Essential Oils are one of many newish crazes that have hit the scene; along with goat yoga, cat yoga, ninja gyms, and Uber Scooters. While essential oils have been around for years it seems like more and more people are getting hip to benefits and the multi-purposes of essential oils. You can now buy them at your local Whole Foods or HEB. Even on Amazon people have been able to source their lavender oil. However, even though it may seem as though everyone on our timeline is woke to the benefits Essential Oils many of us truly aren’t. And honestly that’s okay it’s never to late to learn something super beneficial and new.
Essential Oils have been a pivotal party of society predating biblical times and is referenced in the bible not only as use for embalming the body; but for prayer purposes, perfume use, gifts, ceremonial use, healing, and anointing as well. To name a small few below we have:
- “The priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed” (Leviticus 14:4).
- “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you’” (Exodus 30:34-36).
- “Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics” (Esther 2:12).
However, the bible also mentions Aloes ( Yes!! Aloe Vera), Cinnamon (Cassia), and Cypress. The Egyptians used essential oils as an important part of their Spirituality and Medical Practices. Not to mention essential oils have always been used for skin care. I have to mention that Egypt was not the only culture using Essential Oils. See, essential oils is a extraction and distillation process. Many African Cultures from the beginning of time have been using herbs and plants healing, antibacterial, cooking, medication, and much more. Let’s remember Kemet (Ancient Egypt) was founded by Ancient Nubians and Sudanese Ancestors. Meaning they developed this process from them. Essential Oils was way to preserve these herbs and plants. They would last longer, be kept easier, and you get more use out of them. Beyond Africa India and China developed their own yet similar use for Essentials Oils in Ayurvedic Medicine. This is the use of Plants and Herbs as Essential Oils you can take as medicine along with the crushing and drying process of the herbs, spices, and plants; again much like the African Culture. During the reign of Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor around 2697 to 2597BC in China the first Essential Oil was recorded. Huang Ti wrote a book with guidelines still used today in Western Medicine. Around this time India was also indulging in the practices as well. Creating writing and teaching with the use of 700 different substance compiled of herbs, spices, and flowers. This added in fighting of many things such as plagues that threatened the country.
Later on the wisdom of the Egyptians was absorbed by the ancient Greeks: the most well-known physician of that time, Hippocrates (c.460-377 BC) was a firm believer in treating a patient holistically and included massage in many of his therapies. The Romans followed after and adopted the Greek’s knowledge of Essential Oils and used aromatic baths to promote health and proper hygiene. The Roman Empire did have a dark time where bathing was looked upon as a sin. However, the use of Essential Oils was used to cover the bad smell. The oils also helped to fight off bacterial and acted as a natural anti-pesticide. Thank God!
The Renaissance period pushed Essential Oils back into the forefront again reviving the use of traditional medicine. A great Physician at the time, Paracelsus (1493-1541) had great success “curing leprosy” with plant extracts. However, term “aromatherapy” as it is known today was first coined in 1937 by the French chemist and perfumer Rene Maurice Gattefosse. He was not a believer in the natural health rather, he was interested in the properties essential oils exhibited. He performed a great deal of research and later went on to publish a book in 1928 sharing the many cases where essential oils has helped cure people. Mr. Gattefosse had first hand knowledge of the healing properties because in 1910 he burnt his hand badly in his laboratory, and being the first compound available, he treated his hand with pure undiluted lavender oil. This not only immediately eased the pain, but helped heal the hand without any sign of infection or scarring. He also found that small amounts of essential oils are absorbed by the body and interact with the body’s chemistry. Once discovered this led to conducting further research where lavender oil was used in many French hospitals. In fact, during the outbreak of Spanish influenza which claimed many lives in France. Zero reported deaths of any personnel who worked in hospitals where the lavender oil was present. During the second World War, as a result of Gattefosse’s experiments, doctors went on to successfully treat many injured soldiers with essential oils.
From this period the modern use of Essential Oils has been making a slow but grand comeback since then. Today we see Essential Oils as well as other forms of herbs, spices, and flowers used in many traditional ways. From perfume, medical, cooking, and much more Traditional( not alternative) medicine in the form of herbs is on its way to become the norm again within society.
A you can see above essential oils are beneficial in a wide variety of ways considering the fact that majority of all plants whether herbs or spices; even flowers have many healing components and more. Essential Oils have been linked to having a considerable amount of benefits for hair, skin, and all around health. The benefits of essential oils all depends on you health needs and the oils used. Essential Oils can be used for:
- Skin irritation and Rashes
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Upset Stomach
- Common Colds
- Sore Throat
- Anxiety
- Fever
- Inflammation
- Pain Reduction
A few Essential Oils that can be used are:
Bergamot: skin healing components such as eczema and anxiety-reducing
Chamomile: improves mood, cold, fevers and nausea
Clove: dental and pain-relieving
Eucalyptus: topical pain-reliever and decongestant
Frankincense: mood-enhancer and stress-reducer
Lavender: reduces stress and sleep-inducing
Lemon: a natural household cleaner and disinfectant
Oregano: skin-healing
Peppermint: cold and flu prevention, aids in digestion, and energy-booster
Rosemary: skin and hair health and joint pain
Doing you own personal research for your essential oil uses is always suggested. Today the FDA and Doctors are still doing research on Essential Oils and there benefits and risk. While using Essential Oils are beneficial in many ways, the high demand for them cause many businesses to produce Essential Oils that do more harm than good. If you desire to use Essential Oils for more than Topical and Aroma use please seek out a 100% pure food grade Essential Oil company.
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Rose Garden Vibez 