Where to start with Aromatherapy?

Everybody starts somewhere. Some people get interested in Aromatherapy because their friend started burning oils and they loved the way they smell, others hear or read about aromatherapy somewhere, others have a massage with essential oils and love the way they start to feel. For whatever reason you have started this wonderful journey, I am happy that you have decided to fill your daily life with one of natures most precious gifts.

So where to begin. There is only one basic tool that you need to start using aromatherapy. And that is essential oils!! Be warned - not all essential oils were created equal. The first distinction to make is between essential oils, and fragrant oils. Fragrant oils are chemically based substances that attempt to immitate the smell of essential oils - not their healing properties. So instead of filling your life with natures most precious gifts, you are continuing to fill your life with more chemicals that can be more harmful than not starting with aromatherapy at all.

The most obvious distinction between a fragrant oil and an essential oil is the price. If you walk into a store and all oils are the same price, then you can be very sure that they are only fragrant oils - not the sort we want to be using. Think of it like this.... it is a lot more expensive to purchase a dozen roses (the petals are used to make rose oil) than it is to purchase a dozen oranges (the peel and other parts are used to make orange oil).

The other things to look at when starting on your aromatherapy journey is the label on the bottle. It should be 100% pure essential oil, state the name of the essential oil and the botanical name of the plant that was used to extract the essential oil. As your aromatherapy knowledge expands you will become familiar with reading the labels and smelling quality from chemicals.

Happy Blending,
Christina

PS. If you have any stories or hints to share in this space each week, please send me an email so they can be shared with the community.