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Understand
the basics of aromatherapy and function
of aromatherapy is very important before
you start to use essential oils to treat
your body. Although called essential oil,
the term used may be quite misleading
since they are not neither oily nor greasy.
They evaporate too readily and will also
leaving no residue. As they evaporate, their
aromatic molecules permeate the air and when
we inhale the aroma, these molecules travel
into the nose and to the olfactory receptors
where our sense of smell originates and these
receptors then transmit information about the
odor to the limbic system in the brain whereby
these limbic portion of the brain not only
processes smells but also they also handles
emotions. This may be one of the many reasons
why smells can so easily trigger our feelings.
In addition, the
limbic portion of the brain influences the
production of hormones, the immune system and
the nervous system. As such, aromatherapy can
affect basic bodily functions and mental
fitness. It is important to note that the
essential oil molecules do not stop in the nose.
They travel on into the lungs and from there,
into the bloodstream where they can improve
health by acting on individual cells.
They are also
readily absorbed into the skin but they are
most often diluted in a carrier oil - such
as almond oil - before application to prevent
skin irritation. Once the tiny essential oil
molecules penetrate the skin, they can stimulate
circulation and encourage cell regeneration.
Some oils even relieve muscle soreness while
others can help release tension and spasms.
They can enter the bloodstream and go on to the
internal organs and the lymphatic system.
No matter which way
they enter the body, essential oils can fight
bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microbes
inside the body. They can stimulate the immune
system to help renew health. Essential oils can
also be taken internally but this must be done
only under the supervision of a qualified
aromatherapy practitioner. You are advised not
to ingest essential oils on your own and make
sure to keep your supply out of reach of
children. Many essential oils are extracted
from their plants in stills. It is a specially
constructed piece of equipment for distilling
essential oils that uses pressurized steam.
Fresh or dried plant material is placed in a
special compartment and steam is circulated
through it.
The heat forces open
tiny pockets in the plants to release the
essential oils which evaporate and move into a
condensation chamber. As the mixture cools, the
steam condenses into water and the essential
oils, which does not dissolve in water, floats
in water. The oil is then skimmed off and
packaged for sale. However, there are some
plants materials which do not lend themselves to
steam distillation. So their essential oils are
extracted using different methods. Citrus oils
such as orange, lemon and bergamot are obtained
by cold pressing.
Jasmine, a type of
flower with low concentrations of essential
oils are put through a complex process called
enfleurage. The petals are placed in animal fat,
which absorbs the essential oil, then alcohol is
added to separate the essential oil from the
fat. When the alcohol evaporates, the essential
oil is left behind. Alcohol is also used in
solvent extraction in cases where the tree sap
that is too thick to use otherwise or with
flowers when enfleurage is considered too
inefficient. A solvent such as hexane saturates
the plant material and chemically extracts the
essential oils. The resulting material is then
dissolved in alcohol to remove the solvent.
These essential oils often contain residue from
the solvent. You may sometimes be advised to
avoid essential oils that were extracted with
solvents other than alcohol because of this
reason.
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