Aromatherapy is the use of essential plant oils for their beneficial health effects. Aromatherapy practitioners sometimes use the plant oils by applying them directly to the skin or ingesting them, but most often, the essential oils are simply dispersed in a room and inhaled. Whether using room aromatherapy actually contributes to your health or just makes a room smell nice is still under debate.
Aromatherapy Basics
Aromatherapy uses concentrated plant extracts, many of which can be irritating or even toxic in concentrated form. The essential oils are obtained from the leaves, roots, seeds or petals of flowers, such as attar of roses. There is debate about whether aromatherapy works, and how it works if it is effective. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that the aroma itself may be an important factor, but another possibility is that some of the substances within the essential oil interact with hormones or enzymes in the bloodstream.
Aromatherapy Candles and Diffusers
You can buy candles that are already infused with essential oils, so that releasing the oils into a room is as simple as lighting the candle and allowing it to burn for awhile. Alternatively, essential oil diffusers can be found in many styles and include simple reed diffusers; oil burners--special diffuser rings designed to sit over an incandescent lamp--and jewelry with a space for essential oils. There is even a USB device that uses your computer's power to heat up and release aromatherapy oils.
Nebulizers
Aromatherapy nebulizers are an effective way of filling your room with fragrance. Rather than just evaporate the essential oil, a nebulizer turns the liquid into a very fine mist that can easily spread throughout your room. Nebulizers can be left unattended because they do not use heat to spread the oil and so don't create a fire hazard. Some models have timers. Nebulizers also use less essential oil to create the same level of room fragrance as other forms of aromatherapy diffusers. This means they are kinder to your wallet because some essential oils can be quite expensive.
Choosing Essential Oils
You can find aromatherapy oils at most natural health stores or natural food stores, and a quick search on the Internet will find many sources for quality products. To choose essential oils, first decide what you want to achieve. Do you want to relax and turn your room into a spa? If so, lavender is a good choice. Are you trying to work at home and want to remain alert? Then peppermint oil may be what you need. Read about the different essential oils and their advantages before you purchase any of them.
Quasi-Aromatherapy
You must be an educated consumer when purchasing essential oils. In addition to choosing the fragrances you want, you need to be aware of the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils. Essential oils are 100 percent plant-based oils. They do not contain any synthetic chemicals. Fragrance oils and perfumes often contain a mix of natural plant oils and man-made chemicals, while some inexpensive products may be entirely synthetic. The term "aromatherapy" has no legal definition, so manufacturers can advertise synthetic products as "aromatherapy" even though they are man-made and unlikely to offer you any of the benefits of plant-based products.
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