Monday, May 27, 2013

Aromatherapy Blending Tips


Aromatherapy is a holistic therapy using therapeutic essential oils, extracted from plants, flowers, leaves, roots, barks, resins and rinds of some fruits, to aid in the healing and enhancing of the body, mind and spirit. It is considered both an art and a science. It is an art with the blending of a pleasant aromatic mixture, and it is a science in the knowledge of the therapeutic properties, chemical constituents and contraindications of the essential oils used.

Essential oils, if used correctly, can help one combat the daily stresses of life, providing relief from ailments, stress, and increasing the feeling of well-being. One way to reap the benefits of essential oils is to custom blend them yourself according to your health concerns and scent preferences. Blending essential oils is all about synergy - which is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For example, when we choose an essential oil for a specific condition, it will be effective. If we add two more essential oils that have similar properties for that condition, we create a more powerful blend!


In Aromatherapy, one of the keys to blending successfully is having a lovely smell that flows. To obtain this it’s helpful to understand the classifications of notes in your blend.  Notes are the different components of a scent and determine the order in which we smell them. Top notes are the smell that will hit your senses first, and make up about 45 - 50% of the blend. They give the first impression of a blend, the scent doesn't stick around for very long as they are usually very volatile, and can be sharp, fresh and penetrating. Middle notes make up about 35 - 40% of the blend. These smells are the body of the blend, coming in right after the top notes, and act as blend enhancers; often warm, mellow scents that round off the blend. Base notes make up about 10 - 20 % of the blend. These smells are longer lasting and deepen the fragrance, and are warm, rich, and intense; completing the blend. Use your base notes sparingly as they can overpower your blends. The ratio of what notes comprise your blend is as follows: top:mid:base = 4:3:1 This means that you want to have the greatest part of the scent be made of top notes, then mid notes, then only a little bit of base notes.  If you're not sure what note the essential oil is, take a look at our website in our Aromatherapy Section.

Here at Voyageur we have had a few certified aromatherapists on staff over the years, and they have given us some incredibly valuable information about essential oils and blending them.  Here is a list of health conditions and the essential oils used to help them:

                                             Respiratory


CONDITIONS
TOP NOTES
MIDDLE NOTES
BASE NOTES
Asthma

Basil                
Lemon
Thyme            
Eucalyptus
Bergamot        
Tea Tree
Cypress            
Marjoram         
Benzoin         
Bronchitis

Basil               
Bergamot
Lemon            
Eucalyptus
Tea tree          
Thyme
Lavender           
Rosemary          
Sandalwood      
Colds

Basil                
Lemon
Thyme            
Orange
Benzoin             
Cedarwood       
Coughs

Eucalyptus     
Thyme
Pine                   
Sandalwood
Cedarwood       
Sinusitis

Basil               
Lemon
Eucalyptus     
Thyme
Tea tree         
Cajaput  
Peppermint
Lavender     
Benzoin    
Clove     
Throat soreness


Bergamot      
Clary Sage                
Eucalyptus     
Lemon
Thyme           
Tea tree
Geranium         

Skin

CONDITIONS
TOP NOTES
MIDDLE NOTES
BASE NOTES
Acne

Tea tree              
Benzoin              
Cedarwood         
Patchouli            
Vetiver       
Neroli
Rose
Clove

Athlete’s foot

Tea Tree             
Pine          
Blue Chamomile
Broken Capillaries

Chamomile       
Neroli                
Cellulite

Grapefruit          
Sage
Lemon               
Thyme
Basil          
Lemongrass
Juniper              
Cypress
Lavender        
Fennel
Rosemary          
Geranium        
Cedarwood        
Cuts/Wounds

Bergamot            
Lemon
Orange                
Sage
Benzoin              
Rose  
Cedarwood       
Clove
Frankincense      
Myrrh               
Eczema


Geranium          
Rose                    

Emotional/Psychological/Nervous System

CONDITIONS
TOP NOTES
MIDDLE NOTES
BASE NOTES
Anxiety + Tension

Basil                
Clary Sage       
Orange            

Chamomile         
Rose                  
Benzoin
Ylang Ylang       
Cedarwood        
Depression

Basil              
Clary Sage      
Orange            
Lavender             
Frankincense      
Patchouli           
Epilepsy

Basil             
Clary Sage

Headaches (general)

Basil                 
Lemon
Rose                 
Neroli
Insomnia

Basil                 
Lemon
Thyme            
Petitgrain
Bergamot         
Clary Sage
Chamomile         
Juniper
Neroli                  
Ylang Ylang
Sandalwood         
Rose
Stress - Sudden


Panic

Bergamot        
Clary Sage
Marjoram       
Rosemary

Frankincense        
Myrrh
Neroli          
Sandalwood
Balancing - Emotional
Lemon           
Orange

Cedarwood           
Rose
Grief

Bergamot         
Clary Sage
Thyme           

Lavender        
Rosewood
Frankincense        
Neroli
Ylang Ylang          
Vetiver
Rose            
Sandalwood
Grounding
  
Ginger                
Patchouli
Vetiver          
Cedarwood
Self Esteem
-Need to increase
Ylang Ylang            
Rose

                                                    Hair


CONDITIONS
TOP NOTES
MIDDLE NOTES
BASE NOTES
Normal Hair

Lavender       
Geranium
Rosemary     
Carrot
Neroli       
Rose
Dry Hair


Lavender      
Geranium
Rosemary    
Carrot
Yarrow        
Chamomile
Sandalwood    
Rose
Greasy Hair

Lemon           
Basil
Thyme     
Yarrow
Cypress      
Fragile Hair

Thyme    
Clary Sage

Alopecia

Thyme    
Sage
Carrot         
Chamomile
Cypress       
Thyme
Dandruff

Basil       
Thyme
Sage        
Tea Tree
Carrot        
Rosemary

Bleached Hair



To blend your aromatherapy scent choose one or two top note oils, a middle note oil, and a base note oil.  You might want to drop them onto a fragrance paddle tester first to see if the scents work well together, some flow better than others!  You can pre-mix your own blends and package them into amber essential oil bottles.  Your new essential oil blend can be diluted into a carrier oil or lotion and applied topically, put onto a tissue and inhaled, put into a diffuser, or dropped right into the bath.  As a general rule of thumb, if you're making a topical application of aromatherapy for adults in good health you should use 1 drop of essential oil per 2 ml of carrier oil. For the elderly it should be decreased to 1 drop per 4 ml of carrier oil, and for children (depending on their age) it should be 1 drop per 10 ml of carrier oil.  Keep in mind that essential oils are very concentrated plant matter and can have certain situations where they're not recommended, called contraindications.  Look up the contraindications of your oils here before blending them to make sure they're safe to use for your purpose!  Also, we always recommend talking to your doctor and/or certified aromatherapist before using essential oils as treatments.


Here are a few examples of Aromatherapy Blends that we've created:

Breathe Blend - to help clear chest congestion and assist in breathing

Headache Halo - to naturally get rid of headaches and migraines
Anti-Anxiety - helps to calm down the nervous system and ease tension
Child's Blend - helpful for colds, stuffy heads and slight fevers as well as lack of sleep and restlessness

We hope with these helpful tips you can start your own therapeutic aroma journey!

Happy blending,


The Voyageur Team


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