Essential oils are believed to be a form of alternative medicine. The extracted oil from the plant is called ‘the soul of the plant’, which we think is quite fitting. These extracts can support well-being, a clear mind, and overall health.
On the contrary, the qualms around the health benefits of essential oils are strongly debated.
Aromatherapy oils have been used in ancient cultures throughout history. The extracts from the plants were used for medicinal purposes, religious purposes and were known to have benefited the body, mind, spirit on both a physical and emotional level.
You can use essential oils for skin, as your skin is the largest organ we have. With three main layers, the epidermis, dermis and subcutis. It is vitally important to keep this organ healthy and essential oil helps us do that.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oil is extracted out of a herb or plant such as lavender where the essence is distilled or cold-pressed out of the plant matter. This creates a concentrate of the plant extract that keeps the smell and flavor of the extracted plant.
Is CBD An Essential Oil?
Essential oils are not designed to be ingested, whereas CBD oil also extracted from the cannabis plant can be. There are numerous health benefits around CBD oils just like essential oils. If you would like to find out more information on CBD products or searching for a ‘dispensary near me’ then follow the link. You do however get cannabis essential oil which we will elaborate on in a little more detail later on.
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How to Use Essential Oils
So then how do I use essential oils if I can’t ingest them? There are a couple of techniques that can be used in order to get the required amount of these oils in your system. One of the best methods of using essential oils is to inhale them or use them as a skin massage oil.
Or, you could put a few drops of your essential oils mixed with a carrier oil into your bath. This allows for absorption in your skin as well as the benefits of mixing the hot water and steam making an essential oil vapor that you inhale.
Another common use of essential oils is to use them in an essential oil diffuser. There are many different types of diffusers that you could use:
- Lamp rings
- Electric
- Candle
- Ultrasonic
- Ceramic
Please make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure safety precautions are met. The purpose of an air diffuser is to disperse the essential oils into the air, which helps create a relaxed and calm environment while giving you the benefits of inhaling the vapor.
If you have a home office you can use your essential oils to help keep your mind fresh and focused, take a look at these other tips and tricks for your home office.
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Best Essential Oils & Essential Oils Uses
There are many different types of essential oils. You can make them from herbs, trees, and fruits. Each of these essential oils has different benefits and helps with different ailments like headaches, nasal congestion, stress and anxiety, libido, nausea, and insomnia. Let’s take a look at some of the different essential oil extracts and their benefits.
- Lemon
- Orange
- Tea tree
- Lavender
- Peppermint
- Cannabis
essential oils are commonly used at holistic spas for their relaxing and rejuvenating benefits such as this spa.
Benefits of Essential Oils
Lemon essence is fantastic in your air diffuser or a couple of drops in your bath. It benefits your immune system, blood circulation, and has also shown to help with boils.
Tea tree oil has been used in numerous skincare products, along with creams to help pain relief and massage oils. The medical benefits of this oil are incredible. Tea tree has been proven to help treat dandruff. The tea tree oil helps remove dead skin off the scalp.
Tea tree has also been used for its anti-inflammatory properties where you can use it as a muscle relaxant, which helps relieve pain.
Peppermint has a strong fresh smell that helps us clear out sinuses, as well as having nausea suppressing properties. This extract comes from a plant in the mint family being a cross between watermint and spearmint. This essential oil extract can help with headaches, common cold to irritable bowel syndrome. The use of peppermint in traditional medicine dates back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Lavender is an essential oil that you should definitely keep in your collection, it brings on a calming effect that helps us naturally de-stress and relax. Lavender contains a naturally occurring terpene called linalool, this terpene acts as a sedative and supports a healthy immune system. This terpene helps activate our bodies parasympathetic response which induces a resting state and anti-anxiety effects.
Orange extract can also help to ease stress, just be wary that this essential oil can cause skin burns when exposed to direct sunlight. So, if you are planning on going to the beach make sure you only have your essential oil bath when you get home later that evening. This oil has also been shown to help our nervous system
Cannabis essential oil,otherwise known as hemp oil, contains a wide array of terpenes, and is extracted from the stem, flower, and upper leaves of the hemp plant. Uses of cannabis essential oil are: antiviral, incest repellent, antifungal and antimicrobial. Some of these cannabis essential oils have been developed for flavoring drinks while still keeping these healing properties.
For more information on essential oils and finding what will work best for you follow this link.
Or you may be asking how to extract oil from plants? For more information follow this link.
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Final Thoughts – Essential Oils & Health Benefits
As we have seen, essential oils have been used in medicines dating back to ancient Egyptian times. During this time there were no such things as doctors and compounds like drugs. So humans resorted to herbs for their healing properties and extracted the essence of the plant creating essential oils.
There are many different ways you can use essential oils, depending on the oil type and what plant it has been extracted from. It’s recommended to inhale them through an essential oil air diffuser, or even placing a couple of drops on the collar of your shirt or on the cover of your pillow.
Adding essential oils into your daily life can create a huge lift in mood and overall well-being, along with adding a pleasant fresh clean smell to your home.
