I'm into aromatherapy in a big way.
Well, not that big. I mean, I don't think it replaces "normal" medication, and believe me, if I ever get seriously ill I'm heading straight to hospital and they can give me as much morphine and whatever else as they want. And no, I don't plan to pass up on the epidural when the time comes for me to bring someone else into the world. Hell no. But yeah, I like essential oils.
I think it may be partly because I've been heavily influenced by two cultures. The English culture warns us never, ever to take anything too strong without the doctor's permission, which is given sparingly. This has made me paranoid about inadvertently killing myself through automedication, which is what the French do, all the time. By using aromatherapy, I automedicate without getting too ill (as long as I'm not too stupid).
I admit that now I, too, automedicate quite often. Nans and I have a rather nice small, portable wooden chest, the sort that has buckles and a little copper lock, I got it for my birthday a few years ago. It now sits in the bathroom and is full to brimming with boxes and tubes of stuff. To give you an idea, there are several nose sprays (very popular in France), various painkillers of various doses (usually a box with, like, one painkiller of that sort left in it), a huge box of plasters, a bottle of cough syrup for adults (i.e. with alcohol), a tube of verruca cream (eww), a few boxes of suppositories (also very popular in France), two boxes of throat pills that you have to suck, neither of which work on a real sore throat, and - if I'm lucky - the two things I need the most often: muscle relaxants and antihistamines. These are the two things that run out the quickest, and therefore it's rare that I find any in there.
Which is why I've turned to aromatherapy. Essential oils are usually enough to abate the symtoms of a common cold or allergy, and what better muscle relaxant than a massage?
Essential oils last quite a long time, you only need a few drops, and they're not all horribly expensive (although like everything in life, all the best quality ones are extortionate). Now when you're starting out, the first two essential oils you need - really the only ones you need, these are the two you need to take in vast quantities with you if ever you go out into some shopless wilderness - are lavender and tea tree oil. These are the only two that you can (more or less) safely apply directly to your skin without it burning, at least not too much, unless you're allergic. They are also relatively cheap and widely available, and they're pretty much good for everything. Especially lavender.
Lavender is the one that smells nice. It's good for everything from nightmares to second degree burns to conjunctivitis (be very careful when treating conjunctivitis with lavender oil. Read up about it first. In fact, better rely on the doc for this one). Lavender is the godmother of all essential oils.
Tea tree is the one that smells strong. It's a disinfectant, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-everything bad and it's a good stimulant. It stimulates pretty much everything - immune system, brain function, everything.
Then, when you've gotten used to using those two, you can move onto some of the others. If you want an aphrodisiac, the first thing you're going to read is that you should try jasmine. Or rose. The next thing you're going to read is the price, and then you're gonna try and find an alternative. That alternative is called Ylang Ylang, and it's one of my favourites, especially mixed with Lavender. It more an all-round relaxant and mood-lifter than just an aphrodisiac, and it smells gorgeous.
Citronella is the one you find in all the natural, organic anti-bug sprays. It smells like lemons. It keeps the bugs away. Geranium does too, although it's a tad more expensive.
Peppermint smells like peppermint, and is very good for tummy bugs. I once took a drop of it in my tea (burning my mouth in the process, it didn't mix well), and that alone staved off vomiting from food poisoning for three days. Obviously I vomited afterwards - probably better when it comes to food poisoning - but it just goes to show how powerful it is. Put some (diluted in a carrier oil) on your wrist to stave off motion sickness.
Eucalyptus - the partner of peppermint - is good for colds. Smells even stronger than tea tree - you all know what eucalyptus smells like, they put it in air waves chewing gum.
Orange and Clary Sage (orange is much cheaper than clary sage) are antidepressants. Cinnamon is a powerful stimulant and aids digestion. Rosewood... I can't remember what rosewood does, I think is cures fungal infections, but either way it smells quite nice, in a musky sort of way. Grapefruit is good for those concerned with weight loss, toning up, getting rid of cellulite etc. I haven't bought it yet, more out of pride than anything else - of course I have cellulite, but there's no way you're ever going to see it.
Carrier oils. These are usually thicker, milder oils that you add essential oils to in order to dilute them. Sunflower and olive oils can be used, but due to the smell (and because it's not as viscous) most people prefer sweet almond oil. This is a common one, cheap enough, although some people like jojoba oil better - very good for the skin - or some other oils, such as apricot oil, or coconut oil. It's your choice. I use sweet almond because it's cheap and smells nice.
Another thing about essential oils: they can't cure cancer (or at least I don't think so), but that doesn't mean they're not strong. You only have to smell them to know how strong they are. This blog is not a proper guide to essential oils - go and do some research before using any. If you add a whole bottle of eucalyptus oil to your bath and come out in a rash, I am not responsible.
I use a load of French websites such as www.aromazone.com, but if you don't speak French, try visiting these:
http://www.aromaweb.com/
http://www.aromatherapy.com/
http://www.aromatherapypoint.com/
http://www.naha.org/
http://essentialoils.org/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment