This blog post is officially number 200! To celebrate I am listing a few of my personal favorites from the past few years. Thanks for being out there and taking the time to read the Aromahead Blog.

•  5 Great Ways to Use Hydrosols
• Ecomaat Distillery in Bulgaria
• Make Your Own Natural Skin Cleansing Pads
• Solid Natural Perfumes
• The Wonders of Bergamot! (Italy in a Bottle)

To share any of these posts on your facebook page or via Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, just click the icon on the left side of this page. Thanks for sharing! *

*If your using a bookmark for this blog you may not see the icons on the left. To resolve this, search for the Aromahead blog via Google and update your bookmark.

Aromahead Institute is excited to be one of the first approved sponsors in New York!

Complete all 36 of your required CEU hours through Aromahead Institute’s online and in-person classes.

All of Aromahead Institute online courses are written by Andrea Butje and Cindy Black. All exams, photography, lessons, reviews, and videos have been developed specifically for these classes. All course material is original, engaging and clearly organized.

All in-person and online classes are approved!

CEU hours for this summers 2012 In-Person Classes, Ithaca NY

Aromatherapy Certification Program: 105 hours
Advanced Graduate Program: 75 hours
Teacher Training Program: 36 hours
Component Blending: 21 hours
Aromatic Blending: 21 hours

Payment plans are available and registration has already begun for 2012. Come join us for a summer of studying essential oils and generating new ideas for your business!

Website: Aromahead.com
Email: andrea@aromahead.com

 Benefits of Studying Online at Aromahead Institute

• Set your own schedule & learn at your own pace
• Study from the comfort of … anywhere!
• Develop new career opportunities
• Read materials online or print them out for later
• Watch the videos as many times as you like
• Access to the course materials are yours even after you complete the program.

This is a 3 minute video of how the online Aromatherapy Certification Program works.

What Do You Want to Be?

Aromahead Institute graduates launch successful careers from the foundation of an Aromatherapy education. For many, an Aromatherapy education is the natural way to begin a new and satisfying career. It’s possible to “be your own boss” and create a fulfilling livelihood on your own terms.

Aromatherapy is no longer a “fringe” practice. People are becoming more aware of the health benefits of essential oils and the tried and true research behind the practice of Aromatherapy.

Successful Graduates

Aromahead Institute graduates are busy! They create essential oil retail businesses, web retail stores, therapeutic product lines, and consultation services. They work in spas, teach classes, start their own schools, write for journals, magazines and online businesses, teach at massage school, work in hospice programs, massage clinics, alternative health clinics and more.  Need inspiration as you begin a new career or educational path?  Read about our graduates and their work as Aromatherapists: Graduate Directory

What is a hydrosol?

Hydrosols are pure healing waters produced during distillation.

When plant material is distilled it is exposed to either boiling water,  steam or both.  The steam moves through the plant, breaks open the structures that contain the essential oil and other plant fluids.

They are then carried with the steam and are separated as the steam cools in the condensing coil. The essential oils tend to float on top of the water (except for a few oils that sink to the bottom). The essential oil is siphoned off, leaving us hydrosols.

Here are my 5 favorite ways to use Hydrosols

1. On skin: for burns, wound healing, acne, cuts, blisters, as a toner and for cooling
2. On my animals: for abscesses, little wounds, itchy areas and any skin issues
3. In my house: for cleaning counter tops, windows, glass tables, garbage cans, shower walls, any tile and to freshen the air
4. In my car: cleaning windows, dashboard, steering wheel and for aroma
5. In the classroom: on the back of the students necks on hot days, to keep everyone awake during chemistry lessons, to freshen the room and to clean the blending tables.

How do you use your hydrosols? Please add your ideas to the comment section! Thanks!

Want to buy organic hydrosols?
Aromatics International
Stillpoint Aromatics

Want to learn about hydrosols?
Morning Myst Botanics

Silver Fir (Abies alba) is a perfect winter essential oil.  The oil contains almost 50% of d-limonene. Immunostimulant effects of d-limonene include stimulating lymphocyte proliferation (4) increasing the total white blood cell count (5), increasing the number and phagocytic activity of macrophages (1,2), and stimulating antibody production (5). Additionally, natural killer cell activity was enhanced in vitro by d-limonene (3).

In other words, great oil for a cold or flu! Try using it in a diffuser, in an inhaler or for a luscious combination try Silver Fir blended into Neroli blossom infused jojoba oil and rubbed on your chest, back and feet!

Diffuser Blend for Winter Cold and Flu
5 drops Silver fir essential oil (Abies alba)
5 drops Orange essential oil (Citrus sinensis)
5 drops Elemi essential oil (Canarium luzonicum)
Add these oils right into your diffuser

Inhaler For Sinus Congestion and a Cough
5 drops Silver fir essential oil (Abies alba)
5 drops Black Spruce essential oil (Picea mariana)
5 drops Hemlock essential oil (Tsuga canadensis)
Drop these oils right onto the cotton part of the blank inhaler

Nighttime Cold and Flu Oil
10 drops Silver fir essential oil (Abies alba)
5 drops Lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia)
2 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil (Canaga odorata)
1 oz Neroli Blossom infused Jojoba Oil

References

1. Del Toro-Arreola S, Flores-Torales E, Torres-Lozano (2005) Effect of d-limonene on immune response in BALB/c mice with lymphoma. International Immunopharmacology 5:829-838
2. Hamada M, Uezu K, Matsushita J et al (2002) Distribution and immune responses resulting from oral administration of d-limonene in rats. Journal of Nutritional Science & Vitaminology (Tokyo) 48:155-160
3. Li Q, Nakadai A, Matsushima H (2006) Phytoncides (wood essential oils) induce human natural killer cell activity. Immunopharmacology & Immunotoxicology 28:319-333
4. Manuele MG, Ferraro G, Anesini C (2008) Effect of Tilia x viridis flower extract on the proliferation of a lymphoma cell line and on normal murine lymphocytes: contribution of monoterpenes, especially limonene. Phytotherapy Research 22:1520-1526
5. Raphael TJ, Kuttan G (2003) Immunomodulatory activity of naturally occurring monoterpenes carvone, limonene, and perillic acid. Immunopharmacology & Immunotoxicology 25:285-294

An Easy Holiday Gift Idea

Looking for a gift for someone special this holiday season? Consider the Essential Living from Aromahead eBook. We’ll take care of delivery and we’ll even send a special note to your specifications. No shipping or wrapping to worry about! ♥

Order it for a limited time for $15.00 rather than $19.95

Offer good from December 9 – December 23rd, 2011.

Who Essential Living is perfect for:

• health care practitioners
• parents wanting natural options for cleaning and kids
• anyone interested in wellness and holistic medicine
• anyone interested in non-toxic options for health and home

How To Order- email: andrea@aromahead.com

• Send me the email addresses of the people you want to give the eBook to, the date you want it sent, and the note you would like to include, and I will send the eBook to them! Easy!

• I will send you a PayPal request for the $15.00, and you can pay with a credit card or PayPal.

Are you using Avocado oil (Laurus persea) in your aromatherapy and massage blends?  If not, check out this natural, fresh oil! While you and your clients enjoy the scent and texture of this carrier oil, it goes to work behind the scenes restoring and rejuvenating the skin naturally.

Avocado oil is highly penetrating, deeply nourishing and softens dry skin. It’s known to help the upper layers of the skin retain moisture. Repeated applications of moisturizing butters, oils or lotions made with Avocado oil reveal an increase of hydration of the upper layers of the skin, and an improvement of the skins elastic properties. Whether you’re looking for an oil to use as a carrier with essential oils or to blend with other moisturizing oils in a product, Avocado oil plays well with others.

How is the oil derived from the fruit we commonly know as a salad topping or the main ingredient in guacamole? Avocado oil is expressed from dried avocado fruit flesh. The fruit is peeled, the pit removed, and the fruit is sliced and dried to remove any water. The dried slices are cold-pressed to remove the oil. The process is time-consuming and complex—and true, organic, high quality, cold-pressed, unrefined oil is a real gem. Avocado oil has at least a one year shelf life, and it is recommended not to be kept in the refrigerator as it may forms deposits and congeal when chilled. As Avocado oil gets older, the color will turn from olive green to brown.

Refined Avocado oil is pale yellow, so it’s easy to distinguish between the refined and unrefined product. True, organic, high quality, cold pressed, unrefined oil is a dark olive green in color, somewhat thick, and very rich in texture. The aroma is similar to the ripe fruit, fresh and somewhat spicy/nutty.

Avocado oil is also high in sterolins, which are reputed to be beneficial in healing scars and helping the upper layers of the skin retain moisture. Oils with the highest levels of sterolins are Shea Butter, Avocado oil, Sesame oil, Soybean oil and Olive oil.

Here are some of the wonderful properties of Avocado Oil:
• Prevents chapping, cracks and stretch marks
• Ideal oil to offer light UV protection for the skin
• Excellent skin moisturizer
• High degree of penetration into the epidermis
• Promotes cell regeneration
• Used for skin inflammation
• Used to clean the skin
• High in Vitamin D, useful for people living in low-sunshine areas
• Used for post menopausal women who have aging skin

We recently received this story via email from one of our South African distillers and would love to share it with you.

I know that essential oils and the precious plants they are extracted from are have brought so much into our lives.

Do you have any stories related to essential oils and your community that you would like to share?

It’s true, I am having a love affair with my citrus oils.  They are uplifting and support our immune system. We can use them for cleaning and diffusing into the air. The aromas are familiar and bright. They are inexpensive. Need I go on?

Those of you who study Aromatherapy know that some citrus oils are phototoxic (a chemically induced skin irritation requiring light). Did you know that some citrus oils are not phototoxic? If you’ve been avoiding all citrus oils out of concerns over phototoxicity I have good news.  You can still use a few citrus oils without worrying about potential phototoxic skin reactions. Read More

This is a picture from when I was pouring bulk orange, bergamot and pink grapefruit. Can you imagine the aroma?

This summer during the Component Blending class I made a hydrosol blend that has become my new favorite.

Recipe

2 oz Laurel leaf Hydrosol (Bay laurel – Laurus nobilis)
10 drops Balsam Fir – Abies balsamea
10 drops Pinon Pine – Pinus edulis
10 drops Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis

Talk about refreshing! The aromas of the forest blended with the slightly camphoraceous, sweet, and spicy undertones of the laurel hydrosol are extraordinary. Each time I spray it I am impressed with the richness and depth of the scent.

Historically, Bay laurel was the symbol of wisdom, both acquired and intuitive. The  botanical name Laurus nobilis is thought to derive from the Celtic word “laur” meaning green and “nobilis” meaning noble.

From a chemical component perspective

I like to use Balsam fir as an anti rheumatic, to prevent and/or relieve rheumatic pain and inflammation. It generally has about 35% Beta pinene, which was found to be a potent scavenger of hydroxyl radicals. This is a possible explanation for its current use in topical products for the relief of muscular and rheumatic pain.

Pinon Pine has an amazing aroma, adding a coniferous, balsamic, woody, and fresh aroma to the blend. We also add a potential antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic effect from the alpha pinene content.

Hemlock has an unusually high percentage of bornyl acetate for a conifer. This suggests a sedative and calming effect, perfect to calm tightness in the lungs and chest.

Share your blends

Do you have any hydrosol/essential oil blends you love? Let’s share some recipes in the comment section below.