advice

Hey all-

I am an aromatherapy newbie and am not sure how I should start with it!
What kinds of essential oils should I start out with? There are so many different kinds, I'm not sure what I should get for the basics first. Is there a certain carrier oil (general purpose, for massage, etc.) that you would recommend?

Any advice is appreciated--thanks!

Hi & welcome,

When I stared with essential oils I went to a local health food store and they had a little area with testers. I sniffed my way up and down the tester bar. :-) Then I bought a book with lots of recipes that used oils for various purposes. Since sleeping has always been a challenge I started playing with oils designed to help sleep like lavender.

After I got the sleep thing down, I started playing with oils to energize and oils to relax and worked my way through a couple of different recipes.

As far as carrier oils, everyone seems to gravitate to oils that they resonate with. My own massage therapist always uses almond oil as a base because she likes the movement on the skin she gets and the aroma. She adds her own essential oils and often uses ylang ylang for me.

When I used to do massage I found that I preferred sesame oil first and almond second. Some people mix a combination of oils with parts of sesame and almond. Olive oil is heavier and will overpower some of the lighter essential oils. Finding the right carrier to work with the essential oils is a lot like playing around with recipes. You have to try them for youself and see what aromas and textures you like.

Why not start with a small amount of almond or sesame and then play with some of the lighter essential oils like lavender or ylang ylang and make some of your own oils.

Please keep us updated on your progress. :-) Remember to always take precautions with essential oils and not apply them directly to the skin or w/out a carrier. Also, buy the best oils you can afford and get a good resource guide.

Best wishes,
Karen

Karen-
Thank you so much for the wonderful, descriptive advice...I will definitely use this info in the future! I appreciate your help!

Hi Schizophonica,

Glad my post helped. :-) Please let me know how your journal into aromatherapy progresses. :-)

Are you also into homeopathy? Right now I am sucking down Cold Calms to try and head off a cold that is lurking around my head. :-)

Best wishes,
Karen

Thanks Karen, I'll keep you updated on anything new.

I'm interested in basically all things aromatherapy, homeopathy, reflexology, whatever! I think it's all pretty fascinating, all these different ways of doing things instead of the standard ways of before used to help people's health.

Hope you're feeling better from that cold soon. Thanks!