Are These Oils Essential?
Hi CandleCalmers, and welcome to this week’s blog.
Well, we launched CandleCalm 3 weeks ago, and from the moment we went live, we’ve had the same question raise its head again and again from members of our amazing CandleCalm community.
It’s the same question I had a while ago, when a close friend recommended aromatherapy to me to help me with my heart palpitations, anxiety and panic attacks.
Being offered all of the usual pills by medical professionals, my habits and beliefs kept me clear of synthetic pharmaceuticals until I really depended on them.
I’m a firm believer that a good diet, staying hydrated, fit and with a decent amount of rest, is a great foundation for being healthy, but sometimes we still need that helping hand. I looked for that helping hand in the form of pure natural products and went down the road of aromatherapy, which led me to essential oils.
So, hopefully, this week’s blog will answer the good and frequent question:
“What exactly, are essential oils?”
Essential oils have been around for a very, very long time, unlike their chemical compound counterpart; fragrances.
Essential oil’s first recorded use was around 1188 in the Islamic Caliphate of Spain.
Islamic health care, during the medieval periods was world class and developed by some truly amazing pioneers of medicine, so much so, that the western cultures quickly adopted their medicinal practices when information was shared through doctrines. Treatment by aromatherapy, and therefore essential oils, being one of them.
An essential oil is a concentrated liquid, containing natural plant, tree, floral and fruit compounds, which are easily evaporated at room temperatures.
Essential oils are mainly extracted from their natural source by distillation. Other processes include resin tapping and cold pressing.
Some can be relatively cheap to buy and others can be very, very expensive depending on things like season, demand, availability, location, ease of access, therapeutic benefits etc.
This is the reason behind essential oil scented candles carrying a higher price tag than fragrance loaded ones. Don’t be put off by the price tags before checking the ingredients of the candle you’re going to burn in your home.
Essential oils have many uses such as inhaling and applying to skin, and are also used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, food and drink flavouring, and for adding scents to household cleaning products etc.
Now, addressing the title of the blog "Are These Oils Essential?". The word “essential” in essential oils typically means that the oil captures the “essence” of the particular organism is it derived from i.e. essence of Clove, essence of Cinnamon etc. It does not mean essential for the human body, unlike the essential needs of fatty or amino acids, which are called “essential” because they are nutritionally required by living organisms. So, in nut-shell, your body does not require these in order to function however, the health benefits they carry have been known to assist healthy bodily functionality.
Essential oils should not be confused with fragrance, as these usually include purely synthetic chemical components whereas pure essential oils are derived from natural sources only.
Interest in essential oils has been massively revived in recent times with the popularity of aromatherapy, which uses essential oils. Oils can be diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage therapy, diffused in the air by a nebulizer, heated over a candle flame, or burned as incense and inhaled in aromatherapy.
The benefits of inhaling essential oils are, but are not limited to:
- Relaxation
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Improve focus and concentration
- Stimulate appetite and digestions
- Induce sleep
- Insect repellent
- Increase circulation
- Boost energy levels
My stress and anxiety started back in 2018 and I’ve been a keen Eucalyptus user ever since, so when Nok started making candles in 2019, using essential oils exclusively for her range of scents was a natural direction to take, as we firmly believe that these oils carry, not only amazing scents, but great health benefits as well.
When I work, when I read, I always burn one of our candles, particularly one blended for focus and reducing stress.
As much as we used to love the smell of 'baby powder' or 'treacle pudding' scented candles filling the house, nothing can take the place of the moods and the health benefits created by essential oils, and the scents are still great.
So, without getting granular or scientific, this is pretty much the origin, use of and benefits of essential oils. If you’d like to know more, there is a wealth of information online and also some very good blend suggestions for particular conditions, mood creations or seasonal scents.
If you’d like to see or try a particular blend, why not email us at info@candlecalm.co.uk and we’ll do all we can to help you.
Until the next time CandleCalmers, stay safe and ignite your scents.
Team CandleCalm.