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A plant’s scent is created by special oils called essential oils. To find plants that possess these oils, just smell the plant. If the plant has an aroma, it contains essential oils. Roses, violets, and even Christmas trees all owe their distinct scent to essential oils.

 Essential oils are removed from a plant by various techniques. After it is extracted, a pure essential oil is somewhat oily to the touch. Even though it is officially an oil, it is much thinner than vegetable oils we use in cooking, such as canola oil or olive oil.

Essential oils are made up of such tiny compounds that the oils not only feel thin, but they seem to vanish when you rub them between your fingers. They also do not stain when you put them on cloth, and they evaporate quickly into the air. Because they disperse so rapidly, a different name for essential oils is volatile oils.

 Special scent glands in a plant create these essential oils. These glands may appear anywhere, but are most likely in the flowers and leaves and least to be expected in the stems. Essential oils perform many important functions for the plant:

•  They attract bees and other pollinators.
•  They keep away harmful bugs.
•  They repel other plants so that they don’t take up all the space.
•  They kill bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.
•  They close up the plant’s wounds.
•  They make the plant water-resistant.
•  They increase the plant’s resistance to disease.

 The beauty industry welcomes aromatherapy because essential oils improve the health and beauty of skin, hair, and nails. As an extra fringe benefit, they smell terrific when you apply them to your skin. Essential oils assist the human body in many of the same ways they help the plants they come from:

•  They kill bacterial, viral and fungal infections.
•  They cure wounds.
•  They decrease inflammation.
•  They regulate hormones.
•  They tone up and moisten your skin.
•  They stimulate the immune system.
•  They repel bugs.

 Here are a few additional things they will do for your body:

•  They heat up your skin when you apply them in a warm massage oil or liniment.
•  They help blood flow and digestion.
•  They reduce sinus and lung congestion.

The information for this post was taken from: Kathi Keville. Aromatherapy for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc, 1999

For many centuries essential oils have been used for the treatment of illnesses and other physical and spiritual needs. For instance, we find in the New Testament that wise men presented the Christ child with frankincense and myrrh. Both of these are essential oils.

Essential oils are volatile liquids distilled from flowers, roots, bushes, seeds, trees and shrubs. For example, the essential oils of orange, petitgrain and neroli all come from various parts of an orange tree. It takes different amounts of plant material to produce equal amounts of essential oil depending upon the oil. For instance, it takes sixty thousand rose petals to produce one ounce of pure rose essential oil, but you can get one pound of pure lavender essential oil from about 30 pounds of lavender.

Essential oils are different from vegetable oils such as avocado oil or olive oil. They are not greasy so they do not clog the pores of the skin like vegetable oils can. Scientific research has proven that some of these essential oils have remarkable medicinal properties.

Essential oils contain many different chemicals and they can have many different effects on the body. For example, lavender essential oil has been used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress and hair growth. For safe topical use, essential oils must be diluted with another substance, usually a base oil such as jojoba oil. As a general rule, essential oils are not meant to be taken internally. Do not take any essential oil internally without the supervision of a trained professional.

To read more about essential oils, you can purchase the book The Complete Book of Essential Oils by Valerie Ann Worwood. Novato, CA: New World Library, 1991. 

Your skin is a lovely cloak that you show off night and day. It shares your beauty and wellness with the world around you and at the same time guards your internal being. Your skin is an actual living organ that also consists of your hair, nails, various glands, and many types of cells that feel heat, cold, pressure and so forth. It does nine vital jobs for your body. The skin:

•  Aids in protecting you from physical, chemical, biological, thermal, and electrical injury.
•  Helps your body keep a stable temperature.
•  Works as a moisture control device, preventing extreme entry or loss of water.
•  Stops undue loss of minerals.
•  Changes ultraviolet rays into vitamin D3 that aids you maintain strong bones by helping your body take in calcium and other minerals.
•  Acts as a very sensitive organ, reacting to heat, cold, pain, pleasure, and pressure.
•  Stores fat or burns it for heat or energy.
•  Produces sebum, an oily lubricating material.
•  Assists elimination of salts, urea, water, and toxins via sweating.

 Normally, your skin is intended to keep out more things than it lets in. However, it has a number of sweat pores and follicular openings in its surface. These entrances allow your skin to take in stuff you put on it (such as creams and lotions).

 Your skin has three layers. The epidermis is the outermost and thinnest layer. It shows the world your wrinkles, break-outs, dry flakes, laugh lines, sunburns, blisters, age spots, and freckles. These are the product of genetics and your way of life.

 The second layer is the dermis. It lies just below the epidermis and is a strong, elastic layer of connective tissue. Its rich blood supply gives your cheeks a rosy glow and makes your skin look vital and young. This sturdy, yet pliable, layer retains your internal organs, bones, fluids, and so forth.

 The two major elements of the dermis are collagen and elastin. These fibers add toughness and bounce to your skin. Without enough moisture, this collagen and elastin pattern loses its capability to keep skin toned up and pliable.

 The third layer of skin is the subcutis layer. This is a fatty layer that lies below the dermis and joins to the muscle tissue that lies underneath. Fat supplies a sturdy base for your skin and works as a shock absorber and insulator guarding your internal organs. The fat in this layer also furnishes your body with a storehouse of essential energy reserves. As you grow older, the subcutis becomes thinner, resulting in flabby, unsupported skin.

 The information for this post was taken from: Stephanie Tourles. Organic Body Care Recipes. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, LLC, 2007