aromachology

18 March 2011

Why some People spend good money on Aromatherapy … that isn’t Aromatherapy

Yes, we’re getting scammed. Personally, I think it has a lot to do with the name.

You see, aromatherapy really isn’t just about "aromas". Somewhere along the line, we started thinking that aromatherapy was all about getting nice feeling from a pleasant smell. It’s a misconception that has turned a promising therapy for headache and migraine (and many other things) into a waste of money.

Prepare to be surprised. Do you know how aromatherapy was first discovered? It was the application of an essential oil on a skin burn. Not what you were expecting, was it?

You see, we’re not really talking about nice aromas here. We’re talking about organic changes in the body, biochemical responses, healing… Does the sense of smell play a role? Of course. But that’s not the whole story.

You’ve seen this happen before. Someone says that veggies are good for us (true). So, some big manufacturing plant finds a way to create a product that they still say has "vegetable ingredients", but in reality it’s the farthest thing from broccoli or spinach.

When there’s very little standardization or very few labelling laws, the word aromatherapy has been used and abused. They put it on shampoo, on soap, in little bottles of oil, in your pillow – and the only requirement is that it smells nice to somebody. That is NOT aromatherapy.

Research is saying good things about true aromatherapy. A big area of study today is in the area of anxiety. Take bergamot essential oil, for example. Then there’s lavender for migraine. Or aromatherapy massage for cancer patients with constipation.

Along comes someone with something that smells like lavender, or that contains a wee bit of rosemary, and they sell it as aromatherapy. But it has nothing to do with the research, because it’s not really standardized and not really aromatherapy.

What is it? Aromachology. That’s the way smells effect you. It’s useful, but it’s not aromatherapy. And aromachology is mostly what you find in your local drugstore today (yes, even in some of the fancy little bottles that cost $10).

So then what is aromatherapy? True aromatherapy has to do with natural, plant-derived essential oils.

And that 100% essential oil must be isolated in a certain way. Dr. Brian Lawrence writes:

For an essential oil to be a true essential oil, it must be isolated by physical means only. The physical methods used are distillation (steam, steam/water and water) or expression (also known as cold pressing, a unique feature for citrus peel oils). There is one other method of oil isolation specific to a very limited number of essential oil plants. This is a maceration/distillation. In the process, the plant material is macerated in warm water to release the enzyme-bound essential oil. Examples of oils produced by maceration are onion, garlic, wintergreen, bitter almond, etc.

All right, so I don’t want to waste my money on aromachology – I want to try the real thing. How do I find the real thing?

We’ve recommended certain essential oils here before, you can of course start there. But here are a few useful things to remember:

Do you know anything about the company that makes this product? Is it some importer shipping from an unknown plant in some far country? Is it a familiar, respected brand? Is it just a person with a hobby, or a company who has the means to extract quality oils?
Some manufacturers have information online, or even at the store. Sadly, most don’t. But it’s worth checking.
Be sure that the bottle says 100% pure essential oil. If you can’t find any kind of evidence that it’s real essential oil, it doesn’t matter how cool the bottle looks or how nice it smells. 100% essential oil or nothing. It’s not a guarantee, but a great place to start.
Most quality oils are sold in dark coloured glass bottles. Watch out for the clear ones, or plastic ones – especially if they’ve been on a shelf for who knows how long.

If possible, try to find organic essential oils.

Aromachology is fine, but if you really want to try an aromatherapy treatment, don’t waste your time and money. Go for quality right away, and enjoy the health benefits, not just a nice smell.

Thanks for the reminders from Lifehack and Aromaweb

30 July 2009

1% Thursday – Aromatherapy: Try Something New

James Tips, Treatments 0

Try aromatherapy, or try a new essential oil, in a new way.

People use aromatherapy in many different ways. Some people like the scent during an attack, to soothe their senses. Some people like to use the essential oil in between attacks to keep the symptoms away.

There are also many different ways to diffuse the scent. Everyone has their favourite methods.

But do watch the difference between aromatherapy and aromachology – sometimes marketers use the term aromatherapy when they shouldn’t. Read more here about aromatherapy and aromachology.

To try a new scent, or get new ideas, start here. Or, leave a comment with your best tips!

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

6 December 2008

Aromatherapy: Top 5 for Migraine or Headache

James Tips, Treatments 11

I’m a secret fan of aromatherapy. All right, not so secret, I guess. But there’s one thing that drives me crazy. When people go for aromachology, thinking they’re getting aromatherapy. What a rip-off.

What is true aromatherapy? The former Health AtoZ put it this way: "Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of plant-derived, aromatic essential oils to promote physical and psychological well-being."

You see, the aromatherapy I want means 100% pure essential oils.

But sometimes the word aromatherapy is used, but what it really means is aromachology. That’s just aromas – any kind, from any chemical, and probably not 100% natural and pure (even if it does contain some essential oils). That may be fine at times, but when I want to fight a headache, I want to know what’s going into my nose. I prefer it not to contain 6 ingredients with long names that I can’t pronounce with numbers in the middle.

I wish the two would be differentiated more, but aromatherapy is the "in" word, and marketers want you to think you’re getting it when you’re really not.

For me, it’s worth it to go with real aromatherapy. The 100% pure essential oils last a long time, and are 100% natural. (More on aromatherapy and aromachology)

I’m combed through the literature and studies on both headache and migraine, and I’ve come up with the top 5 recommended essential oils to fight an attack. Here they are, in no particular order:

Peppermint
Sandlewood
Lavender
Eucalyptus
Rosemary

Personally, I’m a big lavender fan for a migraine attack. Also, this time of year I have to admit a weakness for pine essential oil. I also like cinnamon leaf – not for a headache or migraine but just because.

For real high potency natural 100% essential oil, follow the links here.

What about you? What essential oils do you like during an attack (if any)? There are some great mixtures out there too – let’s hear your recommendations!

21 March 2007

Eye pillows

James Tips 1

Do get pain around your eyes during a migraine attack? Or even a tension headache? I sure do, which is why I’ve used an eye pillow for the last few years. I’ve had two of them, and I’ve researched a lot more than that.

An eye pillow has a lot of advantages. It blocks out the light, it’s cool (you can even cool it more in the freezer), it provides a gentle pressure, and some even provide gentle aromatherapy (and/or aromachology – see the aromatherapy/aromachology article). I like the silk eye pillows and – you can read more about what I like in the eye pillow article.

I recently updated our page on eye pillows, and I found some interesting new treasures. For example, there’s this Hugger Mugger Silk Eye Bag with Neck Pillow. It comes not only with an eye pillow with flax but a neck pillow with buckwheat hulls. I’m a fan of buckwheat hull pillows – once again, they are cool and can be cooled more in the freezer. This pillow provides neck support, and will contour to the shape of your neck. And, of course, using the both together will cool down two sides of your head. There are a few other suggestions in the article.

Anyway, I recommend you read a little about eye pillows and try one out if you haven’t before. Make sure you get one you like, and it will serve you well for a long time.