Aroma therapy works primarily with smells. Aroma means: smell. Aroma therapy is also related with phytotherapy, because essential oils, the “tools” of aroma therapy, can also be used internally or even directly on the skin, because of their medicinal ingredients. Though natural, essential oils are not safe to be used without a professionally schooled therapist. Therefore an introduction.

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About therapy in alternative medicine

A therapy is the product of a many years lasting intense study about that what heals people, it is healthcare, preventive healthcare or supportive healthcare. A lot of therapies, like phyto therapy, reflexzone therapy, Bach flower therapy, aroma therapy, osteopathy, several kinds of massages, Thai Yoga massage, lymph drainage, orthomolecular therapy, Ayurvedic coaching and therapies, are categorised as alternative medicine.

Alternative medicine is a strange term for holistic medicine, the original authentic way of healing, in fact the only complete medicine, because it is based on (w)holism, the wholeness of life, nature and earth. “Normal” medicine, the medicine that is considered as the best, which is related with pharmacy, science and insurances, is not whole, because their view on the human being is only physical, materialistic, and a lot where patients complain about, they say, is created “between the ears”. With other words: nonsense. This is their false interpretation. Fact is that in not any case one therapy or medicine is enough to bring you back to who you really are. Not one is the most perfect. Mostly a patient goes through a process and from the one to the other, more and more going to the true cause of being out of balance.

Any kind of therapy is an intense study about its healing effects, the mastering of all the disciplines and theories belonging to this specific therapy, expertise via practise, but next to that the therapist needs to be educated in anatomy, physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and advice, how to run a practice, the rules and disciplines belonging to this, the administration about the information of the patient, hygiene. The therapist needs to be updated via courses and workshops, seminars and briefings, constantly. The study is never finished. Only a registered therapist has the right education, and expertise.

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The importance of registered therapists

This long intro to Aroma Therapy was needed to explain my worries about Aroma Therapy. A lot can be found on internet, so many websites, and not any, or hardly any of them has information about education, or registration. I read that it is possible to follow a course about Aroma Therapy via internet. This is one of the reasons why I do understand the gap between integrated medicine (the medicine that is legalised by the governments, world wide) and alternative medicine (the medicine that is still rejected as medicine, hardly tolerated, often ridiculed, but the true way of healing where Hippocrates was working with. Hippocrates is the father of modern medicine, but modern medicine has lost the essence of healing.)

Too many step into the circuit of alternative medicine, pretend they are a therapist, and know something.  These amateurs, often even quacks, create a wrong view on the true professionals, the registered therapists, and alternative medicine.

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Geranium Sylvaticum

A few days ago I was making photos in my Norwegian wild garden. This one, the “Geranium Sylvaticum” grows there:

When searching on internet about it, about (maybe) healing qualities, I was surprised to read that it is used in Aroma Therapy, because the plant does not smell at all. Usually you can smell it on a far distance. Even when rubbing a leaf between my fingers, there is no smell, neither of the flower. But there are several kinds of Geranium, obviously, and which one is exactly the “Aroma Therapy” one?

The Pelargonium graveolens is the name of the geranium you must know, I am sure, it is the one that you can buy in a garden center, for in your house, or in your garden, and this plant seems to be cultivated out of the South African wild species. The flowers are always in a crown, several flowers together on one stem. The Sylvaticum has one flower on a stem.

It has wonderful benefits, like:

• Geranium oil calms and relaxes at severe emotional pressure.
• It is suitable for depression, restores inner balance, drives out bad thoughts and unfriendly moods and opens eyes to the beautiful sides of life.
• Geranium is considered a female oil and can therefore be used to treat premenstrual syndrome and complaints during menopause.
• Geranium oil works anti-depressant, astringent and anti-inflammatory, furthermore wound healing and antifungal.
• In addition, geranium etheric oil can be used for blood sugar lowering and dehydrating, in addition, it is a good mosquito repellent and can be used in the control of lice.
• Also in cases of skin problems, geranium is a recommended oil, whether you have a fat or dry skin geranium will harmonise the sebum production. It is used against cellulitis because geranium works dehydrating and detoxifying. Geranium is also used in case you suffer from winter hands and feet, fever rash. Source

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About the Geranium Sylvaticum I could find wonderful information, but the words etheric oil are just once mentioned, with not any information concerning aroma therapy or phyto therapy qualities. I found an Icelandic website where Geranium Sylvaticum is mentioned on a page where two products can be ordered. One product is a pot with cream, with ingredients of the Geranium Sylvaticum in it, and the price is about 37 euros. The other article is a little bottle, not any info how much cl is in it, and the costs are almost 50 euros. In my opinion the prices are far too high.

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Confusing

The total of information about the Geranium as the name of the essential oil, used in aroma therapy, is confusing. To be sure about the oil I guess the best is to visit a shop, where you can test the bottle and ask for information.

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Advice for a not expensive home made skin-product with essential oils

Buy a 10 ml. bottle with your favourite essential oil. Your nose tells you what is for you the best. Create your own body-“cream”, with a high quality ecological or organic olive oil or almond oil as a base. Price of the Geranium Essential Oil varies of course, it depends on the country, the website. I saw one on a Dutch website, the flower they show is the Geranium Sylvaticum. Costs: 5 cc for about 7 euros, but is the oil indeed from that plant or from the Pelargonium graveolens?

A good quality olive oil costs about 15 euros per half liter, but this depends on the country where you live: for about 22 euros you can create a great, so nice smelling body oil, for a daily use during several months, also possible to use as a massage oil.  The oil nourishes your skin absolutely perfect, the best is to add the oil when you have taken a shower, on the still wet skin: you need lesser body oil, because the oil is so much more easy to be adapted by a warm skin.

With this recipe you have more quantity, and an excellent quality for so much lesser money. Dosage of the essential oils: ask an Aroma Therapist. For myself I always create a body oil with Lavender. Dosage: 150 ml organic olive oil or almond oil, 30 drips essential oil. I use this also for my hair, after washing, with what is left on my hands. I use it after washing hands, during the day. I have created my own dispensers, for bathroom, kitchen, bedroom. It is my day cream, night cream, body oil, sun protection, after sun care, and my skin looks healthy, young, natural. I smell natural. The olive oil/ almond oil smell is totally gone after adding the essential oil.

The most perfect, hygienic and cheapest are the small dispenser glass bottles from Kikkoman Natural Soy Sauce (150 ml), when empty. But one can buy them also here.

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