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Aromatherapy has been used for
thousands of years and may be something
you enjoy in your home. However, your
aromatherapy may actually be more
harmful than helpful!
Plants and essential oils have
beenusedinhealthpracticesfor
thousands of years. The word
Aromatherapy first appeared
in the literature about 1937 by
a French chemist, Gattefosse
who claimed to effectively
treat a bad burn with lavender
essential oil.
Over the years, aromatherapy
lost it’s true meaning as a healing remedy
andbecameassociatedmorewithperfume
and fragrances. We see advertising of
lemon or lavender oil in our detergent
and cleaners thinking that makes it work
better – wrong! It is a fragrance and sells
product but is not helpful to us!
Most essential oils sold in stores are
fragrance
grade. Thatmeanstheyhavebeen
adulterated. They are not given to us in their
genuine
form. In fact, some sources state
that there is only about 2-3% of the world
market that is actually genuine essential oils.
You may have seen labels that read
100%
Pure, therapeutic grade or certified grade
and you would believe that you are getting a
genuine essential oil. Probably not! There is
a small amount of the pure oil in the bottle,
maybe 5-10% of the volume, and the rest is
an extender of some sort. In addition, there
are no standards to quantify a therapeutic or
certified grade oil.
Why is a genuine oil so
important?
They are lipid soluble which
means they can move into
our cells to help promote
healing and balance. However,
solvents and extenders, which
are found in most essential
oils, are also lipid soluble. They
can actually create more harm. WE do not
know outcomes of long term build-up of
solvents/toxins in our system. It may lead
to inflammation and possible illness.
You might say, well I am just using my
aromatherapy product as an air freshener
and I like how it makes me
feel – no harm with that
right? Wrong! Once again
you may be causing more
harm than good to your
health. When we breathe
in an odor, it goes directly
to the brain and if it is a
How to Identify Quality Essential
Oils for Aromatherapy
BYDEB REIS, NP, MSN
SOAR TO SUCCESS
/
J
une
2016
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Personal Growth Strategies