Aromatherapy Bath and Diffuser Blends

For the first timers, I'd like to mention that I use essential oils, for personal use only. None of my knowledge is used for any commercial goods/purposes, although I make my own aromatherapy candles, bath salts, bath oil blends, massage oil blends and sometimes even facial creams. I'd like you to read our disclaimer before you proceed. The below mentioned recipes are tested and approved by me as just another "user". Rest of it is in the disclaimer.

Aromatherapy is my passion. It adds a zest to the daily dull life. At least "I" find a difference when i use it. Here are bath blends I'd like to share with you, which you can even use as a diffuser:

Sensual Blend:
10 drops Lavender
5 drops Neroli
2 drops Ylang Ylang

Soothing Blend:
1 drop Jasmine
4 drops Bergamont
3 drops Sandalwood
2 drops Grapefruit

Just a belnd i like:
4 drops Rosewood
5 drops Lavender
1 drop Ylang Ylang
(i got this recipe from here)

Another one I like
1 drop Jasmine
6 drops Sweet Orange
3 drops Patchouli

You might also want to check out:
Aromatherapy Basics
Ylang Ylang
Day time uplifting blend

Basics of Aromatherapy

aromatherapy: aro·ma·ther·a·py - noun - The use of volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being.

The origins of aromatherapy date back thousands of years. This intriguing article summarizes the key events in the practice of aromatherapy. In aromatherapy, only pure and natural essential oils, absolutes, floral waters, resins, carrier oils, infused oils, herbs and other natural substances are used. Though being 100% natural, essential oils still must be treated like medicines. As nature, if trespassed its limitations, can be hazardous.

Now the question arises, Is All the Hype About Aromatherapy True? Are all the claims and is all the hype about holistic aromatherapy true?

This is a question I have received many times, however the answer does depend on the claims that you have personally heard.

So many products, often incorrectly, use the term aromatherapy on their products. Some media reporters and vendors even refer to aromatherapy as a "new discovery" thus giving a false sense of hype to aromatherapy and promoting inaccurate information about aromatherapy.

The practice of aromatherapy is the use of volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being. Holistic aromatherapy does not include the use of fragrance oils or unnatural products. Unfortunately, many sellers of so-called aromatherapy products just use the term aromatherapy to sell their pleasant-smelling product and sometimes even go so far as to "hype" unfounded claims.

Can aromatherapy cure my major illness or psychological problem?

If you expect or hope that aromatherapy will in itself cure a major illness or actually cure "stress," you will probably be in for a disappointment. But if you expect that aromatherapy can help with a physical condition, can help with symptoms, can effect your mood, or help alleviate or temporarily eliminate stress or other psychological factors, you may be delighted with the results that you experience.

For example, aromatherapy will not cure serious illness such as cancer or AIDS. Aromatherapy, however, can help enhance a cancer patient's quality of life by enhancing the patient's mood, calming fear and can help ease nausea during chemotherapy treatments. For AIDS patients, aromatherapy can also help enhance the patient's quality of life psychologically and essential oils can help improve one's immune system and thus potentially assist an AIDS patient that way.

Aromatherapy is a complementary alternative health modality. Its current use is not intended to replace standard medical care, but is meant to complement it. Aromatherapy can offer an alternative choice to taking prescription or over-the-counter chemical drugs. Aromatherapy can offer practical benefit for a variety of common ailments or symptoms such as assisting with cuts, wounds, bruises, inflammation, indigestion, acne, skincare, haircare, hygiene, PMS, menstruation, and for providing mental and emotional assistance with such issues as stress, fatigue, anxiety, fear, and the list goes on and on!

You might also want to try:
Day time uplifting blend
Aromatherapy candling making tutorial

Ylang Ylang Rules!!

Last night, after a long time, my spirits were soaring high. I was bored of what i saw around and I wanted to change the surrounding environment to a warm, cozy, romantic one. What i did was this...


On that little blue oil diffuser (sorry for being a bad photographer... colors are not that visible in the pic i know. But you can sure make out wheres it right?), i put some Ylang Ylang essential oil. It was not even one minute, and the room was filled with its exceptionally sweet, floral and exotic fragrance. For cherry-on-the-top part, i put on some really soothing melodious numbers in the background. Even Hiba (my 1.5 yrs old daughter) was delighted by this setup. She did'nt utter a single word for long. She just passed me by several times, giving a broad smile, as if she was absorbing every bit of it, in. Best part was DH's oh-so-precious smile as he entered the house after work. Yes! it did work!

Ylang Ylang is an aromatherapy oil, which is known for its relaxing and stimulating properties. Its medicinal properties helps dispel doubt and anxiety and boosts self-confidence. Its essence is obtained through steam distillation of the fresh ylang ylang flowers. Its one of my favorites and i use it mostly in my massage and bath oil blends. If you want to use it, use just a few drops. Its seductive aroma wont let your partner be away from you for long. Make sure you don't use large quantities at one time. If you do so, your partner will sure get in bed, but it wont be for what you intended!

You might also want check out:

Brands you might want to try
Aromatherapy Day time uplifting Blend
Essential Skin Care
Aromatherapy Candle making tutorial

Aromatherapy Day time Uplifting Blend

Aromatherapy is my passion. As i said earlier, it took me 2 whole yrs to actually begin using them. I was reading all about them in those 2 yrs. Once you begin using them, you'll know the difference. I have simply fallen for essential oils. Its like a hobby to buy them now :-)
Here is a really nice recipe to uplift your mood during the day time..

2 tbsp Jojoba (or any carrier oil of you choice)
15 drops Lavender oil
10 drops Rosemary oil
5 drops Lemon essential oil

You can either directly put 2-3 drops on your wrist and rub it with the other. Or use it as your bath blend of the day! Its very soothing. I even use it in my massage oil. It has helped me relieve from back ache, which i got in bargain since i gave birth to our first baby (Hiba).
You might also want to check out:
Essential Skin Care
Daytime uplifting blend
Aromatherapy can be dangerous

How to Make Your Own Aromatherapy Candles Contd...

Step 1: Getting Started: Its always better to cover your work space with a big newspaper. You don't wanna end up messing your kitchen table followed by a hard labor to make it back to sparkling clean!

Step 2: Priming the wick: Every candle you make should use a primed wick. The process of priming wicks is both easy and quick. The purpose of priming your candle wicks is that primed wicks burn more evenly. In addition, a primed wick will light more easily and will burn more reliably. Heat your wax in a double boiler. You only need a small amount of wax as you are only wanting to get the wicks coated in the wax. Tip the pot on an angle so the melted wax gathers in the bottom of the saucepan. This creates a deeper pool of wax. While holding onto the end of the wick, dip the wick into the melted wax and do not let go of the wick. Keep the wick in the melted wax until you see air bubbles rise to the surface. This generally takes about 30 seconds. When this happens, it means that the wick has absorbed a sufficient amount of wax.
When you see the air bubbles, it means the wick can now be removed from the wax.
Lay the wick on some wax paper and pull the wick taught. Let the wax harden. This takes a few minutes and once hard, the wick is ready to use. Once the wick has hardened, you will need to cut off the part of the wick that you were holding because it hasn't been primed. Cut a few millimeters below the unprimed part of the wick. This ensures you have a completely primed wick.

Step 3: Making the candle:
1. Put the wick through one end of the mould. After the wick is about 2.5 cm (1 inch) past the second end of the mould, seal the mould with some dough at the base after tying a knot on the wick. There will be then an open hole at the top where you can pour the wax into. Tie the top end of the wick around a pencil or a chop-stick and rest it on top of the mould. Try to center the wick the best you can. Alternatively, you can insert the wick into the moulded wax, when the wax has just started setting. This is not that successful a method, hence its better if you get a mould that has a hole at its end, so you can tie the wick at the bottom as well as at top (with a pencil) hence preventing it to move until the wax has set.

2. Now that the wick is in place, it's time to melt some stearin in the double boiler. The amount of stearin you use depends on the amount of wax you are using. I never measure anything, so you'll have to do some R&D on your own. Say around a quarter kilo of wax will need a handful of stearin. Thats my measure. As for the color, a general rule of thumb is to use. 2.5 grams (1 oz) of a dye disc per 200 grams (8 oz) of paraffin wax. Once the stearin has melted, add the coloring and your choice of essential oil (ones i have tried are lavender, orange and patchouli). Once the coloring has dissolved, add the wax and heat.

3. Grease the mould slightly with any vegetable oil and once everything in the pot had melted, carefully pour the wax into your mould. Once poured into the mould, you will want to tap the mould on the sides with firm taps. I like to tap with a spoon, but some use their finger. You want to tap hard enough to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Let the wax set on its own which means, you dont need to refrigerate or put the mould in a cold water container to speed up the setting of wax. When a thin layer like thing begins to form on the top, prick a needle many times at different places on that top layer. This is done to set the trapped air bubbles free. This step is important. Else your candle will be bubbly from everywhere, which rather looks ugly and no matter what color or how much color you have used, your candle will still look white.

4. After the candle has cooled, you will notice that a well has formed at the top of the candle. You now have two options. You can do nothing if the well doesn't bother you or you can melt some more wax and fill the well. Synthetic waxes like paraffin will shrink when cooled whereas natural waxes like beeswax do not shrink. This is why there will be a well at the top of the candle if using paraffin wax. If you decide to fill the well with more wax, simply add more melted wax and let cool for a few hours or overnight.

5. Once cool, you can remove the mould seal. Next, remove the wicking needle (pencil) and trim the wick at the base (remember we tied a knot at the end to keep the wick standing?). Put the mould upside down and tap the end and sides of the mould with a spoon. You might need to tap harder to slide out the candle from the mould.

DONE!! Congrats for your first very own made candle! The steps seem loads and complicated, but trust me, its not. Explaining them is a bigger deal. If you read closely, you'll realize there are actually very less steps involved, that too really really simple one.

How to Make Your Own Aromatherapy Candles

My favorite fantasy world(which i can not mention here ^_^), included loads and loads of candles. But when hubby denied me spending on candles, i decided to make my own. Thats when the journey began and now i can make my own designer candles. Only, i don't excel in photography, hence i wont be uploading my own work, because even if the ones I made look good in person, it won't be the case when i click their pics from my cam and upload it.

Now the question arises, Why make it at home when its readily available in abundance in super markets?!

There are many reasons why people want to make their own candles. For me, the reason why I make my own candles is because I like to combine candles with aromatherapy. If I were to buy candles, then it is possible the candles use synthetic scents and I personally prefer natural scents. When I make my own candles, I can control not only the quality of the essential oils used but also the combination. I am sure not every one would like to spend a hefty amount on designer candles. The candles you get for a hundred rupees, you can make around 30 candles in the same amount if you do that at home! Trust me. You can sell your candles for profit. You control the look and design of your candles to compliment your decor.

Final and the simplest reason.. its fun!!! Its like an addiction! Once you begin, you cant stop! So here is a step by step (tried a hundred times) procedure to make your own candles..

Materials required:
1. Wax. There are a huge varieties of waxes used for candle making. For e.g., Soy wax, Beeswax, Paraffin wax etc. The ones readily available in Indian Markets is Paraffin wax. You can get it at any crafts store.

2. Stearin Acid. This is used to add a little gloss to the candles. Stearin also covers up, what paraffin lacks. For e.g. the burning time of a candle. Paraffin wax melts really fast. But if you add stearing, it would burn longer and smoother.

3. Color/Dyes: These are also easily available in the crafts store. Occasionally, when you run out of dyes, you can even use crayons. Yes, the same ones we used for coloring while we were lil kiddies. Small amount of crayon would be sufficient. Its the most in-expensive way of making simple colored candles.

4. Wicks: It comes along with the candle making kit. Or you can ask for more. The ones the shops here have mostly is like a long thick thread. You will have to prime it yourself to convert it into a wick (explained later). (Read the complete Step 2 below only if you are making your own wick.)

5. Moulds: Comes with the kit. Alternatively, you can use old tumblers/glasses to give your own shape. I use those mostly. Although many types of moulds are available in the market.

6. A Double boiler: Dont worry. Its not an alienated apparatus. The term actually means there are 2 pots, one big. Another one slightly smaller. You fill the bigger pot with some water and in the smaller pot is your wax, which you melt, with the heat of the boiling water of the bigger pot. Yes, thats the way candles are melted.

7. Essential oils: You can use synthetic perfume/parfume oils, but they might hinder the burning properties of your candle. Moreover, how else can you get a fine, smooth and relaxing fragrance than from a pure Aromatherapy candle?? Aromatherapy is anyway my passion. Anyway, i discuss more of it in my other posts.

Continued

Aromatherapy can be dangerous!

Its been almost two years since i have been reading and researching aromatherapy/essential oils. I was rather reluctant to begin using it, for i had heard some scary stories about the same. It was of course due to lack of knowledge or should i say lack of "testing-before-using" habit. I dont know about others, but i have this strong habit of testing before using any product over the rugged area of my elbow. It helps me make out if that particular thing suits me.

I had this friend who used some drops of May Chang essential oil directly in her tub water and ended up having her private parts burnt. Another careful habit that i have is, though almost all the web sites recommend using essential oils directly in your bathing water, i dont follow it at all!!! No matter what, even if its just small amount of oil, i blend it with a carrier oil before using it in my bath water. Carrier oils being a little thick and greasy, leaves my skin extra soft and replenished.

So gals, its always better to dilute your essential oils, even if you are using it for a bath.

Cooling Body Splash

Some of us head for the river when we need cooling relief, but if you don’t have a river nearby, try these simple refreshers instead: they’re easy to make and fun to splash on, with special ingredients to tone and deodorize, lift your mood and revitalize you.

Basic Body Splash Method

• 2 ounces distilled water

• 20 drops Essential Oil of choice (we recommend Eucalyptus, Peppermint, or Lavender)

• Find a glass bottle with a misting pump spray top (you can find old perfume bottles at garage sales or thrift shops–just be sure to wash them out very well–or you can buy new bottles online.)

• Add the oil drop by drop to the water. Shake before every use. May be stored in the fridge
  

  for extra cooling!

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