Essential Oils 101

You may have heard about essential oils, especially if you look up natural remedies for physical and mental ailments, but are not sure exactly what they are. This article is going to provide a brief summary of essential oils, how they are made, and what they can do for you.

What is an essential oil?

Knowing the basics of essential oils can help you understand more about how they are able to help you and encourage you to use them more often as a natural remedy. Essential oils are oils that are extracted from parts of flowers, plants, and trees. The oils come from the flower petals, bark, leaves, seeds, roots, and fruits. Even a single drop of oil from these parts of a plant or tree can have drastic positive impacts on mental and physical ailments. The way they are extracted is usually by steaming the plant to separate the oil from water, which is a type of distillation process. They are highly concentrated and too strong for direct contact on your skin.

Why are essential oils used?

Essential oils are used as a natural or holistic remedy for various ailments. There is a long list of things they can help with. While they are not meant to replace medical treatment, they can help complement and help with everything from migraines to skin conditions. Here is a short list of the many ways essential oils can help you:

• Insomnia
• Headaches and migraines
• Joint aches and pains
• Chronic pain
• Menstrual irregularities
• Cups, scrapes and burns
• Signs of aging and wrinkles
• Anxiety, stress, and depression

How do you use essential oils?

You have a few different options for using your essential oils. A common way is through aromatherapy, where you get the benefits from having the scent in the air, such as with a diffuser or by placing it in your bathtub. You can ingest oils if they are diluted properly, which is often done when you make rose water or have it in your tea. Then you can use it topically on your skin when you want to get rid of acne, treat a bug or insect bite, or get a natural glow on your skin.

With essential oils, you have the option of using just one for its main benefit, such as lavender to relieve stress, chamomile for insomnia, or Frankincense for allergy symptoms. You can also make blends to have a different scent and help with more ailments at one time.