Aromatherapy Baths for Women
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Essential Oils for Nail Care
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Acne and Essential Oil
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Essential Oils As Aphrodisiacs
For centuries, people have used scents to seduce, arouse the body and mind, and set the mood for sex.
Let's look at essential oils that may act as aphrodisiacs:
Myrrh, myrtle, and neroli may also be good for aromatherapy in the bedroom. Because scent is such a personal preference, you may have to experiment to see what works best for you and your partner.
You can add any of these essential oils (except maybe cinnamon because its too hot) to a carrier oil for massage. Here are a couple of massage blends.
5 drops rose or ylang ylang essential oil
10 drops sandalwood essential oil
5 drops bergamot essential oil
3 tablespoons carrier oil
or
5 drops sandalwood essential oil
2 drops ylang ylang essential oil
5 drops patchouli essential oil
2 drops clary sage essential oil
3 tablespoons carrier oil
For a bath, you can add five to ten drops of the aphrodisiac essential oils (not cinnamon) to warm water.
Let's look at essential oils that may act as aphrodisiacs:
- Cinnamon has been chosen in studies as a favorite scent by both men and women. Brian researcher Daniel Amen, MD, says that cinnamon is the most powerful aphrodisiac for men. Other spicy essential oils for sex include ginger and nutmeg. (Interesting that these spices are also used in cooking, isn't it?
- Jasmine is seductive and sedating. It has been used in India as an aphrodisiac for centuries.
- Patchouli is another Indian aphrodisiac. It has a balancing, grounding component in its earthy fragrance that helps to ease anxiety.
- Rose is harmonizing, comforting, and romantic. (Cleopatra seduced Marc Anthony with it.)
- Sandalwood is close to human personal scent and creates an exotic, sensual atmosphere.
- Vanilla. In the early 20th century, a sex researcher found that workers in a vanilla factory were constantly sexually aroused from being around the scent.
- Ylang ylang is sweet and exotic. It is used for impotency and frigidity.
Myrrh, myrtle, and neroli may also be good for aromatherapy in the bedroom. Because scent is such a personal preference, you may have to experiment to see what works best for you and your partner.
You can add any of these essential oils (except maybe cinnamon because its too hot) to a carrier oil for massage. Here are a couple of massage blends.
5 drops rose or ylang ylang essential oil
10 drops sandalwood essential oil
5 drops bergamot essential oil
3 tablespoons carrier oil
or
5 drops sandalwood essential oil
2 drops ylang ylang essential oil
5 drops patchouli essential oil
2 drops clary sage essential oil
3 tablespoons carrier oil
For a bath, you can add five to ten drops of the aphrodisiac essential oils (not cinnamon) to warm water.
Sensitivity to Essential Oils?
Are you concerned about allergies or sensitivities to essential oils used in aromatherapy? To help your understand what might be happening, I adapted the following information with permission from Sensitivities to Essential Oils by David Stewart, PhD, DNM.
You can be sensitive to essential oils in a couple of ways, but an allergic reaction is not one of them. Allergies are erroneous immune responses to proteins, peptides, and amino acids - all nitrogen compounds, none of which are found in essential oils.
You can have an allergic reaction to a vegetable oil, such as olive, corn, peanut, walnut, almond, etc., because these oils are cold-pressed and can contain small amounts of proteins. Some essential oil blends on the market also contain one of these carrier oils. So read your labels. What may appear to be an allergic reaction to a blend of essential oils may be due to a carrier oil in the blend.
You can also have an allergic reaction to citrus oils, which are cold pressed from the rind. However, while we refer to citrus oils (such as orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit) as "essential oils," strictly speaking they are not. By definition, a true essential oil must be steam distilled, not expressed.
Some oils are extracted by solvents, such as onycha, jasmine, and neroli. Strictly speaking, they too are not true essential oils. Technically, they should be called absolutes, not essential oils. One can have a true allergic reaction to solvent-extracted oils because, like the citrus oils, they have not passed through a distillation process and can contain traces of proteins, peptides, or amino acids.
Because of the nature of distillation by heat, steam, and water that true essential oils must undergo, they do not contain the necessary compounds to trigger allergies because these compounds do not pass through the distillation process.
Hot Oils
Some oils are naturally hot, such as oregano, thyme, mountain savory, cinnamon, and cassia. This is because of their phenolic compound content, which cleanses cells and paves the way to healing.
If burning or irritation occurs to the skin from such oils, promptly rub vegetable oil over the essential oil. The same thing applies if you get an essential oil in your eyes. Don't use water, use a vegetable oil for immediate relief. Pour it directly in the eyes.
Detox Reactions
As for sensitivities to essential oils that produce a skin rash or other allergic-like symptoms such as headaches or nausea, this is always a detox reaction. While allergic reactions get worse and worse with each exposure to the offending substance (allergen), detox reactions eventually get less and less severe with each exposure to an essential oil until it disappears completely once the toxins are cleared from the system.
If you have a detox reaction from an essential oil, back off from using oils for a while and increase your water intake and, perhaps, get into a cleansing routine for a month or so, going light on the use of essential oils for a while. What is happening in this kind of sensitivity is that the oils are detoxing you too rapidly for the colon and kidneys to handle, so the toxins come out through the skin as the third avenue for excretion. It is better to keep the rate of detox down to levels that are flushed out through the kidneys and colon, if possible.
Adulterated Oils
One other source of sensitivity that may be blamed on essential oils actually has to do with perfume and food grade oils. True therapeutic grade essential oils are grown organically, harvested in proper ways and times, distilled gently at minimum temperatures and pressures, and bottled without any ingredients removed or added. However, some aromatic oils sold in retail stores and other places are perfume or food grade oils.
A true therapeutic grade essential oil contains hundreds of compounds, all of which are necessary in a proper balance for them to possess healing power. Only a few of these compounds contribute significantly to aroma and/or taste. When essential oils are used for fragrances or flavors, the only compounds that matter to commercial users are the ones that have smell or taste. Hence, fragrance and food grade oils are always incomplete in their composition, containing only part of the chemical profile of a complete therapeutic grade oil. Furthermore, they are usually adulterated with synthetic compounds or diluted with petrochemicals to increase their volume and profitability.
You can have reactions to such oils, but these are not reactions to true essential oils. Such reactions are due to the adulterants in the oil.
For more information about essential oils, reactions to them, and allergies, see Chemistry Of Essential Oils Made Simple.
You can be sensitive to essential oils in a couple of ways, but an allergic reaction is not one of them. Allergies are erroneous immune responses to proteins, peptides, and amino acids - all nitrogen compounds, none of which are found in essential oils.
You can have an allergic reaction to a vegetable oil, such as olive, corn, peanut, walnut, almond, etc., because these oils are cold-pressed and can contain small amounts of proteins. Some essential oil blends on the market also contain one of these carrier oils. So read your labels. What may appear to be an allergic reaction to a blend of essential oils may be due to a carrier oil in the blend.
You can also have an allergic reaction to citrus oils, which are cold pressed from the rind. However, while we refer to citrus oils (such as orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit) as "essential oils," strictly speaking they are not. By definition, a true essential oil must be steam distilled, not expressed.
Some oils are extracted by solvents, such as onycha, jasmine, and neroli. Strictly speaking, they too are not true essential oils. Technically, they should be called absolutes, not essential oils. One can have a true allergic reaction to solvent-extracted oils because, like the citrus oils, they have not passed through a distillation process and can contain traces of proteins, peptides, or amino acids.
Because of the nature of distillation by heat, steam, and water that true essential oils must undergo, they do not contain the necessary compounds to trigger allergies because these compounds do not pass through the distillation process.
Hot Oils
Some oils are naturally hot, such as oregano, thyme, mountain savory, cinnamon, and cassia. This is because of their phenolic compound content, which cleanses cells and paves the way to healing.
If burning or irritation occurs to the skin from such oils, promptly rub vegetable oil over the essential oil. The same thing applies if you get an essential oil in your eyes. Don't use water, use a vegetable oil for immediate relief. Pour it directly in the eyes.
Detox Reactions
As for sensitivities to essential oils that produce a skin rash or other allergic-like symptoms such as headaches or nausea, this is always a detox reaction. While allergic reactions get worse and worse with each exposure to the offending substance (allergen), detox reactions eventually get less and less severe with each exposure to an essential oil until it disappears completely once the toxins are cleared from the system.
If you have a detox reaction from an essential oil, back off from using oils for a while and increase your water intake and, perhaps, get into a cleansing routine for a month or so, going light on the use of essential oils for a while. What is happening in this kind of sensitivity is that the oils are detoxing you too rapidly for the colon and kidneys to handle, so the toxins come out through the skin as the third avenue for excretion. It is better to keep the rate of detox down to levels that are flushed out through the kidneys and colon, if possible.
Adulterated Oils
One other source of sensitivity that may be blamed on essential oils actually has to do with perfume and food grade oils. True therapeutic grade essential oils are grown organically, harvested in proper ways and times, distilled gently at minimum temperatures and pressures, and bottled without any ingredients removed or added. However, some aromatic oils sold in retail stores and other places are perfume or food grade oils.
A true therapeutic grade essential oil contains hundreds of compounds, all of which are necessary in a proper balance for them to possess healing power. Only a few of these compounds contribute significantly to aroma and/or taste. When essential oils are used for fragrances or flavors, the only compounds that matter to commercial users are the ones that have smell or taste. Hence, fragrance and food grade oils are always incomplete in their composition, containing only part of the chemical profile of a complete therapeutic grade oil. Furthermore, they are usually adulterated with synthetic compounds or diluted with petrochemicals to increase their volume and profitability.
You can have reactions to such oils, but these are not reactions to true essential oils. Such reactions are due to the adulterants in the oil.
For more information about essential oils, reactions to them, and allergies, see Chemistry Of Essential Oils Made Simple.
Essential Oils for Hair Care
I'm in the process of moving the content from this blog to my new website. The information from this post has moved to Essential Oils for Hair.
Aromatherapy Bath Recipes
I'm in the process of moving the content from this blog to my new website. The information from this post has moved to Aromatherapy Bath Recipes.
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