All About Essential Oils – Origin, Usage and Benefits

How many of you will vote for natural treatment and beauty care? At least I will raise my hand in favor of it. With increase in the use of synthetic products, skin diseases and infections have become quite common. Thus, natural treatment is not a luxury but a necessity for many with sensitive skin. While some of them go for herbals, others use essential oils for their unique benefits. We will discuss some of the inherent benefits of essential oils but first of all, let us get an idea about what essential oils are.

What are essential oils and where did they come from?

Originally known as “quintessential oils”, the term has been derived from the concept of life force or spirit of the plants from which they are extracted using special techniques. The extracted hydrophobic liquid retains the aroma of the parent plant and are thus used extensively in Aromatherapy. It is believed that these oils are the spirit of the plants, which when extracted, retains all the effective properties of that plant that help to soothe our mind, body and enhance our spirit. Also, they have found a variety of usage in skin care and beauty treatments because of their natural properties.

The concept of essential oils is nothing new. It has been there for thousands of years when the early civilizations like the Egyptians and the Jews relied on their exceptional properties to cure ailments and enhance body and skin. Such was their effectiveness over the mind and body that they were even preferred over herbal medicines. In fact, it is said that herbal treatments came much later. However, in spite of the enhancing and healing properties of the ethereal oils, people turn to synthetic goods for skin care and beauty treatments. But, the ones who are aware of the inherent benefits of these natural oils, make it a point to use them in order to enhance their daily lives.

How to use essential oils?

You can use them directly on the skin but take care with your children and dilute with some natural oils before applying directly on their skin. However, most of them are considerably harmless for topical application and they tend to reduce skin irritations due to their anti-inflammatory properties. Some of them are oil of clove, rose oils, eucalyptus and Thyme. For topical applications, if you deem necessary, you can also fit a roller to the bottle and use it on your skin.

You can also inhale their aroma either directly from the bottle or with the help of an inhaler to enjoy its soothing benefits.

It is quite difficult to encompass all the benefits of using essential oils in a single post because there are countless of them. However, some of the most common ones have been discussed briefly below:

1. For home cleaning and other related purposes

The oils like cinnamon, citronella, eucalyptus, tea tree oils, clove, rosemary and others find application in home purification and cleaning purposes. While the eucalyptus and citronella are extensively used as mosquito repellents, others like clove and rosemary are mainly used to purify the air in your homes and provide an excellent aromatic atmosphere to enhance your senses. Lemon oil and tea tree oil mixed with water are mainly used in cleaning and disinfecting. You cal also use cinnamon oil as a natural disinfectant.

2. For use at Spas

Yes, lavender, the name you hear often is nothing but an essential oil used in spa therapy for their exceptional relaxation properties. They are said to improve sleep, thus getting rid of those awful nightmare. Lavender is also a natural stress reliever. For maximum effects, rub a small quantity of oil on the palm of your hands and breathe in the odor. You are bound to feel relaxed and considerable relieved of stress after sometime. Cedar wood, along with lavender are also used in body massage treatments while eucalyptus oil finds application in foot massage. You can also improve your yoga sessions by inhaling the beautiful aroma of sandalwood oil a few minutes before you step into the class.

3. For beauty and skin care

Tree tea oil mixed with some amount of honey can help reduce acne. A drop of peppermint oil is helps reduce problems of bad breath. Add cedar wood, lavender oil or Basil to your shampoo in order to get rid of an itchy scalp. Oils from lemon can be used as a natural teeth whitening element. You can also use grapefruit and lavender oil in your facial scrub.

4. Therapeutic benefits

Essential oils are said to have natural healing power. In the remote past, when people did not have medicines or even the herbal treatment, they used essential oils to cure ailments. Even today, they act as a relief to migraine headaches, bronchitis, asthma problems and reduce motion sickness.

By now, you may be well aware how these ethereal oils can contribute to your natural health and well-being. So, it is advisable to utilize some of their inherent benefits to uplift the condition of your life and enhance your feel-good senses.