Any aromatherapists out there?!
Question: i recieved an aromatherapy starter set for christmas. how do i know, which oils would be good to combine together? does one go by the smells or benefits to decide? it's a bit confusing.
Answers: i recieved an aromatherapy starter set for christmas. how do i know, which oils would be good to combine together? does one go by the smells or benefits to decide? it's a bit confusing.
I am not an aromatherapist, but I do have experience using essential oils in the natural skin care products that I design and manufacture.
I decide on my essential oil combinations based on BOTH their benefits and smell. I basically start out with a list of their therapeutic properties. Then I categorize them according to their uses, until I have a few groupings. From there, I select my combinations based on how they smell, because I already know they will all work well for their intended purpose.
For example, I use Tea Tree in my healing ointment because it is wonderful for first aid. Unfortunately, it does not smell the greatest on its own, so I also add Lavender and Ravensara, both of which have good healing properties as well, but they make the product smell wonderful.
When I experiment with smell combinations, I put a drop at a time onto a small cup, until I come up with a good smelling ratio. Then I multiply this 'recipe' in larger amounts for my products.
There are guides out there for what essential oils' scents combine well with each others, though I rarely follow them. The scents that are most popular with my customers (and that I am in love with) happened by just throwing together a bunch of oils on a whim. Its amazing what you can come up with when you are just messing around.
I recommend you check out the essential oils section at http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca
This site lists many of their physical and emotional benefits, as well as what other oils they combine well with
Experiment, and have fun!
Get a good book about aromatherapy. Please study before trying aromatherapy.
it can be both for smell and for healing properties..but it's really best to get a book and do a lot of research...just make sure you have a carrier/base oil (ie. olive oil, almond oil etc..) and mae the soultion 98% base and 2% essential oil
Both scent preference and "therapeutic benefit" are things to be considered when using Aromatherapy.
I suggest not only getting a good book or two, but I also encourage you to check out several of the Aromatherapy groups on Yahoo. Some of them are valuable and educational forums (and some are lame ;-).
A nice thing with the groups is that a member can look through the group archives for topics that have been discussed over the years, as well as ask questions of those who are at various Aromatherapy experience levels, from novices to professionals.
My AT (aromatherapy) group has been on Yahoo since 2000. Just my list alone has over 1650 international members, including many knowledgeable folks, who in some cases, have decades of experience, are happy to share their wisdom and promote the safe use of Essential Oils.