It’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of it. Why should I use essential oils? This may be a question you have been asking yourself as you scroll past articles describing the products and even when you read the pieces I’ve written for this blog.
This is the article you need to read if you are interested in adding essences into your daily routine.
Table of Contents
Inhalation
1. Comforts You In Trying Times
Most of us deal with stress and anxiety through the course of a lifetime, and dealing with it can be pretty difficult. There are several ways we can combat daily stressors. Daily exercise, a healthy well-balanced diet, yoga, and meditation are just a few. Did you know that stress and anxiety can both be eased with a few sniffs of quite a few extracts?
Lavender, chamomile, rose, frankincense and ylang-ylang are just a few of the many fragrances that can relax you. Diffusers work nicely with this type of problem, and topical applications on your temples after dilution with a good carrier oil is another option for reducing stress and anxiety.
2. Ease Your Sneeze
Depending on where you live in the world, certain seasonal changes prompt pollen and spores to fly through the air and into our noses. If you are anything like me, then this can stuff you up and create sinus headaches that make me miserable.
For this, you might find that a little lavender, eucalyptus, clove, lemon, lemongrass, tea tree, or peppermint in a diffuser or even a few drops of your favorite on a cotton ball would help tremendously. Peppermint diluted in some sweet almond or jojoba oil and applied topically can clear up your nasal passages.
3. Brings Down Blood Pressure
Just as stress makes us frazzled, it can also lead to a spike in how fast our heart beats. The number that the nurse gets while putting that band around your arm is important and has a great deal to do with your overall health. When our blood pressure climbs, it can cause damage to your blood vessels.
Some of the natural ways to bring down blood pressure are by exercising and eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies. Extracts can also help you lower your blood pressure by relieving stress and even dilating arteries. Scents you should consider using to lower blood pressure are frankincense, clary sage, lavender, and ylang-ylang.
4. Aid Insomnia
Since they have a relaxing quality, oils like lavender and chamomile are effective when you are in need of sleep. Sometimes, the stress of daily life get to us, and even though they were exhausting, the constant spinning of our wheels can keep us up all night long. It’s times like this when a diffuser that comes with an automatic shut off can be your best friend.
A few drops of these oils in your diffuser placed at the side of your bed might be just what you need. Try not to fall asleep when smelling lavender- I dare you. If that’s not your scent, you might want to try cedarwood, marjoram, bergamot, or vetiver.5. Battles Depression
Depression is a serious problem with more than 300 million sufferers around the world. I don’t know about you, but I am closely familiar with feelings of deep sorrow. I doubt there is a person out there reading this who hasn’t. We get depressed because we get taken for granted, or someone we love passes on and leaves us behind to pick up the pieces.
I take it on head first with meditation, yoga, and exercise, all of which I do when diffusing lavender or frankincense. Ylang-ylang and chamomile are also great choices for this problem.
6. Clears Your Head
When it comes to brain power, there are times when focusing on the task at hand seems impossible. This can be a problem if you are trying to meet a deadline or if you have to take care of your children. We need to be on a lot, especially as a responsible adult, then maybe a few drops of oil can steer your mental attention in the right direction.
Some of the scents known to promote mental clarity are vetiver, frankincense, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, sandalwood, and clary sage.
7. Clears Congestion
Respiratory problems plague us sometimes whether we caught a bug, a virus, or simply having a reaction to something in the air. No matter the source, when we are coughing and wheezing, we will try almost anything to ease our discomfort. There are over-the-counter solutions and pharmaceutical solutions that your doctor can prescribe.
In no way are we saying that essential oils can take the place of conventional medicine, but Eastern medicines have been using them conventionally for years. Some of the scents you should consider when battling congestion are tea tree, frankincense, cedarwood, eucalyptus, chamomile, and oregano.
8. Aids Meditation
If you are like me, then your head is constantly filled with thoughts. What am I doing? What should I be doing? What is that person thinking? Where will I be in twenty years? Sure, there are some of you that aren’t riddled with constant inner dialogue, but for those of you out there that are experiencing the same way, meditation is a viable way to combat it.
Couple that with an essence and your practice will be brought to a whole new level. While breathing, fill your diffuser with a few drops of sandalwood, rose, vetiver, neroli, or frankincense. You can even create a mixture of your own.
9. Promotes Heart Health
As we move through this list, I am reminded of how amazing our bodies are and the dependence we have on certain organs, like the heart. While every organ serves a purpose, the heart is imperative to life. It is on par with the brain and the lungs. Keeping our heart working well is something we should all be thinking about since more than 600,000 people die annually from heart disease in the U.S. alone.
Heart disease isn’t the only issue. There are heart attacks and high blood pressure. All of these are aided with the use of ginger, basil, cypress, and eucalyptus. A good aromatherapy routine along with a healthy diet, exercise, and regular doctors visits should help you stay on top of that heart health.
10. Improves Circulation
Some of these scents, like wintergreen, coriander, and juniper, are amazing aids for getting the blood flowing. While this is directly connected to heart health, some of them aid by lessening feelings of fatigue and others by detoxifying the blood.
11. Improves Focus
A few of them are patchouli, ylang-ylang, lime, and frankincense, which are all powerful aids in helping one find their focus.
12. Bring Balance To Your Hormones
13. Enhances Brain Function
14. Gets You Going
Energy isn’t always easy to come by. So, when we feel our levels faltering and we know we are about to lose all our vigor, go defuse a little rosemary or peppermint. You can also use bergamot or cinnamon if you like to spice it up. Those aren’t your only options either. Orange, lime, eucalyptus, basil, ginger, frankincense, cedarwood, and my beloved lavender are all energy boosters too.
Ingestion
15. Immunity Booster
While our bodies are protected by a layer of the epidermis and other dermis with hopes of keeping out anything that might make us sick, the fact is- things like bacteria, fungus, and other pathogens get in. This is when your immune system needs to step up to the plate and knock those invaders out of the park.
Everyone’s immune system needs help once in a while. Lemon, lavender, thieves blend, and peppermint are all members of the volatile compound family and can kick your immune system into shape.16. Eliminates Toxins
When we eat or breath, toxins get in. You might put them there yourself with cigarettes, meals that are high in unwanted fats, or by taking in the air pollution around you. People with the closest proximity to metropolitan areas are more prone to breathing in toxins.
Extracts that can help you eradicate your body of these toxins include peppermint, lemongrass, ginger, wild orange, lemon, grapefruit, and oregano.17. Aids Digestion
Digestive issues are another area a lot of us have in common. Whether it’s acid reflux, excess gas, or ulcers, a good many of us suffer from some type of ailment that is directly linked to our digestion. While this can be healed with the type of food you eat, these issues can also be attacked in a holistic way with aromatherapy. Scents you should investigate are ginger, dill, basil black pepper, rosemary, peppermint, and cardamom.
18. Aids In Weight Loss
Weight loss is important if your weight is the reason why your health and well being is jeopardized. EOs like grapefruit, peppermint, and cinnamon are all wonderful aids in this struggle. A few scents diffused while you exercise is another fantastic way to shed some of that excess belly fat.
19. Eases Nausea
Another issue directly related to digestive issues is an upset stomach. I have had this feeling before as has millions of people around the world. To curb it, try some lavender, fennel, nutmeg, peppermint, ginger, or a combination of a few.
Topical
20. Lessens The Appearance Of Stretch Marks
Having a baby is a wondrous thing. Once you have a child, you know a love like no other. Our bodies go through a lot during the birth process, and the marks left behind are a reminder of it all. Still, once the children are born, we would like to get our old bodies back, and stretch marks are just one of the hurdles.
Moisturizing your belly with some fractionated coconut oil mixed with patchouli, lavender, and sage could help you fade those scars. It is worth mentioning that if you are pregnant or nursing you should consult your doctor before starting any use of these volatile compounds.
21. Diminishes Wrinkles
As we age, our skin begins to lose its elasticity. It's a part of life and the aging process. Personally, I think wrinkles are lovely reminders of a life lived. I think they are beautiful. Still, in our age-obsessed society, showing yours after forty is considered a no-no. And I think I’m being generous with that cut off age.
If you hate your wrinkles and want to make them go away, start a regimen of lavender, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and a good carrier like rosehip oil. There is nothing wrong with wanting to maintain your youthful glow and doing it naturally with aromas is even better.
22. Eases Muscle Pain
Whether it’s from working out too much or your work a physically laborious job, sometimes our thighs or biceps or back muscles ache. Just as with the cleaners I’ve mentioned earlier, there are plenty of products you can purchase over the counter, but natural solutions are always the way I go if given the choice.
Just as menthol works in those roll-ons, peppermint oil has the same effect after diluted well in a good carrier oil. Other scents that can help you ease that muscle pain are thyme, rosemary, juniper, turmeric, and clove.
23. Grows Hair
Some of the extracts produced and sold by companies like doTERRA or Young Living have the ability to stimulate blood circulation and ignite hair follicles. Of course, you should never apply any essential oils directly to your skin. They should be diluted well with a carrier substance first. The standard ratio is one tablespoon of carrier substance to two drops of extract.
The oils that are good for stimulating hair growth include cedarwood, roman chamomile, rosemary, clary sage, and lavender.24. Helps Cuts and Bruises
The powerful attributes of lavender oil were discovered when a French chemist burned himself and submerged the wound in the extracts from lavender flowers. The results were amazing and from that moment on, oils have been incorporated into medicine in many cultures around the world.
Before you start dousing any burns or cuts with oils in your drawer, be sure to use a dilution. Some coconut oil with lavender, rose geranium, myrrh, and rosemary might just do the trick.
25. Promotes Oral Health
How your teeth and gums look, feel, and smell are an indicator of what is going on in your entire body. The connection between the two has come into the spotlight more in recent years, and taking care of your teeth is becoming more and more important.
As you read, the theme of natural remedies is the common thread for all these usages. Extracts that can help you clean and protect your pearly whites include clove, myrrh, peppermint, spearmint, and most importantly, tea tree. You can add a drop to some coconut oil and swish it around your mouth for maximum effect.26. Stops The Itch
When it comes to bug bites, there are tons of extracts you could use to not only make the annoying itch disappear, the little bump on your leg that comes along with it will heal faster. These aren’t the only reasons why you might itch. It could be a dry scalp or a rash. Whatever the itch is, there’s an extract for that.
Some of them include peppermint, lavender, patchouli, tea tree, frankincense, sandalwood, and myrrh.27. Treats Burns
I am being completely honest when I write that I just burnt my thumb while working on this piece. Writing from home has its perks, no doubt. Yet, when you are at home, you tend to multi-task, or at least I do. When I try to juggle too many things at once, sometimes things fall through the cracks. This time it was my memory when it came to putting on an oven mitt before touching a pan.
After I ran it under cold water, I applied a commercial remedy that had “pain relief” written on the side. Still, the pain continued, so I washed it off and doused it with lavender oil. I didn’t dilute it because this is one of the few oils that doesn’t need dilution before being applied topically.
After ten minutes the pain subsided. The burn is bad enough to leave a big blister, but we’ll see what happens. It’s too soon to tell but I have a feeling it’s going to heal quickly.
28. Relieves Arthritis
In medical terminology, arthritis means inflammation of the joint. When we age, this is a side effect of living in our bodies for so many years. Some peoples hands cramp up and other find bending their elbows painful. No matter the joint, if there is pain there, it puts a damper on whatever activity you might be doing.
Frankincense, rosemary, eucalyptus, peppermint, ginger, cayenne, myrrh, and ginger are only a few of the extracts that can be used to ease these joints. Just dilute it with carrier substance and apply in the area.
29. Fights Cold Sores
This is a herpes virus, and once you have it, you always have it. It just depends on your stress levels if it pops out again or not. Once they do, though, it behooves us, carriers, to get that thing taken care of as quick as possible. Not only do they hurt, they are unsightly and draw way too much attention to my comfort level.
When you feel mouth blistering, try some thyme, ginger, chamomile, peppermint, tea tree, anise, and lemon, and that sore should disappear in no time.
30. Helps Maintain And Achieve Healthy Beautiful Skin
Our skin is the largest organ our bodies have. It protects us from the harmful pathogens that are constantly floating around. It helps us cool ourselves in the warm months and even can keep us warm in the cold. Let’s face it, our skin holds it all together for us.
Skin is the first thing people see, and to keep it looking beautiful is important. Great carrier oils with a few drops of lemongrass, tea tree, ylang-ylang, and lavender could do wonders. Other scents that are great for skin health include juniper, cypress, neroli, and chamomile.31. Save You From Lice
This is a very specific type of bug that makes itself home at the base of our head hair. Children tend to contract this in school, and some folks have picked it up in movie theaters, but they aren’t hard to get rid of. You can create your own remedy by combining vinegar, salt, and a few drops of eucalyptus to prevent another occurrence.
32. Combats Headaches
Your head may hurt from looking at the computer screen for an abnormally long time, or you might be wearing the wrong glasses. Maybe you are prone to migraines, which are the toughest headaches around. The next time the noggin starts to pound and remind you that it needs some calming, diffuse a bit of lavender, lemongrass, ginger, or wild orange. Oregano and peppermint are also known to aid with headaches.
33. Freshens Breath
As for mouthwash, you might want to steer towards the minty flavors like peppermint and spearmint. Clove works too as well as myrrh. Of course, you should know how to make your own mouthwash first. Don’t just put drops of the oil in your mouth since these oils are volatile compounds and might irritate you.
34. Moisturizes
Our bodies are primarily made of water, so when our supplies start to deplete, we need to rehydrate by drinking water. Our skin and scalp are no different. Keeping our bodies moisturized is essential to a healthy exterior. A few scents that aids in this are ylang-ylang, sandalwood, rose, and frankincense.
35. Clears Dandruff
Speaking of keeping our bodies hydrated, dandruff can be a result of dehydrated cells. If you start to see white flakes on the shoulder of your black t-shirt, then maybe it’s time to treat that flaky scalp with some great scents. Peppermint, tea tree, lavender, patchouli, and chamomile are only a few.
36. Balances Hair
Some of us have dry hair and some of us oily. The beauty is in our differences after all. Some of us even have a mixture with an oily scalp and dry ends. All of these situations can be remedied with a little aromatherapy treatment. For dryness, try lavender and patchouli. For oiliness, you can use lemon and peppermint. In fact, lavender works for both.
37. Grows Hair
This is an important issue for some people. Hair is paired with vitality and youth, and losing your hair is not an easy transition for some people. Men aren’t the only ones who lose their hair either, and without attempting to sound sexist, hair loss on women is a harder road to travel because men are socially accepted when bald. Bald women walking around are instantly assumed to be ill and pitied.
To promote hair growth, massage some rosemary, lavender, thyme, lemon, clary sage, and peppermint on your scalp and see if, after six months or so, a difference can be seen.
38. Helps With Shingles
Did you have the chickenpox as a child? If you did, then you have a dormant virus sitting inside of you. When stressed, this can come out as a painful rash known as shingles. It does go away eventually, but it’s a lengthy process of medicines and rest. Adding some aromatherapy scents to your routine can help speed up the process. Peppermint, capsaicin, lemon, and thyme are just a few of the powerful compounds available to help with the pain of this ailment.
39. Heals Rashes
Rose, geranium, lavender, and chamomile are top aids when it comes to rashes caused by allergies or poison oak or ivy. Mixed well with a nice carrier like jojoba, and it can create a soothing mixture to help ease your uncomfortableness. Of course, when dealing with medical issues, always consult a professional before applying anything to your rashes.
External
40. Antifungal Properties
Some fungi are good, some are bad. They live all around us and on top of us, just like our bacterial friends I wrote about earlier. Another thing they have in common with bacteria is that they can make us sick. In this case, it can lead to infection.
Clove, lemongrass, cassia, cinnamon, thyme, oregano, lavender, and tea tree are just a few of the volatile compounds that can kill the fungus around your home or in your body.
41. Cleans Your Home
Cleaning the floors, walls, baseboards, countertops, mirrors, and windows in your home does not have to be dominated by chemicals that fill your air with toxins that end up in the lungs of you and your loved ones. Oils offer the same advantages the chemical cleaners our parents kept under the kitchen sink but without all the harmful side effects.
Scents like eucalyptus, wild orange, lemon, peppermint, and lavender will not only leave your home smelling fresh, they will help disinfect and kill harmful bacteria. The added bonus is that you will be using all natural products and not be contributing to the excess chemicals in our environment.42. Kills Bacteria
These microscopic invaders are everywhere. As gross as it sounds, even our cell phones are riddled with them having more of these little buggers crawling around than a toilet seat. We can’t get rid of all of them, but we can diminish our exposure as much as we can. Guess what? There’s a volatile compound to do that for you.
Try bergamot, lemongrass, oregano, eucalyptus, tea tree, thyme, or peppermint.
43. Eliminates Odors
This goes for your home, your car, your bathroom, or your office. Odors plague us, and there are certain foul ones that are bound to find us. When you are overwhelmed with a bad odor, try a little lemon, orange, and grapefruit of bergamot. If you notice, these are all citrus oils, which are great at eliminating odors.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few oils, and some that you might have sitting in a cool dark place in your home right now can solve a great deal of many ailments for you. Lavender, one of the most popular oils, was listed in most of the points in my list. If you want to learn more about the types available, check out our guide, which is the only list you need on essences.
Some oils may smell different, but as you can see, there are several that share attributes. If you’ve never used essences before, then you should be sure that what your purchase is therapeutic grade and pure. If you have any questions, you should consult an aromatherapy specialist.
For me, I suffer from most, if not all the ailments I listed above, and am surprised to know that there are oils in my drawer I haven’t used to their full potential.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If so, please comment below and let us know. We would love to hear your feedback.
The post 43 Amazing Essential Oil Uses and Benefits appeared first on Better Mind Body Soul.
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