- What is Aromatherapy?
- Which essential oils can be used for what?
- Can I use essential oils as a room fragrance?
- Can essential oils also be used around the house?
- Are essential oils suitable for children?
- How long does aromatherapy training take?
- What should I look for when buying essential oils?
- Aromatherapy is a branch of herbal medicine that focuses on the effects of essential oils.
- Essential oils are highly concentrated, fragrant extracts from plants.
- Essential oils have various effects that can positively impact health and well-being.
- A table shows you which essential oil can be used for what.
- In my workshop on aromatherapy, you’ll learn everything about essential oils and the power of aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy harnesses the natural power of essential oils to promote health and emotional balance. From calming scents to refreshing essences and natural support for common colds—these oils offer a vast range of applications. Discover how to use essential oils effectively in your daily life.
What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a branch of herbal medicine (phytotherapy) that utilizes the effects of essential oils. These highly concentrated, fragrant plant extracts are used to enhance health, wellbeing, and self-care in both private and clinical settings.
When used, the oils enter the body through the skin, the respiratory tract, or the sense of smell, where they trigger various responses.
Effects of Essential Oils:
Physiological Effects: Some oils can be relaxing, stimulating, pain-relieving, or antibacterial.
- Psychological Effects: Scents influence our mood and can promote feelings of joy, calm, or focus. They are also popular in coaching to help manifest goals.
- Psychological effects: Scents can influence our mood and promote feelings such as joy, calm, or concentration. They are also frequently used in coaching and mentoring sessions to help achieve goals.
Aromatherapy is used in many different areas:
- Health: Aromatherapy to relieve symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, or sleep disorders.
- Wellness: Aromatherapy for relaxing massages, baths, and sauna sessions.
- Cosmetics: Fragrances in skin and hair care products.
- Home fragrances: To create a pleasant atmosphere.
Which essential oils can be used for what?
The table shows the effects of essential oils:
Essential Oil | Effect |
|---|---|
Orange | Can help with stomachaches, insomnia, and coughs. Aids digestion, stimulates appetite and metabolism. Lifts the mood and promotes concentration. Relieves anxiety and provides a sense of warmth. |
Lemon | Provides refreshment, a better mood, and a sense of lightness. Has antipyretic, antibacterial, detoxifying, blood-purifying, and vasoconstrictive effects. May help relieve infectious diseases, varicose veins, rheumatism, and arthritis. Purifies the air in the room. |
Lemongrass | May have fever-reducing, antiseptic, calming, toning, strengthening, blood-purifying, circulation-boosting, and lymph-stimulating effects. Repels insects. Soothing for digestive disorders and nervousness. Promotes concentration, refreshes, and brightens the mood. |
Rosemary | May have antispasmodic effects, promote blood circulation, digestion, and memory, stimulate the circulatory system, promote menstruation, lower blood sugar, and act as an antiseptic. Repels pests. Provides stimulation, strength, clarity, new energy, and awakens the senses. May help counteract hair loss, muscle pain, the flu, varicose veins, exhaustion, fungal infections, osteoarthritis, lumbago, and rheumatism. |
Thyme | Supports and stimulates the spirit, bestowing courage, strong will, compassion, and warmth. Used for infectious diseases, rheumatism, and infected wounds, as thyme stimulates the production of white blood cells. May have antispasmodic, disinfectant, and expectorant effects. May promote menstruation and raise blood pressure. Effective against mold. |
Sage | Can help with oily skin, sweaty feet, weakness, digestive complaints, night sweats, infectious diseases, mouth and throat infections, asthma, and slow-healing wounds. Gives strength and vitality to the soul. Possesses antiperspirant, stomach-strengthening, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, blood-purifying, invigorating, antiseptic, drying, and astringent properties. |
Peppermint | May have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic effects. Can help with stomach and digestive complaints, bloating, headaches, colds, and liver and gallbladder problems. Promotes clarity of vision and thought. |
Eucalyptus | Promotes concentration, calms and cools heated tempers, and brings clarity. Has antispasmodic and germicidal effects. Can also help with colds and asthma. Suitable for repelling insects. |
Lavender | Promotes relaxation and enhances mental well-being. Can provide relief from tension, insomnia, nervousness, cramps, migraines, insect bites, and burns. It can also have detoxifying, analgesic, and antiseptic effects. |
Anise | Can relieve digestive issues, menstrual cramps, coughs, migraines, and dizziness. Releases emotional blockages and anxieties, and promotes the processing of emotions. Also has expectorant and antispasmodic properties. |
Bergamot | Can counteract flatulence, colic, intestinal infections, and loss of appetite. Suitable for skin care for blemished and oily skin. Has fever-reducing, antiseptic, and antispasmodic properties. Lifts the mood, relaxes in cases of anxiety and depression, invigorates, and boosts self-confidence. |
Sandalwood | Can strengthen the immune system, inhibit inflammation, and act as an antiseptic. Balances the mind and can thus help with stress, insomnia, aggression, low spirits, and nervousness. Stimulates creative and spiritual energies. |
Marjoram | Can help alleviate nervousness, tension, grief, despair, and anxiety. Instills confidence and renewed courage. May also have appetite-stimulating, warming, germicidal, relaxing, and calming effects. Suitable for migraines, rheumatism, digestive complaints, and infectious diseases. |
Tea Tree | Has germicidal, antifungal, and anti-infective properties. Suitable for acne, fungal infections, insect bites, and colds. Promotes concentration and logical thinking, helps with decision-making, and cools heated tempers. |
Ylang-Ylang | Calms and counteracts nervousness and insomnia. Promotes relaxation and fosters a sense of trust and security. Provides relief for oily skin and abdominal cramps. |
Can I use essential oils as a room fragrance?
Yes, essential oils are perfect for fragrancing your home. There are two primary methods: making your own room sprays or using an aroma diffuser.
Cold Diffuser: A few drops of the oil are added to water. The device uses ultrasound to create a fine mist, allowing you to enjoy the diffuser benefits such as improved air quality and mood enhancement.
Room spray with essential oils Creating your own pillow or body sprays allows you to mix your favorite scents. A handmade spray is also a unique edible Christmas gift (metaphorically speaking!) or a thoughtful present for loved ones.
Can essential oils also be used around the house?
Essential oils can also be used around the house. You can use them to make natural cleaning products, such as laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, and bathroom cleaner. Your home will no longer smell of artificial fragrances, but instead of lemon or orange, for example. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Are essential oils suitable for children?
Essential oils can be helpful for children in everyday life. However, it’s best to research the oils thoroughly beforehand. For example, essential oils can help with sleep difficulties, anxiety, agitation, or tantrums. And children love pleasant scents. Be sure to use only minimal amounts of the oils. Some oils, such as peppermint, should not be given to children under the age of six, as they can trigger epileptic seizures. Be sure to research this thoroughly in advance.
How long does aromatherapy training take?
There is no standardized state-certified aromatherapy training program. As a result, there are a wide variety of aromatherapy training options: from weekend courses to year-long programs. It all depends on how deeply you want to delve into the subject and in which areas you intend to apply your knowledge. Science has now taken an interest in aromatherapy. The effectiveness of essential oils has already been scientifically proven for certain conditions. New studies are also being conducted, yielding new insights. As an aromatherapist, you should therefore continue your education to stay up-to-date.
What should I look for when buying essential oils?
No matter which essential oil you want to try, you should always use high-quality, pure essential oils.
Here’s how to tell the difference:
- Naturally pure oil: If the essential oil is labeled “naturally pure,” you can assume that you have a very high-quality oil. Only those essential oils that have been extracted directly from a parent plant and its respective oil-producing part may be labeled “naturally pure.” The natural proportions and biochemical composition of the oil are preserved. Naturally pure essential oils contain no additives and consist of 100 percent of the oil from the respective parent plant. Naturally pure oils from certified organic cultivation are better for the environment and your health.
- Natural oil: Natural essential oil is made from a blend of different naturally pure oils. Unlike naturally pure essential oil, natural essential oil does not necessarily come exclusively from a single plant. However, you can assume that no artificial additives have been used here either. I would recommend always using naturally pure oil.
- Nature-identical oil: Some essential oils are labeled as “nature-identical.” It is difficult to distinguish them from their natural counterparts based on smell alone. However, they are produced exclusively through chemical processes. The chemical composition of nature-identical oils matches that of the plant found in nature, but has nothing to do with naturalness.
- Synthetic oil: Synthetic essential oil is produced entirely chemically in a laboratory. You can recognize them by the fact that they are usually much cheaper than oils of natural origin. Their scent also differs from that of oils of natural origin. In stores, synthetic oils are often labeled as fragrance or perfume oils. These oils should really be avoided.
You can often tell that oils aren’t 100% natural because they all cost the same. Lemon costs the same as rose? That’s not possible. Lemon is relatively inexpensive, while rose is one of the most expensive oils in the world.
