Talk Aroma

Everyday when I come from work, the first thing I do after I put down my belongings is start the tub.  It is my happy thought when I am sitting at the office.  In order to get the knots out of my back, the best thing to do is curl up in the tub with a good band playing and relax.  One thing that enhances my bathing experience is a good aromatherapy candle to put me into an even nice mood.          

Scent is one of those little thought of things that has a huge affect on who we are as human beings.  When we have experiences, most of them are stored in our long term memory bank.  Even if we cannot have each memory in the forefront of our minds, those memories are stored for later recollection.  The reason why they are needed for later musings is an evolutionary one.  When a primitive being would experience something, let’s say a stomach ache from a toxic fruit that is stored so that later when she is reminded of that same thing, she knows to put it down and walk away.  It could be a color, a specific feel or even a scent.  Aromatherapy an example of the scents awesome powers.

Essential oils are composed of tiny molecules which are easily dissolved in alcohol, emulsifiers and fats. This allows them to penetrate the skin easily and work into the body by mixing with the fatty tissue.As these highly volatile essences evaporate they are also inhaled, thus entering the body via the millions of sensitive cells that line the nasal passages. These send messages straight to the brain, and affect the emotions by working on the limbic system, which also controls the major functions of the body. Thus in an aromatherapy treatment the essential oils are able to enhance both your physical and psychological well-being at the same time.

Each oil has a distinct chemical composition which determines its fragrance, color, volatility and the ways in which it affects the system, giving each oil its unique set of beneficial properties.

Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile liquid plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds from plants for the purpose of affecting a person’s mood or health. Scientific evidence is weak and preliminary but mildly encouraging for a limited number of claims.

Essential oils differ in chemical composition from other herbal products because the distillation process only recovers the lighter phytomolecules. For this reason essential oils are rich in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, as well as other VOC substances.