5 Essential Oils to Revive Your Love for Self

Your nose does more than just breathe and smell. Did you know that your olfactory senses (the sensory receptors present in your nostrils) are directly connected to your occipital lobe (part of the brain that comprehends sensory information)? This very direct connection of scents and smells to your nervous system ensures a strong response from your body when you smell something really, really, strong. Scents are more than just scents, and you’re simply just one perfect fragrance away from discovering the magic of them.

This mystical effect of good scents is precisely what led to the creation and practices of aromatherapy. Aromatherapy refers to a system of holistic healing enabled by the fragrance of natural plant extracts. It has existed not just for a few decades but centuries! This is where we first discover some important essential oil uses. Because your olfactory senses are so closely connected to your nervous system, they have the ability to get to your emotional self and stimulate just the right nerves to cause a sense of contentment and happiness in you. Considering how stressful our lives are in such a fast-paced, running on a track of modern world, who would not want to bask in the glory of this blessing?

Often, we get caught up with everyday stress and without realising it we start to neglect all the care and love we deserve from ourselves! Self-care is essential for a good, healthy, and happy life. And lucky for you, one of the biggest essential oil benefits is that they are the perfect self-care technique to use after an exhausting and hectic week. Among the plethora of mystical flowers, wood, fruit, and musky essential oils out there, it can be quite a task to pick an essential oil that is absolutely perfect for you. Fret not, because we’ve got you! In this blog, we will talk about some of the top essential oils that could be perfect for you to use to revive your unconditional love for yourself!

Ways To Use Essential Oils for Self-Care

Before getting into it, we’ll have to stop you here for a while. Even if you are aware of the general essential oil benefits and uses, it is important to know how to use these before buying them, and for those who need an introduction to the world of aromatherapy, it is crucial to know how you make essential oils work.

Essential oils are used in a variety of ways and it is up to the individual to choose which one suits them best. The basic idea is that essential oils work by either simply the sense of smell or by being absorbed by the skin. Here are some ways you can optimise on essential oil benefits: -

• Diffuser- A diffuser refers to a device that can disperse fragrance into the air from a liquid form (oil or diluted fragrances). This is a common and pretty easy way to use essential oils, and various types of diffusers are sold in markets. A humidifier can also be used similarly.
  
  
• With A Carrier Oil in Body Massage Oil- A carrier or base oil that is odourless or has a lighter scent is mixed with essential oils, which have a strong fragrance. Here, essential oils are absorbed into the skin and work their magic through both muscle absorption and scent as you inhale it while massaging it on your body.
  
  
• Inhaling- This is a pretty straightforward way to use essential oils, but not necessarily suitable for everyone. You can simply use a steamer and a few drops of essential oils into it. The fragrance directly reaches your nose as well as your facial skin. However, it could seem way too intense and concentrated for your nostrils if you don’t dilute them or directly inhale too much essential oil.
  
  
• Another way to simply smell essential oils is by adding a few drops on a cotton ball or your handkerchief, and smelling it as you please.
  
  
• Baths- Another very beautiful, relaxing, and romantic way to use essential oils is by adding them to your bathwater. You soak in the essential oil benefits. Your skin absorbs their fragrance along with the water. After the bath, you can smell the fragrance on your skin and feel like a fresh new person.

 

5 Essential Oils to Die (And Live) For

Essential oils are created by distilling fragrant essence from natural plant extracts to create a unique and concentrated oil. Different essential oils may help you in their unique way. Essential oil uses can include simply having a beautiful sweet smell that makes you happy, being medicinal, relieving cough, and in some cases improving skin & hair health. Without further ado, let us discuss some of the top essential oils you can use to revive your love for yourself, relieve migraines, for skincare, and relieve stress.

 

Lavender Oil

Does anyone even really talk about essential oils without mentioning the most popular and effective one - lavender? We don’t think so! Let us start with a basic introduction - lavender essential oil is made of distilled extracts taken from lavender plants. This is a fragrance that is popular in a variety of areas such as perfumery, oils, and skincare essentials. The reason for the renowned reputation lavender essential oil gets is how versatile it is.

Not only is lavender essential oil a scent that smells simply mystical - but it has proved to have a variety of benefits. Lavender essential oil benefits include reduction of depression, reducing stress, calming your skin, killing acne bacteria, fighting dandruff, and softening your hair - all with just one little bottle of it! Lavender is therefore a multipurpose oil. It is also pretty easy to find in any market. If used as a body massage oil, we recommend mixing the essential oil with jojoba or coconut oil as the carrier.

Lavender Essential Oil Uses: -

• Relieving stress & depression
• Fighting inflammation on skin & scalp
• Healing acne scars
• Naturally fragrant skin
• Detoxification
• Sedation (treating insomnia and sleep problems)
• Treating nausea
• Dealing with menstrual cramps
• Repelling insects

 

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint is an essential oil ingredient that is widely known amongst fragrance enthusiasts as well as alternative medicine practitioners, thanks to its cool & nose block clearing fragrance. This essential oil is made up of the extracts of peppermint, which is a plant that comes from the mint family. It is mostly found in Europe and North America but is exported all around the world currently. It is fairly easy to find in markets.

Pure peppermint oil is often very concentrated which is why it is always diluted with a carrier oil when applied to the skin. Peppermint Essential Oil benefits are limitless. For the skin, it can be very beneficial in relieving inflammation and itching. It also works great for daily health problems such as headaches, and muscle pains. It can be inhaled using streamers to treat a cough and clear sinuses too! Peppermint essential oil may also be found in a lot of foods in low quantities to add a flavour. The cooling and refreshing fragrance of peppermint essential oil are sure to relieve your stress and make you forget all your worries - as the scent reaches your limbic system and regulates your moods and emotions.

Peppermint essential oil uses: -

• Relieving itching, muscle pain, and headaches
• Treating sinuses
• Refreshing the mind
• Dealing with hot summers
• Treating nose blocks
• Treating Asthma

 

Frankincense Oil

Though not very popular in the mainstream, frankincense oil has a spicy charm that is hard to find elsewhere. Frankincense essential oil is made up of “Boswellia” trees that grow in areas around the Middle East and India. As a matter of fact, frankincense was used a lot by Ayurveda in its time to relieve arthritis, better digestion, oil pulling, and even treat asthma. Frankincense is alternatively known as “olibanum”.

This essential oil may not be something you find everywhere, but the extent of frankincense essential oil benefits certainly exceeds expectations. Many times, frankincense is ingested in form of pills or concocted drinks to relieve symptoms of indigestion and cold, thanks to its anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties. The frankincense oil has a distinct earthy smell with spicy and citrus undertones, which is refreshing for the brain. If used for breathing problems, it is best to use frankincense in a diffuser. Otherwise, most of this essential oil’s benefits come from its anti-bacterial properties that come in handy when it comes to oral health and digestion.

Frankincense essential oil uses: -

• Improving oral health
• Treating asthma
• Treating indigestion
• Reducing ulcers
• Improving lung health and breathing
• Pain relief

 

Ylang Ylang Oil

Ylang-ylang refers to a beautiful star-shaped yellow flower with a fragrance to die for. It has a smell similar to the sweet jasmine but is somehow much popular in perfumery and essential oil making. Because of how much it is loved in perfumery many refer to the ylang-ylang plant as “the perfume tree”. If that doesn’t tell you about how lovely its scent is, barely anything else could!

This floral essential oil is similar to lavender essential oil if we were to speak of ylang-ylang’s essential oil benefits. It is great to treat the dryness of the skin while leaving a sweet lovely scent behind. Its fragrance has also proved to be amazing for treating stress, mood problems, and giving you a sense of contentment. There is no way that aromatherapy with ylang-ylang oil won’t help you refresh yourself after a long exhausting day. Whether you use it in a diffuser in your room as you read a romance book, as a bath oil, or when relaxing with a body massage oil, this pretty flower is ready to mesmerise you with its scent. You can mix it with jojoba or coconut oil if you wish to do a massage.

Ylang Ylang essential oil uses: -

• Stress relief
• Treating dry skin
• Refreshing the mind
• Relaxation
• Treating nausea
• Lowering blood pressure
• Repelling insects
• Getting rid of body odour

 

Sandalwood Oil

Sandalwood (commonly known as Chandan) is a timeless classic for the fragrance, self-care, and beauty world. Not only do sandalwood trees help you with a variety of skin problems, but they possess this amazing woody fragrance that is quite frankly unmatched. This is why sandalwood essential oils are a popular choice, especially in India. Ayurveda too used and uses sandalwood for purposes such as treating wounds, healing, skincare, and bathing.

The sandalwood essential oil comes from the East Indian Sandalwood tree and originates largely from the Indian subcontinent, though it is now used and exported all around the world. Sandalwood essential oil benefits have the specialty of being both medicinally useful and dermatologically effective. Because of its strong scent, this oil is used commonly in perfumes, soaps, lotions, incense sticks, and much, much more. It is most commonly used as a skin-healing agent but has anti-anxiety benefits as an essential oil. After having a hectic day, inhaling the mesmerising fragrance of sandalwood or massaging it into your skin with a soothing carrier oil might be exactly what you need to de-stress and put yourself first for once.

Sandalwood essential oil uses: -

• Wound healing
• Dry Skin
• Lowering blood pressure
• Reducing stress
• Improving mood
• Moisturising and skin rejuvenating baths
• Dealing with itchy skin

 

Parting Note

Amidst a pandemic that has cost us almost 2 years of our lives, it can be hard to find the time to give yourself the love you very much deserve. Life is stressful, hectic, and kind of fatigue-inducing for us all at this moment, and sometimes all we need is a good refreshing break to wake up the next day and rise like a champion again. We believe that all of us are champions with the right push.

It is scientifically known and accepted that pleasant fragrances can and do stimulate your limbic system (the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating your moods). This is where essential oil uses can come in handy for us all. Good scents can do more than just make you feel and smell pretty - they can make you happy. They can help you have a clear mind so you can take a step back, think things over, and relax a little to live your best life. Aromatherapy can do us all some good. We hope that our list of essential oils at the very least add something pleasant to your life, if not help you find complete contentment.