What Is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts for therapeutic benefits. It is also known as essential oil therapy as the practice often uses essential oils for treatment. The treatment aims to treat physical and emotional health. Aromatherapy works through the sense of smell and skin absorption using products such as diffusers, aromatic candles, bathing salts, body oils, lotions and even face masks. Among other benefits, aromatherapy can improve the quality of sleep, reduce stress and fatigue, soothe sore joints and boost the mood.
How to include aromatherapy treatments at home
Bath
An aromatherapy bath can be a very relaxing and therapeutic experience. You can use relaxing bath salts or add essential oils. If you use essential oils, however, ensure that you follow instructions as they can easily make your bath unpleasant if you don’t disperse your dosage evenly. You can find a wide range of bathing essentials with aromatherapy properties from outlets like Clicks or Dischem. Ready-made products that are already infused with essential oils include bath bombs, body washes, bath oils and bubble baths.
Sleep and relaxing products
If you have trouble sleeping at night or simply just want to enjoy a relaxing scent when you get to bed, you can use pillow mists with relaxing properties like lavender. You can also sparingly add a few drops of lavender oil to your pillows. Also, look out for body oils or lotions with relaxing properties. While these little things may seem insignificant, they are great at helping your senses unwind and distress.
Air freshener
Add a few drops of essential oil with a diffuser to refresh the air in your home. A diffuser is a fast and effective way of spreading an aroma in an even and efficient manner. You can also add a few drops of essential oils to your rubbish bin to diffuse the smell.
Laundry fragrance
Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to your laundry detergent to give a fresh and clean scent to your washing. You can alternatively use an aromatherapy fragrance spray to leave a lingering scent on your washed linen or spray the fragrance while ironing.
Cleaning
Add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oils to your cleaning cloth to wipe surfaces. You can also mix the oils with water in a spray bottle to clean the fridge. This is a great way to leave a cleansing aroma without the harsh undertones of chemical scents that are often found in many household cleaning products.
Popular essential oils to try
Lavender
Lavender has a gentle scent with stress-relieving properties which makes it an effective mood booster. It is often used in products to promote relaxation which in turn allows for more restful sleep.
Lemon oil
Lemon and other citrus essential oils have antiseptic, antifungal, antimicrobial, astringent, and detoxifying properties that contribute to immune system function. However, research shows that lemon and other citrus oils make the skin sun-sensitive. Therefore, do not go out in the sun with these oils on your skin.
Eucalyptus
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, most people now know of many health benefits of the eucalyptus plant. Its crisp scent is however a bit stronger than other oils. You may therefore want to use it sparingly. Many people find the eucalyptus scent refreshing and stimulating, when inhaled, it can open up nasal passages just like products with menthol (like Vicks). Eucalyptus oil is also used for massages to relieve pain in the joints and muscles.
