Essential oils are one of the great untapped resources of the world. The concentrated essences of various flowers, fruits, herbs and plants have been used for centuries all over the world, but in modern times we have forgotten the power of these ancient medicines of the earth, preferring instead to use the products of perfume and chemical companies which imitate the natural fragrances and medicinal and cleansing properties of essential oils. Because the essential oils are so sweet-smelling, many people suppose their value is essentially one of charm and fragrance but this is a mistake. Modern scientific research has proven that essential oils are potent, with remarkable medicinal properties. These natural plant oils can be used to treat your child’s flu or called upon when you want to create a delicious and exciting new dish when the boss is invited to dinner. They will get rid of the fleas from your dog’s coat as easily as the aphids from your garden plants. They will help you at work or play – at the same time as helping your tomatoes to grow. With essential oils, you can take control of your life and environment, secure int he knowledge that your well-being will be improved.

The holy anointing oil that God directed Moses to make from “flowing” myrrh, sweet cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive oil, would have been a powerful antiviral and antibiotic substance, the use of which gave protection and treatment to all those to whom it was administered. Cinnamon is a powerful antiviral and antibacterial agent as well as being antifungal. Myrrh is an effective antiseptic and on the best cicatrisants – that is, it stimulates cellular growth and its healing effects on upon wounds, ulcers, and boils was legendary even before Biblical times.

The Timeless Apothecary

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said that “the way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day”.  Our earliest written evidence that perfume was a commodity commonly available to the man or woman in the street comes from an Indian epic of 2000BC, the Ramayana, which includes an episode in which the hero-prince, Rama of Ayodhya returns after a period of exile to a triumphant homecoming in his village. Everyone, we are told, pours into the street cheering, including the lamp-makers, jewellers, potters, bath-attendants, wine-sellers, weavers, sword-millers, perfumers, and incense-sellers.

The scientific study of the therapeutic properties of essential oils was started by the French cosmetic chemist, Rene Maurice Gattefosse, in the 1920s. While making fragrances one day in his laboratory, Gattefosse burned his arm very badly and thrust it into the nearest cold liquid – which happened to be a tub of lavender oil. He was surprised to find that the pain lessened considerably and that, far from developing into a normal burn reaction of redness, heat, inflammation, and blisters his wound healed very quickly and left no scar. From then on, Gattefosse dedicated the rest of his life to researching the remarkable healing properties of nature’s essential oils. It was he who coined the term “aromatherapy“.

The Methods of Use

BODY METHODS

Perfume  — Variable   — There are two methods; you can use either simply dissolved in alcohol or oil and apply to the body as you would a perfume or incorporate them into a perfume.

Tissue or handkerchief   — 1 drop  — Sniff when required.

Inhaled as a Vapor  — 2-3 drops — Pour hot water into a bowl, add the oil, cover your head with a towel and lean over the bowl with your face about 10 inches away and your eyes closed. Breathe deeply through your nose for about one minute.

Massage Oil — As directed or a maximum of 5 drops to each teaspoon of base vegetable oil — Measure out your base oil. Use almond, hazelnut, peach kernel, apricot kernel, grapeseed, soya, peanut, etc. Add the essential oil – you may see this streak through the vegetable oil. To dissolve them thoroughly, turn the bottle upside down a few times and then roll it briskly between your hands.

WATER METHODS

Baths — As directed or a max of 8 drops — Run the bath, then add the essential oil. Close the door of the bathroom so the vapors don’t escape. Soak for at least ten minutes, relaxing and breathing deeply. In some instances, the essential oil is first diluted in vegetable oil.

Bidet — As directed or 2-3 drops diluted in 1 teaspoon vegetable oil — Use warm water from the tap. Run the water then add the essential oil and swish it around as well as possible so that globules aren’t left on the surface as these could irritate mucous membrane.

Douche — Only as directed — use boiled and cooled water from the tap or warmed, bottled spring water. Add the essential oil and shake the douche until the contents are thoroughly mixed.

Jacuzzi — 3 drops per person 

Sauna — 2 drops per two and a half cups water — Use eucalyptus, tea tree, or pine oils. Mix in the water beforehand and throw on to the heat source as usual. Only use these essential oils because they enter the body with inhalation and exit by perspiration. They are all excellent cleansers and detoxifiers.

Shower — a max of 8 drops — Wash as usual. Now add the essential oil to your facecloth or sponge and rub it over your self briskly as you continue to stand under the running water. Breathe in the aromatic steam deeply.

Sitz Bath — 2-3 drops — Run a bath to hip level or use a bowl which is large enough for you to be able to lower your behind into it. Add the essential oil and swish it around thoroughly so that no globules are left on the surface, where they could come into contact with delicate mucous membrane.

Hand Bath — 2-4 drops — Soak the hands for a maximum of ten minutes in a bowl of warm water.

Foot Bath — 2-6 drops — Soak the feet for twenty minutes in a bowl of warm water.