body & mind balance » aroma

SCENTED JEWELLERY

Body & Mind Balance — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:33:15 +0000

Since the earliest times scents have been worn by people. The Egyptians made scented wax-cones that were placed on the head. During the day the wax melted from the heat of sun and body, to imbue the wearer with its scent. During the plague, the “bird-masks” were invented to be worn by doctors as protection against airborne bacteria. In the beak was placed a material infused in a blend of essential oils that would filter, and kill, bacteria.

These masks later became the “prototype” for the well-known Venetian carnival-mask. (right)

Through the centuries jewelery has been designed to hold scents in different ways, usually in compartments such as lockers, spheres and other figures.

This beautiful bracelet is made to carry your favorite scent, be it an essential oil, a blend thereof or a perfume. The scent is infused in material that is put in the locker. Designer Cathy Gins creates these fabulous jewels. You can read her profile and check out her jewelery on this site.

http://aromawear.com/discover.htm

Or this gorgeous necklace…

Or maybe a card-case…

SCENTING WITH ESSENTIAL OILS – do you smell it?

Body & Mind Balance — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:53:42 +0000

The whole point to scenting with essential oils is because they are mood-enhancers and they will make a difference in how we feel, or perceive, our environment. In the early 90′s a study was made where essential oil of petit-grain (Citrus aurantium) and grapefruit (Citrus paradisii) were used to scent the air in an underground pedestrian tunnel. Pedestrians were asked simple questions before entering the scented tunnel(1) and after(2).

How do you perceive the underground tunnel? Everybody without exception said it made them anxious and ill at ease.
Everybody without exception said they felt uplifted and calm.

Just a small example of what essential oils can do to your emotional world. Essential oils are basically balancing, meaning they will bring you to a good state of normality when you are upset in any way. Upset can also be over-the-top high and stressed out by something wonderful; essential oils will bring you back to a level where you will still feel wonderful, but in a balanced way. When you feel down or angry or scared, the oils will help you to balance that by their up-lifting properties.

For use of different oils, please see earlier posts where I present useful oils for different states of mind.

How to do it:

Aroma candles;….sort of. Essential oils are volatile and burn easily. I have experimented much with this and all that happens is that the oils smell slightly burned and the candle burns too high and gives off a blackish smoke. Essential oils in aromacandles are usually blends of synthetic fragrances that do nothing but smell good. This in itself can be enough if you are happy with that.
Aroma burners; Definitely. You fill the cup with water and 3-10 dr. of essential oils (depending on the size of the space you want to scent.) and light a tea-candle under. BUT; if there is not enough water so it burns away; the essential oils will get burned, leaving a not so nice smell and a almost impossible-to-remove-residue in the bowl. Aroma-burners can be a bit messy.
Electrical burners & bulb-rings; Easy to use and the oil will not burn since the heat is controlled. Good to use in children’s room since it doesn’t really need any supervision. Don’t forget to unplug it!
Aroma-fans; These are the best. The essential oil is dropped onto a filter that fits on top of a fan. Electrical current (or batteries) moves the fan so the essential oils are dispersed into the air. This way the oils are never heated or warmed, making them keep maximum therapeutic power. Used in this way the essential oils effectively kill a large percent of airborne bacteria and pathogens.
Aroma stones; Good for personal use like in an office or your car. Scents a small area since there is no heat or motion to move the oils into the atmosphere.
Hot water / radiator; functions for momentary uses; like in the bathroom. Just a drop or 2 of essential oil in the hand-basin, rinse with warm water and the bathroom is beautifully scented. Essential oils on cotton-balls behind the radiator works fine if you are sure they will not catch on fire!!! Better to float essential oils on hot water in a bowl.

The thing to know is that essential oils are volatile; they “fly” easily which is also why they burn easily. Heat or motion (such as a fan) is always needed to disperse them.

The Japanese are very forward with the whole scenting business; they were already using essential oils in the ventilation-systems of big offices back in the mid-90′s. They were/are also pioneering the use of scented billboards and scented video-publicity in public places. The idea is this: If you are constantly bombarded with an uplifting scent each time you see the publicity for, say a washing-powder, you will – almost automatically – buy that powder, since you are programmed by the scent to feel good whenever you see the packaging….brilliant! And it functions so well.

Essential oils will not cover up a smell or anesthetize your olfactory system. But they will make things smell nicer and they will definitely make you feel better, calmer and happier.

ESSENTIAL OIL QUALITY – part 4

Body & Mind Balance — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:44:04 +0000

There are methods with which to change, increase or replace essential oils.

Synthesizing: Chemically recreating the aroma in a laboratory. Then you have an essence, not an essential oil. In my earlier entries I have spoken of the synergy in an essential oil and how important it is when we are using it for therapeutic/pleasurable reasons. A synthetic essence is nothing but an aroma. As far as making you feel better, it is only because the aroma is pleasurable…it stays in the nose. Synthetic aromas are often sweet and slightly overpowering.

Cutting: Mixing a more expensive essential oil with other, cheaper, essential oils, or synthetic aromatics, to create larger amounts of oil for economic purposes. Lavender (Lavandula officinalis)will sometimes be mixed with Lavandin (Lavandula fragrans). Lemonbalm (Melissa officinalis) will be mixed with Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus). These oils are of course useless for aromatherapeutic use.

Standardizing: In industry (perfumery/toiletries/foods/pharmaceutical) the oils always need to be exactly the same, which they by nature are not, and this system was created to ensure a homogeneous aroma every year: The main 1 or 2 chemicals present in the essential oil are usually the ones that give the overall aroma. When the proportion between them stays the same, the aroma will stay the same. Therefore certain standards are given to essential oils which decrees the percentage of the main constituents within the essential oil. If the percentage is too high, some is taken out. If the percentage is too low, some will be added. Sometimes synthetics might be added, but mostly isolated chemical-extractions are used. Sometimes chemicals are extracted from the oil and used as they are, an example is Menthol that is extracted fromPeppermint (Mentha piperita). A much standardized oil is Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) where the main constituent is cineol (60-85%). The commercial standardization is 98% cineol.

All plants do not contain essential oils. A wide misunderstanding is that everything that has a scent has an essential oil, this is not so.

Apple, Lily of the Valley, Lilac, Peach, Strawberry….the list is long…DO NOT CONTAIN ESSENTIAL OILS. These are all synthetic aromas created chemically in a laboratory. They will do nothing but smell.