Welcome!
Welcome to Lavender Notes, a weekly blog about clinical aromatherapy and essential oils.
As this is the first post, I will start at the beginning. What exactly are essential oils?
Essential oils are simply aromatic plant extracts. They are highly concentrated (the typical illustration of this is Rose Essential Oil, which requires 2,000 petals to make one drop), they are not water soluble, and they are volatile. In chemistry, the term volatile refers to a substance's ability to vaporize; it is this vaporization that makes essential oils aromatic (and also determines their shelf life). In contrast, a base oil like olive oil is not considered volatile and will go rancid long before its aromatic elements vaporize.
How do we get essential oils? That depends on the plant. Most oils are obtained through steam distillation, which is similar to the production of grain alcohols. Some oils -- those from citrus fruits, for example -- are literally squeezed right out of the fruit skins. A few are made from the saps of certain trees. And some require the use of chemicals for extraction.
Essential oils can come from flowers, fruit peels, leaves, stems, tree bark, tree cores, needles, sap, etc. One plant can produce different essential oils depending on the part of the plant you use. Orange can produce one essential oil from its skin and another from its flowers. Some essential oils can only be harvested from plants at certain altitudes, and some can be found in your backyard. Essential oils come from farms, wildflowers, organic gardens, and industrial production.
Each essential oil is made of dozens of chemical components, and just like prescription medication, each of these chemical components can cause physiological changes in the human body. Clinical aromatherapy is the use of essential oils as part of a holistic and integrative health regimen. The clinical aromatherapist is similar to an herbalist or an apothecary: he or she works with a client to integrate the use of essential oils into their wellness protocol to ease health issues, to enhance overall health, and to make life on this planet a bit more pleasant.
And that is the beauty (literally) of essential oils: they just plain smell good. Essential oils are used extensively outside the clinical realm by both the perfume and food industries. More often than not, the ingredient listed as "natural flavors" is a proprietary blend of essential oils. Many essential oils used by these non-clinical applications are recreated in laboratories or grown in non-organic circumstances, and this makes quality an imperative for the clinical aromatherapist.
Essential oils that are used clinically must be therapeutic grade. Some examples of companies that carry therapeutic grade essential oils are Floracopeia, Mountain Rose Herbs, and Aura Cacia. Anything labeled "Perfume Oil" is not acceptable for therapeutic use.
Because essential oils are highly concentrated, you don't want anything in them other than pure plant essence. Buying certified organic oils ensures you're not getting vials full of concentrated pesticides.
Know your latin names. The difference between Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Smithii can be harsh for a small child to learn (Smithii is the safer version). Roman Chamomile (Chamamaelum Nobile) and German Chamomile (Matricaria) are totally different plants, and while they have similar therapeutic benefits, the smell of German Chamomile can bring on a migraine for some people.
Know your sources. Developing relationships with producers and distributors takes time but is well worth the effort. Knowing a farmer brings you even closer to the source. Any essential oil supplier worth their salt will supply you with chemical analyses and other quality-related information.
Learn, learn, learn. The benefits of aromatherapy are open to everyone, and this is both empowering and dangerous. The chemical components that make essential oils beneficial can also make them deadly. Essential oils used therapeutically should be treated like prescription drugs -- with respect. Liver damage, allergic reactions, skin rashes, and even death can be the outcome when essential oils are used incorrectly.
The goal of this blog is to be a central warehouse of basic aromatherapeutic information, and it will be updated on a weekly basis. It will feature monographs on specific essential oils, discussions of clinical uses, profiles of important people in aromatherapy, write-ups on safety issues, recipes and much more.
It must be stated, though, any information garnered from this site or others is not complete without a foundation knowledge in clinical aromatherapy, and I urge you to seek out a Registered Aromatherapist with questions about usage, contraindications, allergies, etc.
Should you ever have a question, click the link to contact me. I am happy to answer all questions to the best of my ability.
As this is the first post, I will start at the beginning. What exactly are essential oils?
Essential oils are simply aromatic plant extracts. They are highly concentrated (the typical illustration of this is Rose Essential Oil, which requires 2,000 petals to make one drop), they are not water soluble, and they are volatile. In chemistry, the term volatile refers to a substance's ability to vaporize; it is this vaporization that makes essential oils aromatic (and also determines their shelf life). In contrast, a base oil like olive oil is not considered volatile and will go rancid long before its aromatic elements vaporize.
How do we get essential oils? That depends on the plant. Most oils are obtained through steam distillation, which is similar to the production of grain alcohols. Some oils -- those from citrus fruits, for example -- are literally squeezed right out of the fruit skins. A few are made from the saps of certain trees. And some require the use of chemicals for extraction.
Essential oils can come from flowers, fruit peels, leaves, stems, tree bark, tree cores, needles, sap, etc. One plant can produce different essential oils depending on the part of the plant you use. Orange can produce one essential oil from its skin and another from its flowers. Some essential oils can only be harvested from plants at certain altitudes, and some can be found in your backyard. Essential oils come from farms, wildflowers, organic gardens, and industrial production.
Each essential oil is made of dozens of chemical components, and just like prescription medication, each of these chemical components can cause physiological changes in the human body. Clinical aromatherapy is the use of essential oils as part of a holistic and integrative health regimen. The clinical aromatherapist is similar to an herbalist or an apothecary: he or she works with a client to integrate the use of essential oils into their wellness protocol to ease health issues, to enhance overall health, and to make life on this planet a bit more pleasant.
And that is the beauty (literally) of essential oils: they just plain smell good. Essential oils are used extensively outside the clinical realm by both the perfume and food industries. More often than not, the ingredient listed as "natural flavors" is a proprietary blend of essential oils. Many essential oils used by these non-clinical applications are recreated in laboratories or grown in non-organic circumstances, and this makes quality an imperative for the clinical aromatherapist.
Essential oils that are used clinically must be therapeutic grade. Some examples of companies that carry therapeutic grade essential oils are Floracopeia, Mountain Rose Herbs, and Aura Cacia. Anything labeled "Perfume Oil" is not acceptable for therapeutic use.
Because essential oils are highly concentrated, you don't want anything in them other than pure plant essence. Buying certified organic oils ensures you're not getting vials full of concentrated pesticides.
Know your latin names. The difference between Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Smithii can be harsh for a small child to learn (Smithii is the safer version). Roman Chamomile (Chamamaelum Nobile) and German Chamomile (Matricaria) are totally different plants, and while they have similar therapeutic benefits, the smell of German Chamomile can bring on a migraine for some people.
Know your sources. Developing relationships with producers and distributors takes time but is well worth the effort. Knowing a farmer brings you even closer to the source. Any essential oil supplier worth their salt will supply you with chemical analyses and other quality-related information.
Learn, learn, learn. The benefits of aromatherapy are open to everyone, and this is both empowering and dangerous. The chemical components that make essential oils beneficial can also make them deadly. Essential oils used therapeutically should be treated like prescription drugs -- with respect. Liver damage, allergic reactions, skin rashes, and even death can be the outcome when essential oils are used incorrectly.
The goal of this blog is to be a central warehouse of basic aromatherapeutic information, and it will be updated on a weekly basis. It will feature monographs on specific essential oils, discussions of clinical uses, profiles of important people in aromatherapy, write-ups on safety issues, recipes and much more.
It must be stated, though, any information garnered from this site or others is not complete without a foundation knowledge in clinical aromatherapy, and I urge you to seek out a Registered Aromatherapist with questions about usage, contraindications, allergies, etc.
Should you ever have a question, click the link to contact me. I am happy to answer all questions to the best of my ability.
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