with assistance from the aromatherapist.

If you have a puffy complexion, or a cold, sinusitis, hay fever or nasal congestion that causes headaches, then a draining facial massage can help to relieve the symptoms. Production of excess mucus in nasal and respiratory passages is the body’s response to inflammation caused by infection (colds and flu) or irritants (dust and pollen). The nasal passages contract through inflammation, and the mucus becomes trapped in the sinuses, causing pain and congestion.

In addition to draining facial massage, steam inhalations using lavender, eucalyptus or peppermint help to ease pain and congestion. Avoid dairy and wheat products, because these are both mucus-forming.

How To Perform Facials

You Will Need

An essential oil and base oil according to skin type use a 1 percent dilution of lavender

What To Do

1. Start the facial massage according to the instructions on site. After the firm strokes on the forehead, start the drainage techniques.
2. Using both index fingers, one on each side of the face, place your fingertips on the bony ridge just under the eyebrows at the inner edge. Press firmly upwards, hold for two seconds, then release the pressure and, moving slightly along the eyebrow, press upwards firmly again. Repeat this procedure until you reach the outermost edge of the eyebrow. Start again at the inner edge, and do it twice more.
3. Now start with your index fingers just above each eyebrow. Using firm pressure, make large circles outwards. Follow the line above the eyebrow, down past the side of the eye (being careful not to get close to the eye), then across the top of the cheekbone and up the side of the nose, until you reach the point where you started. Make a total of six circles.
4. Starting in the same place, do six circles going in the other direction.
5. Finish by completing the rest of the facial massage sequence.

Facial steaming with essential oils offers an extra dimension to the cleansing process. A facial steam increases perspiration, deeply cleanses the pores and encourages the elimination of deep-seated wastes and toxins. Steaming also softens and loosens the dead skin cells, making them easier to remove, and hydrates the skin.

Avoid steaming if there are thread veins or broken veins, because steam will aggravate these. If the skin is very sensitive, or if there is sunburn or other inflammation, steaming should also be avoided All other skin types will benefit from a weekly facial steam with essential oils – especially oily skin.

Special facial saunas are available, some of which are designed for home use. However, you can achieve almost as good an effect using a bowl of boiling water and a towel to cover your head.

How To Perform It

You Will Need

A facial sauna or bowl of boiling water:

• A large towel
• An essential oil appropriate to your skin type
• Flower water appropriate to your skin type
• A light moisturizer

What To Do

1. Prepare your facial sauna or bowl of boiling water, making sure that you have a large towel nearby.
2. Add 5-10 drops of essential oil, according to the strength of aroma desired.
3. Either place your face in the facial sauna according to the manufacturer’s instructions or hold your face a little way above the bowl of boiling water and essential oil, and place the towel over you r head.
4. Keep your eyes closed, but be careful not to get your face too close to the hot water. If the initial vapour of the essential oil is very strong, lift your head away for a few moments, until the vapour is less powerful.
5. After steaming for five minutes, wipe your face and allow it to cool. Then spray it with flower water, allowing it to dry naturally. This further cools the face and closes the pores.
6. Finally, apply a light moisturizer.

Essential oils are highly concentrated, as you can deduce from the fact that it takes thousands of rose petals to produce a single drop of rose essential oil. This potency must be respected, and the way you handle and use essential oils is important. Following the guidelines given below (and elsewhere in this book) will ensure that you use essential oils safely and effectively.

Because these oils are powerful and highly concentrated, they can be toxic if used incorrectly. However, if you handle the oils carefully and follow a few simple safety tips, they are safe and beneficial.

Safety Guidelines

As already mentioned, you should never take essential oils orally. Avoid all contact between essential oils and the delicate mouth area, and avoid placing them in or near your eyes.

Some essential oils can cause irritation if they are applied undiluted to the skin, so this is recommended only occasionally and in specific circumstances with selected oils. Otherwise, apply only properly diluted essential oils to the skin, and follow the recipes and methods carefully. Do not increase the amount of essential oils used in the recipes.

Certain essential oils, such as spices, may cause skin irritation on those with sensitive skin. Occasionally a slight redness or itchiness might occur from using these or other essential oils. If this happens, put some base cream or base oil, such as sweet almond oil, on the affected area and then apply a cold wet flannel until the redness or itchiness disappears.

If you accidentally splash a drop of essential oil in your eyes, use a small amount of base oil to dilute the essential oil, and absorb this with a soft cloth, before rinsing your eyes with cold water. If there is a serious incident, seek medical attention.

A few essential oils, such as bergamot and other citrus oils, are phototoxic. This means that they might cause skin discoloration in bright sunlight, even when diluted. It is therefore best to avoid using bergamot and other citrus oils on exposed skin if the weather is sunny.

Currently there are so many warnings about exposure to the sun that knowing how to protect your skin from harmful rays is quite daunting. Despite this mood of alarm, many people still like to sunbathe in moderation, especially on holiday. If you take sensible precautions and avoid excessive exposure to the sun, then a little moderate sunbathing need not be absolutely forbidden.

Great care must be taken when exposing your skin to the sun. The increasing prevalence of skin cancer is a major health caution, but exposing your skin to the sun for long periods of time, or with great frequency, also speeds up the ageing process. People who have sunbathed excessively develop a leathery skin texture, their suntan fades into a sallow yellow colour, and the general appearance of their skin is unattractive.

How to Sunbathe Safely

Before sunbathing: to enjoy moderate exposure to the sun, first consider your complexion. If you have fair or red hair you will probably have fair skin, and this can tolerate less sun than a darker complexion. Adjust the time spent in the sun accordingly. A week before starting to sunbathe, you need to start conditioning your skin. Do a couple of exfoliating body scrubs during the week to remove all dead skin cells. Apply a moisturizing body lotion daily with a 2 per cent dilution of essential oils that will nourish and protect the skin. Choose from patchouli, palmarosa, neroli, lavender and frankincense.

During sunbathing: choose an appropriate-strength sunscreen lotion for your complexion, taking into consideration the strength of the sun in the area of the world where you will be. Avoid sunbathing between noon and 3 pm when the sun is hottest. Drink lots of water, wear a sunhat and above all do not spend too long in the sun, especially at the beginning.

After sunbathing: cool the skin with a long, cold shower. Liberally apply a rich moisturizing body lotion with 1 per cent dilution of cooling, regenerating essential oils, such as roman chamomile, german chamomile, jasmine, lavender, neroli, carrot seed, rosewood and rose absolute.

There are three principal methods of extracting essential oils from aromatic plants. These are: expression processes; distillation processes; a nd extraction using volatile solvents.

Expression

This method is only used for citrus fruit. The essential oils in citrus fruits are situated close to the surface of the peel and are easily obtained by squeezing and scarification (finely puncturing the peel) Expression methods include the sponge method and machine abrasion, the former being more traditional and producing a very pure essential oil.

You can experiment at home with hand expression and produce small quantities of your own citrus essential oils. Wash and dry the fruit and cut off segments of peel. Using your fingers, squeeze the peel over a small bowl to collect the drops of essential oil. Store them in a small, dark glass bottle with a dropper insert, and use them as you would any other citrus oil.

Distillation

Distillation processes involve heating the plant material until a vapour is formed, then cooling the vapour until it becomes liquid. In water distillation, the plant material is covered in water and heated in a vacuum-sealed container. This method is slower and sometimes inferior to steam-distillation, because certain delicate components of essential oils are damaged by exposure to heat. The more efficient steam-distillation uses steam under pressure to swiftly extract the essential oil.

Solvent Extraction

For the most delicate plant material, such as flowers, and for those containing only a small amount of essential oil, solvent extraction processes are used. The main advantage is that this method is gentle, but the resulting essential oils include non-volatile waxes and plant dyes, as well as the essential oil itself. Nonetheless, these essential oils are considered by many authorities to be fine for use in aromatherapy. The main solvents used in modern production are volatile hydrocarbons (such as hexane).

A recent innovation is a process called hypercritical carbon dioxide. This is reputed by some authorities to produce essential oils of very high quality and purity, though others are critical of oils produced in this way. The process requires very expensive equipment, so essential oils produced in this manner are difficult to obtain and expensive.

What are Essential Oils?

Aromatic plants produce fragrant essences in secretory cells, using nutrients from the soil and water, and light and warmth from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. These naturally occurring plant essences attract beneficial insects, such as bees, to help pollination and deter less friendly insects that would otherwise eat or damage the plant.

In many aromatic plants the secretory cells are near the surface, located in flowers and leaves. When you walk past these plants and brush against them, this releases the fragrance into the air. The beauty and magic of these essences are often described as the aromatic heart, life force or energy, and soul or spirit of the plant. When aromatic plants are distilled (usually by steam distillation), the essences undergo subtle chemical changes and turn into essential oils.

The term ‘essential oil’ is generally applied to all the aromatic oils used in aromatherapy, although strictly speaking this is not technically correct. Oils extracted from citrus fruits using simple expression of the rinds are still the plant essence. Some floral oils, such as jasmine, are obtained by a process called enfleurage or solvent extraction. This produces a ‘concrete’, which then undergoes further solvent extraction to produce an ‘absolute’. However, for ease and simplicity, the term ‘essential oil’ is often used generally to mean all aromatherapy oils.

Main Characteristics of Essential Oils

Many essential oils are light, clear and non greasy, although a few are viscous and some are coloured. However, they all share one important characteristic: they will only dissolve in fatty oils, such as almond or sunflower oil, or in alcohol. They will not dissolve in water, and this has implications for the way they are used.

Essential oils are very concentrated and powerful, and are greatly diluted before use in aromatherapy. In a massage oil, for example, the dilution of essential oil in base oil is around 2 or possibly 3 percent. Essential oils are only rarely used undiluted, and in very specific instances. They are also highly volatile and evaporate quickly when exposed to the air, so they are best kept in airtight, dark glass bottles.