For more than just their pleasant scent, essential oils can also have a positive impact on your overall health and emotional well-being.
Essential oils have been used by traditional health practitioners for years. As a result, they’re becoming more commonplace due to their increased availability (as well as their purported health benefits).
Essential oils are a wonderful addition to any household because they have numerous advantages. However, there is a problem with the way people use them.
Read on to discover the various benefits of essential oils and how to use them.
What exactly are essential oils?
Concentrated plant extracts are what essential oils are.
Phytochemicals and structural components are the building blocks of plants. So, it’s these compounds that have qualities that not only benefit plants but also benefit humans.
And why are they sometimes expensive?
Essential oils are sometimes expensive because they require a large amount of plant material to be produced. For instance:
A pound of lavender essential oil is made from about 250 pounds of lavender flower.
To create one pound of rose or lemon balm essential oil, approximately 5,000 pounds of dried flowers and/or leaves are used.
Benefits of essential oils
If you’re looking to improve your health through aromatherapy or by using essential oils directly to your skin, there are several ways you can do so.
Here’s what Essential oils can do for you according to research.
- Reduces or lessens Nausea
- Improve your state of mind and makes you feel more relaxed.
- Headaches can be soothed.
- Reduced stress and enhanced focus can help you perform better at work.
- Improve the quality of your sleep.
- Remove germs from the body.
- Reduce stress and discomfort.
- Take steps to lessen the effects of inflammation.
Wondering how many essential oils are out there?
There is quite a variety but these are some of the common ones and their benefits.
Frankincense oil
This one earned the title, “king of oils,”
Frankincense has been shown to reduce inflammation, improve mood, and promote restful sleep. Asthma and gum problems may also be improved, according to studies.
It has a woody, spicy scent and can be used in aromatherapy and skin creams. Frankincense oil can be purchased online. If you’re going to use frankincense oil on your skin, dilute it first.
Lemon oil
You can use lemon oil in the form of a diffuser or apply it to your skin with a carrier oil.
Lemon essential oil is well-known for the following reasons:
- Reduce feelings of stress and despair.
- Reduce the pain.
- Reduce the feeling of sickness.
- Gets rid of any microorganisms that may be present.
- Aromatherapy with essential oils, such as lemon oil, may improve the cognitive performance of Alzheimer’s patients, according to a new study.
For both aromatherapy and topical usage, lemon oil is completely safe. Even though lemon oil has been linked to an increased risk of sunburn, there are conflicting reports on its effect on the skin. After use, keep out of the sun’s rays. There are also bergamot and bergamot essential oils in this collection.
Rosemary oil
Some of your favourite dishes definitely wouldn’t taste the same without a dash of rosemary. Other advantages of consuming rosemary oil include improved cognitive function, increased hair development, decreased stress and discomfort levels, improved moods, and reduced inflammation in joints and other joint tissues.
It is acceptable to use rosemary oil in aromatherapy and on the skin with a carrier oil. Rosemary oil should not be used if you are pregnant, have epilepsy, or have high blood pressure.
Lavender oil
Lavender as an essential oil. It’s gentle, yet it has many advantages. It can be put to a lot of other uses as it’s been discovered.
You can use it in a bath, diffuser, room spray, or body spritzer, or combine it with another oil to form a body oil.
Lavender is beneficial for relieving stress, easing discomfort, and promoting restful sleep. Essential oils have been utilised in hospitals as a cleaning agent for years before antiseptics were invented.
Lavender oil (as well as tea tree oil) has been shown in some studies to have the potential to alter hormones in young boys.
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is commonly used as an antiseptic, antibacterial, or antifungal, according to Doctors.
It can also be used to assist in the following:
Acne.
What to do, Apply tea tree essential oil to the afflicted area with a cotton swab. If the acne is severe enough, you don’t need to dilute it before applying it. This will help to heal acne fast
Ringworms and athlete’s foot
Put the blend on the affected area after diluting it with a carrier oil (a base or vegetable oil like coconut or jojoba oil that helps dilute essential oils).
Tea tree oil can be neurotoxic
Medical professionals however advise against using it if you have small children or pets in your house.
Eucalyptus oil
During the winter months, eucalyptus essential oil comes in handy. It eases the discomfort of a stuffy nose by widening the nasal passageways. Peppermint oil might also be helpful in this regard.
Herpes simplex virus can also be fought with its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory characteristics.
Make cautious to dilute eucalyptus oil before putting it to the skin, as it might cause skin irritation. Children and dogs should avoid ingesting it due to the potential dangers.
Lemongrass oil
Lemongrass is a natural cure for healing wounds and eradicating infections, echinacea has antibacterial qualities. Athletes’ feet, ringworm, and jock itch can all be prevented by using this product.
Lemongrass oil helps lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.
Before you put the product on your skin, dilute it with a carrier oil.
How can these oils be used?
- You can roll them directly on your skin so they are absorbed
- Diffuse them in the air to change your mood, relieve stress and anxiety among other things.
- Incorporate them in your food as recipes for example orange oil, and lemon oil. Be careful however because not all of them are edible ie tea tree oil.
Conclusion
And those are the benefits of essential oils. If you didn’t know their importance, this article has most definitely helped! You can now begin enjoying their benefits as you please.