It?s the most recent craze, and it seems that everyone you know is getting hooked. Everywhere you turn, you see advertisements and products with sweet names and even sweeter smells: lavender, chamomile, jasmine, and rose. These little black glass bottles seem to surround you – they?re in your local grocery store, your pharmacy, your neighbor?s bathroom hand soap. Exactly what are first?essential oils, and where do you even begin to start with learning about their properties, their benefits, and how they can enhance your quality of life?

First Essential Oils | Finding The Right Ones For You

Although they come packaged in small little bottles, essential oils can be quite intimidating to understand. We?re going back to the basics today and taking a look at a number of tips that will help you to do your best research and gain a full understanding of the world of essential oils. Read on to discover the most common types, the benefits you can expect, and how to go about finding the right essential oils for you!

Before we begin, it?s helpful to learn the what, why, and how of incorporating essential oils into your lifestyle. In simple terms, an essential oil is a highly concentrated plant extract. Essential oil extraction is highly concentrated, so a little bit will certainly go a long way, no matter your own unique purposes. And while it might seem that essential oils have just recently become the hot new trend, they have actually been around for centuries and centuries, used by ancient civilizations for the same purposes that they are used in modern day.

You might be wondering – how is it possible that essential oils that were used by ancient people are still relevant today? With all of our modern-day advances in medical technology, surely these would have died out by now, right? Let?s take a quick look at exactly what essential oils do. Here are some of the most common healing properties that essential oils provided both 500 years ago, and today:

• They combat inflammation, both internal and external on the skin.
• They stimulate the immune system and help to fight off sickness like the common cold.
• They provide relaxing benefits and can reduce depression, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms.
• They aid in cosmetic purposes, from everything to longer and thicker hair, to reducing redness and dryness in the skin.

While not all essential oils contain this exact combination of benefits, the overwhelming majority will offer these healing properties, some at different strengths than others, and every essential oil working differently based on the person who is using it. It?s important to make sure that you?re investing in top-quality, legitimate essential oils, and not just smelly perfumes and lotions that are masquerading as the real deal. Here are some tips and advice on how to go about locating and purchasing all of your essential oil products:

• Check the product to see if the company is registered with the Aromatherapy Trade Council- these products have been tested and chemically approved for use in aromatherapy treatments.
• Avoid overly priced essential oils. If you?re shopping around and see products that are priced drastically higher than the majority of the ones you?re encountering, chances are that it?s not the most bang for your buck. The good thing about essential oils is that they are almost always created equal – one company can?t really boast to have a cleaner or higher quality essential oil.
• When in doubt, don?t buy! Take some time, do some research, and don?t let a sweeping impulse get the better of you.

Knowing how to correctly use essential oils is another key element that many will not take the time to learn about properly. It can be as simple as reading the instructions on your essential oil bottle – some products will say that direct skin contact is allowed, others will advise that you add the oil to a beverage or other product before using. Just because your yoga teacher might give you a nice lavender oil temple massage at the end of class does not mean that all essential oils can be used in this way. Again, research is key!

The final step when looking at essential oil basics is to shop around. Test samples, buy small, and experiment with the scents you like the best. Soon enough, you?ll begin to see which oils affect you in which way, and the ones that aid you most are definite keepers. Like anything else, learning about essential oils and incorporating them into your life takes time, patience, but most importantly, fun. Best of luck – you?re going to enjoy!

What were your first essential oils or are you thinking of getting your first? Let us know in the comments section below.

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