Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose oil is often thought about in conjunction with taking evening primrose capsules - but did you know it was a carrier oil which is also used in aromatherapy?  The research and scientific evidence about whether evening primrose rose actually works is all a bit contradictory but there are some areas in which evening primrose oil is effective.  Skin conditions seem to be the main use of evening primrose oil - to learn more, read my full article Evening Primrose Carrier Oil....

Amazing Facts About Essential Oils

Although I've studied a lot about essential oils in the course of my aromatherapy studies, I still continually research and revise information for articles which I write for various web magazines and for my own blog. Some of the facts I discover/re-discover continue to amaze me, so I thought that I would share some of what, I consider, to be some of the amazing things about aromatherapy.  Of course there are many more but these are my favorite top ten amazing facts about essential oils! If you have anything to add, please leave me a comment below this blog post!

• there are only 21 plant families which produce essential oils (source: Aromatherapy Workbook, Shirley Price, 2000)
• only one per cent of the entire plant species population produce essential oils (source: Aromatherapy Massage for You, Jennie Harding, 2005)
• essentials oils, as used today, were 'discovered' by French chemist, Rene Maurice Gattefosse, in 1928, only 82 years ago (although, the use of plant oils, in various forms, have been in use for centuries)
• on the other side of the coin, ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans were using plant oils for medicinal and beauty purposes long before 'modern day' aromatherapy was 'invented'
• an Arab physician, by the name of Avicenna (980 A.D. - 1037 A.D.), is accredited with the invention of a refrigerated coil which changed the way plants were distilled; this method is still used today
• the exact chemical components of all essential oils is still not known; scientists have studied the chemical components of many essential oils and are still establishing what some essential oils are made up of.  Rose essential oil, for example, has some unknown chemical components, which is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to 'copy' the exact aroma of rose in synthetic form
• the bitter orange tree produces three different essential oils: petitgrain essential oil (from the leaves), neroli essential oil (from the flowers) and bitter orange essential oil (from the fruit).  The sweet orange tree produces one essential oil from the fruit
• many plant species/families produce different varieties of similar or different essential oils; examples include the lavender essential oils, the sage essential oils and the chamomile essential oils
• essential oils are versatile in their use; known for their healing properties, essential oils can also be used in the home as a natural cleaning product, to repel insects, in the use of pets and even assist plants in the garden, effectively taking them back to their source!
• an 'essential oil' is not always an essential oil - it may actually be a concrete, resin, resinoid, oleoresin or hydrosol.

Essential Oils for Pets

A few people have asked me about the use of essential oil for dogs and cats; I have no experience or training in this area, and for the inexperienced, it can be a case of 'trial and error' because cats and dogs (and other animals) react differently to humans in the use of essential oils.  This is partly due to their various sizes, different PH levels and other anomalies.

Horses have long been known to respond positively to all types of alternative healing - including aromatherapy.  I don't personally own a horse, so I can't verify that absolutely but it is common knowledge.

However, I do own a dog and recently I have been looking for an alternative treatment to the veterinary endorsed flea and pest medications; althought these medications kept the fleas and other insects off my dog, he didn't really like them.  Every time I went to apply the medication, he ran away and hid or struggled all the time I was applying it.  He was also sick a couple of times after the application which made me think that he wasn't actually responding that well to the chemicals it was made up of.  They say animals tend to know what is good for them (sometimes!) so....

I finally looked to essential oils for an answer.  My dog is not a big dog - he is a cavalier king charles spaniel who weighs approximately 21 lbs (at best guess, its a while since he was actually weighed!).  After researching Valerie Ann Worwood's book The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, in which she has a chapter on using essential oils for pets, I narrowed my choice down to either citronella essential oil or lemongrass essential oil.

I chose to use citronella essential oil and applied a single drop to my dog's neck, after first letting him sniff it.  Although he wasn't keen at the actual application (he actually doesn't like anything being put on him!), he wasn't opposed to the aroma and didn't react to it as negatively as the chemical medication - and so far it appears to have worked.

Every dog is different, so if you are using essential oils for pets I would advise doing a patch test first, know your dog, and let him 'choose' the essential oil.  Take extra care in using essential oils for pets, particularly if you have little or no experience or knowledge of using essential oils.

Valerie Ann Worwood's book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, is available in my Amazon book store for purchase.

If you have any thoughts on using "Essential Oils for Pets" please post a comment below!

Apricot Kernel Oil

Apricot Kernel oil is a similar oil to Sweet Almond oil and is a popular oil used in aromatherapy and massage.  Discover the properties of Apricot Kernel oil by reading my latest carrier oil profile, Apricot Kernel Carrier Oil...

The Practice of 'Aromatherapy' in Ancient Pompeii

Aromatherapy, as we know it today, is actually a relatively modern practice.  Students of aromatherapy know that Rene Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist, is accredited with the 'discovery' of the power of essential oils in 1928.  Rene Maurice Gattefosse badly burned his hand, whilst carrying out his work, and immediately plunged his hand into the nearby vat of water -except the vat of water turned out to be a vat of lavender.  Gatterfosse was amazed at the lack of burn scarring on his hand and thus aromatherapy, or as the French call it 'aromatherapie' was born. (Incidently, my business Sedona Aromatherapie takes its name from the French for aromatherapy, although this causes much confusion amongst non-aromatherapy educated individuals!).

However, ancient people have been using plants - and their oils - for thousands of years.  Many argue that this is not 'aromatherapy', and in the most strict sense of the word, this is correct. However, the oils the ancient people used might not be the same as essential oils distilled today (the distillation process of essential oils was greatly advanced by Avicenna in ancient Persia) but these ancient people certainly knew the power of a plant's oils and properties.  The Ebers Papyrus of Ancient Egypt lists many plants which ancient Egytpians used.

On a visit to Pompeii in Italy a couple of years ago I was fascinated to learn that amongst the archeological excavations of ancient Pompeii was the discovery of the use of many plants and oils, several used in similar ways to the way we use them today.  And this was in 79 A.D.  A fascinating book on this subject (and more) is Perfumes, Ungents and Hairstyles in Pompeii by Carlo Giordano, Angelandrea Casale.  The book is published in both Italian and English.

To learn more about how Pompeiians used plants and oils read:

Ancient Perfumes of Pompeii
Lost Medicinal Plants of Pompeii

Of course, the Pompeiians weren't the only ones who used plants and oils in aromatic ways.  England and Europe used many ancient 'lotions and potions' throughout the preceding centuries, many of which got 'lost' in the 'dark' ages.  However, today many people are rediscovering the benefits of aromatherapy and essential oils - perhaps we can look back to our ancestors for some ancient 'aromatherapy' advice!

You may also be interested in the related blog post - The Historical Use of Aromatherapy in Skincare

If you have any comments on 'The Practice of 'Aromatherapy' in Ancient Pompeii' please post a comment below!

Aromatherapy in the Garden

For my first blog post of the New Year, I got to thinking about aromatherapy in the garden.  Spring is not far away, although depending on where you live it may seem like winter will never end! This year I really want to try and add some fragrant and aromatic plants and flowers to my porch/yard/garden.

A book which I have found extremely useful in this area is one which is on my favorite books list, on the left hand side of the blog - that is An Aromatherapy Garden by Julia Lawless.  Although it is written from an English perspective, I think it contains many interesting and useful facts and information no matter where you live in the world.  To give you an idea of what the book contains, here's a list of the contents page:

• history of the scented garden
• aromatic herbs for health and cooking
• a perfumery and aromatherapy border
• fragrant exotica and container plants
• secrets from the still room
• planning an aromatherapy garden
• aromatherapy plant potraits.

Of course, it depends on where you live as to what is possible to grow, but if you have an interest in both aromatherapy and plants, I would highly recommend this book, to give you some ideas.  It also contains many beautiful photos of flowers and plants which will inspire you if nothing else!  You can purchase the book by clicking on the link on the left hand side of the page, which also directs you to a review of the book.

I also have a couple of articles in the Sedona Aromatherapie library about aromatherapy garden, including an article I wrote on return from a trip to Pompeii in Italy, a couple of years ago.  I'll write more about that next time but in the meantime, here's the link for the two articles:

• Gardens of Pompeii
• An Aromatherapy Garden

People often associate aromatherapy with the bottles of essential oils - and often forget where those essential oils originally came from, so I think that creating your very own aromatherapy garden is both a reminder of that and a tranquil and calming place to study more about aromatherapy!  At least, that is my intention for the following year!

If you have any thoughts on aromatherapy and gardens please post me a comment below!