Nadine Dilong It’s Aromatherapy Awareness Week, so we’ve talked to essential oil experts to find out how we can benefit from the fragrant oils and why you might want to consider introducing aromatherapy to your treatment menu.
Aromatherapy has been used for thousands of years to improve people’s physical and psychological wellbeing. The different smells (aromas) of oils found in plants, and the chemical constituents of the oils, can produce different emotional and physiological reactions. In our industry, aromatherapy is most commonly used as part of massage treatments, but there are many other ways you could introduce it to your spa or clinic.
Essential oils can be vaporised in an oil burner, which you could place in treatment rooms or at your reception area to fill the room with calming notes of lavender, or invigorating citrus blends, depending on the ambiance you’re going for. Essential oils can also be added to baths should you offer any hydrotherapy services, or why not let each client choose their favourite blend based on their mood, and gifting them a small bottle as a little thank you post-treatment?
Especially during this time of enhanced hygiene measures and people’s focus on staying well, offering immune boosting essential oils could be a special add-on to your services that makes clients feel safe and welcome. When it comes to the efficacy of essential oils and their effect on our immune system, research suggests that the antibacterial properties of oils such as eucalyptus can help the body fight off harmful bacteria, simply by inhaling it. Frankincense has been found to act anti-inflammatory, thereby boosting the immune response of the body, and oregano has been shown to make bacterial cell membranes more permeable.
Oil Garden Learning and Development Manager, Maggie Maroussis, explains, “essential oils provide symptomatic relief of general health concerns. Certain blends can also assist with emotional and physical wellbeing for a range of concerns including stress and sleep.”
Whichever brand of essential oils you choose to use, it’s important to know how it was derived.
“Today the main methods of extraction of essential oils, as carried out by Oil Garden, are steam distillation and mechanical pressing. However be warned, there are many oils on the market that are extracted using solvents such as petroleum which leave a residue in the finished oil. It is also standard practice for commercial growers to spray pesticides on their crops and use synthetic fertilisers which carry over to the finished oil after the steam distillation process. Our close partnerships with growers and distillers worldwide, ensure that our products are pesticide and chemical free,” says Maroussis.
So if you would like to offer your clients that little something special upon reopening your business, aromatherapy might be the way to go.
