How Do Essential Oils Work?

Essential oils are said to help everything from poor sleep to ailing health conditions. Let’s dive into how they work and why you might want to consider trying them out!

What is an essential oil?

Essential oils are extracted from plants. The extraction process typically involves steaming or cold pressing parts of the plant to capture the fragrance-emitting oils.

Essential oils for aromatherapy

People often use essential oils as natural remedies for poor health through something called aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is when you inhale the scent of essential oils in order to feel better.

Essential oils aren’t meant to be used excessively or swallowed. Depending on the type of plant essence, it may be recommended to rub the essential oils on your skin to help improve absorption.

Essential oils for topical application

If you want to apply the essential oil to your skin directly, it’s important to use a carrier oil that makes the process safe and easy. This is because essential oils by themselves can be too strong to be applied directly.

My Herb Clinic uses good quality carrier oils such as jojoba and almond oil to allow most people to safely apply essential oils topically.

If you are someone who has extremely sensitive skin, you may want to do a sort of patch test with your essential oils. You can apply some of the oil to your inner wrist or elbow and wait to see if there is any noticeable, unpleasant reaction.

Essential oils and health

Essential oils come in plenty of scents. You can pick and choose the right ones for you. Floral fragrances like lavender are very popular due to the way they can smell calming and pleasing to people who inhale them.

Breathing in the scents of essential oils may be able to trigger memories or emotions in a positive way for you, leading you to feel more comfortable. Some people who use essential oils to improve their mental health and reduce anxiety have spoken out on how the scents have been able to help them achieve a more tranquil state of mind.

The different types of oils

My Herb Clinic offers a wide range of essential oils. You can find the blend that is best suited for your preferences and method of essential oil use. Some of our popular oils include Pure Essential Oils, Celestial Absolutes, Attars, unique blends, gorgeous roll-ons, perfumes, as well as oils specifically created for soothing massages. With so many options available, you’re bound to find one that you can try out!

Scent

The classic way of using essential oils is to inhale their scent. When you smell a fragrance, its scent molecules enter your nose where they can remain for a while. There is a specialized tissue that contains receptor neurons that basically act as containers for the scent molecules.

These receptor neurons can then send electrical signals to your brain’s olfactory bulb, the centre of your sense of smell. The bulb then sends these electrical impulses to other parts of your body.

One of the parts that are connected to the bulb like this is the limbic system. The limbic system is linked to the autonomic nervous system.

The connections are what allow the wonderful fragrances that come from essential oils to have an effect on your body and mind. Depending on the scent and the plants, you may feel stimulated or relaxed after using the essential oils.

Bath

Baths are already great for when the day’s been long and you need some relaxing me-time. Add some essential oils to your routine and you can improve your bathing experience.

All you have to do is add a few drops to your bath as you’re running it. Or if you’re in the shower, you can drip some onto the shower floor to allow the scent of the essential oils to waft upwards. Showering with essential oils may also be able to let your skin absorb the oils more effectively due to the warm water opening up your pores.

Internal use

Essential oils should NOT be ingested. As per Australian law, you should never ingest essential oils since they are meant to be used for their fragrance and calming effects, not for ingesting. If you have any more questions related to how you should best and safely use essential oils, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Get Your Essential Oils Today!

My Herb Clinic offers a wide range of essential oils mixed for convenience and comfort.

We have oils that aim to relieve your stress and anxiety as well as ones that seek to make your life more exciting and stimulating. My Herb Clinic also offers herbal and natural products that may be able to improve your life in other ways. Come check out our products today!