Aromatherapy: What Is It All About?

There are so many ways to engage in the act of therapy. Health and wellbeing are now becoming such an important (and rightly so) part of life that people are looking far and wide in order to find the best ways to soothe the soul and chill out during them days where you simply must let off steam. Our days and weeks are becoming longer because of the need to work more, work later often with no added incentive and it’s starting to take its toll on many people. This extra work often seems unavoidable but something needs to give. People need to find a way to unwind. And quickly.

When you’ve had such a hectic, tiring week, it can often be one step too far in spending your spare time out and about. After a tough one, all you want to do is curl up with bad food and worse TV, but if you’re anything like me, that type of relaxation will only make you feel much worse as soon as you’ve finished. And in the long run, this certainly isn’t going to make you feel better. So, what gives? What do you do to truly unwind? Why not try aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is exactly what it sounds like on the tin. It’s a certain type of therapy that taps into the senses in the brain that seek out and are influenced by certain smells to produce certain feelings, emotions and in doing so helps you relax. That’s the simple way of putting it, but it’s a little more scientific than that.

The popularity of aromatherapy has been growing in recent years because of the rise in self-help, natural remedies and awareness around mental health issues. Because all of the scents used in aromatherapy are natural and non-man-made, this method of therapy is being seen as a much healthier, purer way to relaxation.

READ Relieving Stress with Aromatherapy

Used through oils and creams the work their way into our body, aromatherapy can easily be applied in the home and requires almost no background work or knowledge to administer. The oils - a vast range of natural scents - come in small glass tubes and the creams come in a standard plastic tube. How you choose to use the oil/cream is the fun bit!

The oils are typically used through either vapor or during bathing, with the hot water mixing into the liquid oil creating a beautiful smell that - with the added relaxation of the bath - help you unwind and chill out quickly. If you choose to merely use the vapor outside the bath, pouring into a small bowl of hot water and leaning over to inhale the scent.

The creams can be bought in many places, typically pharmacies and specialist stores, and are mainly administered through rubbing into a particularly stressed area of the body, very popular with headaches and migraines. Aromatherapy oils and creams are also regularly used in massage parlors as a secondary way to aid relaxation and to help you easily unwind. 

What Oils to Use

There’s such a vast array of oils to use that sometimes it’s a fairly intimidating job figuring out which is best for you and why to use it.  When deciding on these you’re best knowing what you’re looking to get from aromatherapy. I want to provide a little help with tells you what’s what.

Lavender

Lavender is a really useful, and multipurpose aromatherapy oil. When broken down and used in warm water and diluted, the scent given off has relaxing and soothing properties which can help you, basically, chill out. Not only that but it has anti-inflammatory elements to it that would help if you were suffering from a headache or instead wanted to use a cream on the neck or lower back.

With natural antiseptic and disinfectant parts to it, lavender could be used for cleaning places that become particularly dirty, like the kitchen for example. Another exciting use for this oil is to help you sleep. Because it’s such a calming scent, simply dab it onto a piece of tissue paper and breath in the smell. It will calm your mind and send you to sleep quicker. Worth a go!

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is an exciting type of aromatherapy product because it’s slightly different to some of the others. Whereas most depend on being calming, tea tree oil is great because its main feature is the way it can help you physically. The properties of tea tree oil are really great at helping oily, greasy sections of the skin as well as soothing any scalp issues you might have like dandruff or eczema. In the same way, tea tree oil can soothe irritable parts of the skin when used in a cream form or added to water and used in a bath. Tea tree oil is something that I use and it works wonders!

READ Why You Should Have Tea Tree Oil In Your Medicine Cabinet

Lemon

Lemon’s zesty and awakening scent can be used to buzz you up and help you become more mentally aware. It could be useful in preparing for an exam or even just helping you after a particularly late night/one too many drinks with work soon on the way. Also, as with lavender, lemon has antiseptic ingredients in it, so use this type of oil on grazes or small cracks in the skin to help them heal quicker and calm irritation. Another plus is that it’s super easy to get a hold of, finding it in any general store.

The benefits of aromatherapy are multiple. And while some people don’t get into it, the people who use this type of therapy swear by it and it is becoming increasingly popular. The fact that it’s so easy and such an accessible technique to do yourself should only serve as motivation to crack open the oils and try it once and for all, while there’s also the chance to have a masseuse use the oils while working away any physical stresses or strains. This is a really relaxing type of massage, and you’ll come out feeling relaxed and like a new person!