What are Essential Oils? | Why do you need them?

In recent years Essential Oils have become increasingly popular, they are no longer used just by aromatherapist but by everyone. The benefits and properties of essential oils are well researched and studied by professionals, the use of them goes back many years. When used correctly essential oils can be useful for so many things for example; in diffusers, creams, lotions, ointments, soaps, cleaning products, air fresheners, perfumes and more!



Essential Oils are derived from naturally occurring aromatic essences within fragrant plants. The essences are actually an important part of the plant themselves because they help them to thrive; they can help to attract bees for pollination or/and can repel predatory insects and animals. Though many plants are aromatic, not all are. Some are simply fragrant or highly scented.

Essential oils are derived from various different parts of plants containing aromatic essences for example; flowers, berries, seeds, bark, grasses, spices and herbs.  There are a number of different ways that essential oils can be extracted from plants for example:

Steam Distillation
Water Distillation
CO2 Extraction
Cold Pressing
Solvent Extraction

I will post up more about each of these methods over the coming weeks so if you are interested in finding out more please do subscribe to my blog. 

Essential oils are highly concentrated which means they are very powerful and should always be used with extreme care. Health & Safety guidelines can usually be found with the bottle of oil at point of purchase but if you are ever concerned it is always a good idea to ask a qualified aromatherapist for advice. In most cases essential oils need to be diluted into carrier oils or base products, though in some cases certain oils can be used neat.

Read more about diluting essential oils here 

There are a number of different ways Essential Oils can be used / applied:
Baths
Steam Inhalations
Diffusers
Perfumes
Room Sprays
Cold Compress
Hot Compress

I'll post more about each of these application methods soon 

Over the past 10 years i have used a wide range of different essential oil brands. My brand of choice is Neal's Yard Remedies, i was impressed not only with the quality of the oils and their ability to last well in the beautiful little blue bottles but also the fact that they are Organic and the strong standing ethics of the company. In August of this year i decided to join NYRO as a consultant, in all honestly at first to just get the 25% off the oils and other products for myself, friends and family but have since also used them in my business with my clients and the feedback has been amazing. If you'd like to join my NYRO team and get 25% off essential oils for yourself or even make a business selling them find out more here or contact me

You can view the range of Essential Oils on offer from NYRO here 

Interested in learning more about essential oils? Why not read more of my blog posts or read one of my recommended books:

Essential Oils - Neal's Yard Remedies
Healing Power of essential oils 
Essential Oils - Natural Remedies 





Comments

Nicola said…
I love essential oils. My favourites are peppermint and tea tree.

Nicola
http://nicshealthylife.co.uk
Laady said…
I'm always trying to get myself an essential oils, but i never have the chance! I heard spreading it in the bath, is amazing!

ladynotebook.wordpress.com
Boxnip said…
I love essential oils and have used them for over 25 years. :)
Sophie said…
I'm a big fan of burning essential oils and diffusers! Don't really use them for anything other than making the place smell nice though so it will be interesting to learn more x

Sophie
www.glowsteady.co.uk

Book recommendations...