Spas should use their unique position
and wealth of knowledge to educate
every guest on aromatherapy uses and
benefits.
the Power of aromatherapy
The word “aromatherapy” is often
misunderstood. It’s been misinterpreted
to mean that it’s only about “aroma,”
which has been short sighted on the
part of the spa industry because it limits
aromatherapy’s full range of health-
enhancing applications that could be
incorporated into spa programming.
Although the term aromatherapy did
not appear until the early 1900s, the
concept has been around for thousands
of years. Egyptians used botanical
extracts to treat diseases, and the Greek
physician Dioscorides even wrote books
on essential oils and their healing
properties.
Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use
of essential oils extracted and distilled
from various parts of plants. Essential
oils have an aroma and also a plant
chemistry, both of which effect physi-
ology by helping to restore balance and
well-being physically, emotionally and
energetically.
There are two ways that we take in
the benefits of essential oils. Smell, of
course, plays a major role. When
breathed in, these plant oils stimulate
smell receptors in the nose sending
messages through nerves to the brain’s
limbic system. These messages can then
affect moods and emotions, and may
have some physiological effects on the
body, according to the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
When blended into carrier oils and
applied to the skin, the essential oils are
“essential oils
have an aroma
and also a plant
chemistry, both
of which effect
physiology by
helping to restore
balance and well-
being physically,
emotionally and
energetically.”
absorbed through the dermal layers and
carried into the bloodstream within 20
minutes. Thus, massage for face and
body is one of the best application
methods for delivering the therapeutic
essential oils trans-dermally.
sourcing Quality essential oils
Initially, the market for essential oils was
mainly aromatherapy practitioners and
estheticians. Today, there is also a very
large retail market and an equally large
number of companies that supply that
market. Essential oils can now be
purchased not only in the spa retail
space, but also in grocery stores, drug
stores and, of course, online.
The rise in the number of suppliers,
unfortunately, has also brought extreme
variations in the quality of the products.
So, how do you tell the difference?
A high quality essential oil is unadul-
August 2018
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