“Essential oils are ancient medicine with records dating back over 6,000 years!”
Essential Oils and Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative/natural medicine that uses volatile plant materials known as essential oils for the purpose of affecting a person’s health and/or mood.
The Egyptian’s and Chinese have records dating over 6,000 years ago showing how priests and physicians have used essential oils. It is ancient medicine with a great deal of history!
Interestingly, essential oils and human blood share several properties:
- Fight infection
- Hormone-like compounds
- Help initiate regeneration
Amazingly, one drop of lemon essential oil is said to be equivalent to 40 lemons. This makes them POWERFUL, concentrated medicine!
Things to do
There are a myriad of effective ways to use essential oils! From simply using them for scent to applying them to using them internally (sparingly!), the vectors for essential oils to enter the body are many.
Things to always do with essential oils
- Use the fewest drops you need for any task
- Dilute liberally as needed/wanted
- Blend oils as you would perfume
- Remember, essential oils have components that affect us physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually
Things to NOT do
Remember, essential oils are medicine–highly concentrated medicine at that. No matter your source, these are things that should not be done, generally. Also, some oils have to use chemical solvents even with the best quality oils, and these solvents can stay with the oil.
- Do not take essential oils internally. This is something that has changed since I started using oils. When I learned them, it was encouraged to even use essential oils in cooking and adding drops to capsules to take, and even adding drops to your water. While I am not completely opposed to using essential oils internally, I do think ti must be done cautiously and sparingly. Everyone I know who ingested oils frequently has caused themselves liver damage. While I will still use oils internally in extreme cases, it is not a first, second, or even third or fourth line for me.
- Do not forget to dilute your oils before applying them topically. While some oils, like lavender, are more gentle, as my mentor Jan Doerr said, “A drop of oil is still a drop of oil even diluted in a teaspoon, tablespoon, or cup of carrier oil.” So, do not be afraid to dilute your oils to avoid skin irritation!
Brands I Trust (for now)
There are a lot of choices out there for good brands of essential oils now–we are blessed! However, sometimes it is hard to know which brands are really good and which are not.
The following list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a list of the brands I will consider using. Please note, I do not use any of their supplements. I find, personally, that when a company branches out too much into things that aren’t their specialties, their quality suffers. Also, remember, do NOT ingest essential oils. They are highly concentrated medicine and should be treated as such.
Also, these are ones readily available in the US. If you live elsewhere in the world, there will be different brands!
- Revive (my current go-to)
- Young Living
- DoTERRA
- Be Young
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Using natural modalities, Dr. Hartford works to transform her clients’ health every day. She has worked with hundreds of clients from all walks of life. Let her help you find the natural solution for your natural health.
Dr. Ylona Hartford
Traditional Naturopath
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