Aromatherapy » Geranium

Introducing the Geranium Essential Oil

Author — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:19:51 +0000

The origin of the geranium plant or the Pelrgonium adoranitissimum (in Latin) can be traced to Africa. It reached Europe and other territories only around he 17th century. It is interesting to note that the only species from where you could extract geranium essential oil is the Geranium Robert or as it popularly known as “lemon plant”.

The Uses of the Geranium Essential Oil

The geranium essential oil is extracted through the distillation process using the whole plant, i.e. flowers, leaves and stalks. Once you have the oil you would be able to benefit from it in many ways. Some of the ailments that could be remedied with this particular oil are anxiety, depression and tension. However, do not use the geranium essential oil before bed as it acts as stimulant and it would not allow you to sleep. For a deep and restful sleep, just put two drops on your pillow at least three hours before bed time.

The germanium oil is believed to combat even cancer as well as mend broken bones. The most popular application is that as a sedative whereby it calms the nerves and elevates mood. It is also an excellent pain killer which could be used to ease away pain when the person is suffering from a disease beyond earthly help.

The geranium essential oil is also used as a mouth wash in order to promote healing of sore throat and halitosis. Since the extract of this plant is a little bitter, not many people prefer to use it in this way, though it is highly effective.

This oil is extremely effective in treating skin diseases especially those who are plagued by eczema both for dry and oily skin. In this case the anti septic and anti inflammatory properties come in good stead as it fights any possible infection and the swelling that such infection causes. Not to be taken lightly, this oil has been found to fight some of the most serious skin problems ever with excellent results.

How Do You Use the Geranium Essential Oil?

Though you could use most of the essential oils directly on the area affected by the problem, you should be careful as not all oils would give the best results while used on directly. As a matter of fact, never use the geranium oil on its own as if you do it would create more trouble than help. The geranium oil needs to be mixed with other oils, gels or lotions before you could use it, so ensure that you do the needful before you apply it to any part of your body.

Love Potions: How Essential Oils Can Improve Your Love Life

Jennifer — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:01:26 +0000

Whether you’re in a brand new relationship or a marriage that has lasted for decades, you can use aromatherapy to enhance the romance for your Valentine. A selection of fragrant essential oils can help create a passionate connection between you and your partner.

How do the aromas of essential oils impact romance? The olfactory lobe – the part of the brain that processes scent – is part of the limbic system, which is associated with emotion and the formation of memory. Tom Havran, aromatherapy specialist at Aura Cacia, says essential oils can be used to facilitate a wide range of moods — including romantic ones.

“There are a number of oils that lovers and aspiring lovers might find useful,” Havran says. “Depending on the situation, you might want to create a relaxing atmosphere, or a stimulating or sensual one — and essential oils are the perfect starting point.”

Essential oils have the potential to elicit romance on four different levels. Some oils offer calming effects that reduce anxiety and self-consciousness, thereby opening the path to intimacy. Other oils are known for their stimulating and inspiring properties and can impact the hormonal system directly, increasing sexual desire. Some oils have been used throughout history as sexual attractants — it’s said that Cleopatra, one of the most well known seductresses in history, used a variety of scents and essential oils to create an atmosphere of passion for her relationship with Marc Antony.

Here is Havran’s rundown of the most popular essential oils in each of these romantic categories:

Calming: geranium, clary sage, lavender, sweet marjoram
Stimulating: cardamom, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon bark
Arousing: neroli, rose otto, ylang ylang, rose absolute
Attracting: sandalwood, patchouli, jasmine, cedarwood

A good candidate for the “ultimate love oil” is vanilla essential oil — especially in combination with cocoa butter. “The vanilla and cocoa combination has a tradition as an irresistibly arousing scent that goes back at least to the Aztecs,” Havran says. “And, it has a strong appeal for both men and women.”

Whichever essential oils you choose, they will work best if you create an environment where emotional and sensual closeness can thrive. If you have children, for example, make arrangements with friends or grandparents to take them for the evening, so that you’ll have uninterrupted time to focus on one another. Draw a hot bath for your partner, adding a few drops of essential oil to the water, and light some candles around the tub. Pour a couple of glasses of wine, give your partner a heartfelt Valentine’s Day card, and your evening of romance will be under way.

Preserve the romantic feelings with essential oils as the night progresses. Keep the scents fresh by using an essential oil diffuser or placing a few drops on your pillows, your bed clothes, or on top of the light bulbs in your bedroom lamps. Or create your own special massage oil by combining a seductive essential oil like jasmine with a carrier oil such as almond oil.

Because essential oils are very concentrated, it takes only a few drops per tablespoon of carrier oil to derive their benefits. However, you should never apply essential oils directly to the skin – always dilute them first in water or a carrier oil such as almond, grapeseed, or jojoba. Some oils such as cinnamon bark and clove have the potential to be irritants and should not be used on the skin at all.

For more on creating your own love potions and how to inspire or rekindle the spirit of love with essential oils, join Aura Cacia’s online chat on February 6 at 7 p.m. CST. To join the chat or access information in advance, visit www.auracacia.com/chat. For more information on aromatherapy and a complete selection of pure, high-quality essential oils, visit www.auracacia.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

The Best Essential Oil Recipes

Jennifer — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:56:40 +0000

Of course you can go out to a store and purchase your essential oil recipes, but if you really want to have some fun and be creative and make your own essential oil recipes, then you should know that the process involved here is really not all that difficult, as long as you have at least a basic idea of what you are doing and where to start.

Exotic Recipes

Arabian Nights

This is one exotic essential oil recipe in particular that is sure to create a romantic mood, for which you will need 3 drops Coriander, 1 drop Frankincense, 3 drops Juniper, and 4 drops Orange.

Egyptian Empress

Another exotic essential oil recipe, this one can really make you feel as though you are in another world, and all you need to do for it is mix 2 drops Cinnamon, 3 drops Lime, 4 drops Rose, and 5 drops Ylang Ylang.

Happiness Recipes

Besides exotic essential oil recipes, there are also happiness essential oil recipes that you can create, which will help you to feel that warm and blissful state of pure happiness and joy. These particular recipes can help to brighten the start of every day

Bliss Recipe

You need: 2 drops Bergamot, 1 drop Jasmine, 1 drop Rose, and 2 drops Sandalwood.

Joyfulness Recipe

You need: 2 drops Basil, 1 drop Geranium, 3 drops Melissa, and 2 drops Sandalwood.

Confidence Recipes

Then there are also various confidence essential oil recipes to choose from, with the four most popular recipes in particular being: Poise, Decisiveness, Self Belief, and Wedding Nerves.

Poise

For the first, Poise, you need 2 drops Basil, 3 drops Bergamot, 1 drop Coriander, and 4 drops Petitgrain.

Decisiveness

For the Decisiveness recipe you need 2 drops Benzoin, 3 drops Frankincense, 1 drop Geranium, and 3 drops Orange.

Self Belief Recipe

You will require 2 drops Ginger, 3 drops Myrtle, 4 drops Rosemary, and 3 drops Verbena.

Wedding Nerves

You need 4 drops Jasmine, 2 drops Lemon, and 1 drop Patchouli.

All of these essential oil recipes work very effectively, and have a pronounced relaxing and soothing effect that no other recipes in the world can offer. Essential oils are truly profound and wonderful, and regardless of whether you make your recipes from scratch or go out and buy them from a store, the point is that you are going to be doing yourself some serious good by using them.

Information on Geranium Essential Oil

Jennifer — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:02:50 +0000

There are literally hundreds of essential oils that you have to choose from, one in particular being geranium essential oil. One of the best features to this oil is that there are so many different uses for it, and specifically it is considered as being one of the best skin care oils. It has constituents, namely geraniol, linalool and citronellol, which combine to produce an aroma that resembles that of rose with a musty, minty-green undertone.

This fresh essential oil definitely has a firm place in aromatherapy, as it helps greatly to balance out the mind and emotions. It also works by stimulating the adrenal cortex and balancing the hormonal system while stimulating the lymphatic system at the same time. It is mostly colorless but will often have a slight light green color to it, with a rather watery viscosity.

Origin

There are 700 different varieties of the plant, which originated from South Africa as well as Reunion and Egypt. They are hairy perennial shrubs that often grow in hedgerows, and which usually stand up to about one meter high.

Details

In terms of the chemical composition of the geranium essential oil, it is composed up of various chemical constituents and includes apinene, myrcene, limonene, menthane, linalool, geranyl acetate, citronellol, geraniol and geranyl butyrate. Geranium essential oil does not cause any side effects, and rather it is non-toxic and non-irritant. It can however cause a slight sensitivity in some people and so you will want to be cautious of this when you begin using the geranium essential oil yourself.

Benefits

There are many benefits offered by this oil, namely in terms of the therapeutic properties that it features, which are astringent, haemostatic, cicatrisant, diuretic, deodorant, styptic, tonic, and vulneray. The geranium essential oil can be used to help in the treatment of acne, bruises, burns, cuts, dermatitis, eczema, lice, and as a mosquito repellant – just to name a few of the various different uses that it is good for.

When shopping for this essential oil, you can usually find it quite easy because it is one of the most popular, however prices will vary and so the best idea is to take a bit of time and shop around from store to store, so that you can check out the different costs and find the best value overall. Remember that buying larger quantities will often save you in terms of money, so this is often the smartest route to take.