“Essential oils are for making your room smell nice”
That’s how most people enter the fascinating world of essential oils, because typically that’s a person’s first encounter: a friend invites you over, you see a dimly lit globular appliance emitting vapour in the air while phasing through various LED colour sequences. You think, “Pretty high-end air freshener!”. And you’re not wrong. But that’s really just the beginning of their purpose and we hope by the end of this article you’ll have a much deeper appreciation for essential oils and be even more excited about exploring them further.
Before we dive into some purposes for essential oils, what are they? The answer to this question is conveniently found in the name ‘essential’. These oils are concentrated compounds that (like any other oil) float on water (”hydrophobic” if you want a nice technical word to impress your friends) and contain the ‘essence’ of the plant from which they are extracted. Each plant has unique characteristics. Cinnamon and peppermint are two simple examples because you instantly know ‘That’s cinnamon!” or “That’s peppermint!”. The root chemicals that make up these unique compounds that give each plant it’s fingerprint characteristic are found in these compounds and these are what are bottled as ‘essential oils’.
How are essential oils created? Since this article is about what we use essential oils for, suffice it to say that natural plants are harvested (much plant is required to produce a little essential oil) and then processed through either the distillation process or cold-pressing (mechanical). The result is the ‘essence’ of that plant in a bottle.
The Uses of Essential Oils for Our General Well Being
Although it’s easy to see and sometimes get lost in the chaos around us, we also can’t deny we live in a pretty exciting time in history. The internet has made available much information including information about our bodies and health of which physicians of the past could have only dreamed. For this reason (and other more nefarious ones) many countries have made illegal ‘health claims’, especially by businesses. Hence, it is our responsibility to set out on our own quest for pure wellness.
Aromatherapy is a an area of both study and practice that is gaining more traction each year, especially in western cultures where it might have been considered less credible than ‘institutional medicine’ in years past. Aromatherapy is when a person well versed in the benefits of essential oils (the Aromatherapist) suggests or prescribes specific aromas to someone in need for the purpose of combating specific ailments or other challenges. And, unlike the popping an over-the-counter pain killer (no judgment intended) essential oils have been known to benefit us psychologically, not just physically.
Aromatherapy isn’t a new idea, by the way. This concept and practice dates back to ancient Egypt (links) and ancient Greece where
Medicinal Uses
When these wonderful-smelling oils are released to the guest (patient?) of an Aromatherapist, there can be improved health, antiseptic benefits as well as, as we mentioned, psychological ones. Depending on the culture in which we were raised, accepting a plant-based solution to our physical health may be easier for some than others. However, ask yourself this: have you ever heard of cutting open an aloe plant and rubbing it on a burn on your hand? Many have. How about the practice of eating garlic when you feel a common cold approaching? Again, many have and those who do this rave about the results. These are both plant-based and 100% natural health remedies. It is, therefore, not a big stretch to assume there are physical health benefits lying in the riches of the very core oils extracted from these great plants of the world. When it comes to the methodology of how to apply the essential oil (ie. internally, externally, diffusing into the air, etc), this is where a trained Aromatherapist comes in since you should always be careful with your health and body. Another fairly commonly-known example of how essential oils can benefit your body is applying tea-tree oil to foot fungus. It’s such a real and common example so we hope to publish a dedicated case-study on this in the future. “Stay tuned” they say. Another physical ailment where essential oils have seen a lot of popular success are respiratory problems. Because of the unique way the oils react in the lungs and the hormones they release, many have reported good physical results. In addition to direct respiratory benefits, those who enjoy inhaling essential oils have also reported decreased blood pressure. So, essential oils can be used (and with results) to benefit your physical body.
Psychological Uses
In addition, essential oils can be used to benefit your psychology. Let’s admit it, we’re pretty stressed-out creatures (compared to most dogs, cats and birds out there). So how do you ‘treat anxiety’? Without over-complicating the topic, putting your favourite essential oil in your favourite diffuser and sitting down in your favourite room with your favourite book with your favourite music playing playing in the background is just... super relaxing and, go figure, psychologically healthy. And we don’t need a doctor to confirm this - your loved ones will confirm it. So, by performing this simple process you are ‘treating anxiety’. But if you want a more precise approach, you can work with a trained Aromatherapist to narrow this down further.
Spiritual Uses
Spiritual benefits have also been logged as well. This is obviously a more subjective topic, and one that is prone to big discussions (and one we plan to explore further in the future) but we can simplify the topic again: if your body is calm, and your mind is calm, there is a good chance your human spirit will be more ‘open to improvement’ - which is rarely considered a bad thing, spiritually speaking...
Yet More Uses for Essential Oils
Food and Beverage Uses
In the context of food and beverage, many essential oils are safe for human consumption and are therefore used as supplements in diet, as flavouring agents in food and beverage industry. As a quick cautionary side note, as always, pregnant women, children should be extra careful with and proceed with professional advice. Pets also can be allergic to oils so be careful there too.
Cosmetics and Perfumes
Simply put, for centuries essential oils have been used in perfumes and cosmetics and this remains true today.
As a Simple Fragrance
For those readers who have made it to the end of this article, this section is for you. In addition to all these other uses for essential oils, they can also be used as... an air freshener! And the best ones, too. You can buy all sorts of diffusers (we sell them too) including diffusers that plug into car USB jacks. So next time your car, washroom, or exercise room starts to get a little ‘stale’, fire up your diffuser and turn that atmospheric lemon into lemonade! In addition to an air freshener, essential oils can even be used to create a specific environment in a real estate space. For example, perhaps the owner of a hotel would like to create a fresh and uplifting impact on the guest when they walk in? This person could place a diffuser at the right place with the right oil. Or perhaps the owner of a cafe in a mall would like to make someone a little hungry so as to covet their f pastries and freshly brewed coffee? Perhaps they could put a diffuser just outside or near the door with cinnamon essential oil in it. So don’t feel this obvious and simple use for essential oils is not important. It’s where we all got started on our journey to pure wellness.
In Household Cleaners and Products
Ever wondered why some wood cleaner / polish products smell so lemony good? That’s because they probably have some [citronella oils](link) in them, and if they don’t, they might be a bit toxic and perhaps you should consider [making your own](link to DIY wood polish article). In addition to household products like these you can find them in cleaners, too. The world of natural, healthier household products and cleaners is an exciting area of research and if you’re looking for pure oils to make them, we happen to know [a company](link to Talash shop page) who sells them and if you [subscribe](link to newsletter subscription) we’ll periodically send out resources like this when we and the Talash community finds and shares them.
More uses?
Did we sufficiently answer the question “What are essential oils for”? Did we cover all the uses for essential oils? With such a rich, healthy and versatile product, we doubt it. If you’re looking for the world’s best essential oils to try for yourself, We’d love to hear what we missed in the comments below.
