You’ll have heard us talk a lot about aromatherapy here at Melt. It’s an ancient practice that our luxury scented candles are beautifully suited for by design. In case you’re a little unclear about this relationship – or you’re not quite sure about aromatherapy in general – we’ve dedicated this week’s blog to four of the most common questions about aromatherapy that we find ourselves often answering at our little shop on the farm!
1. What Is Aromatherapy?
In short, it’s the art of using natural oils – which have been extracted from flowers or other natural elements – to enhance mental or physical health. This can be therapeutic or restorative in nature (for example, releasing stress or tension), enriching (such as candle meditation), or simply just for relaxing and unwinding! As a practice, it’s been around for thousands of years. As we’ve mentioned before on the blog, the Ancient Egyptians were amongst the historical civilisations to have used it.
Here at Melt, we infuse the beautiful scents of aromatherapy into each of our luxurious handmade candles, and the way we do that is through the use of essential oils.
2. What Are Essential Oils?
At its heart, an essential oil is the fragrant essence of an individual plant. Not just any plant, mind you – specific plants are chosen for aromatherapy for the qualities of their essential oils. Rose, vanilla or lavender are just a few! These highly concentrated liquids are extracted from plants using a couple of methods, but the most common one by far is distillation. This involves steaming the plant matter until it breaks down, and extracting the fragrant oil as a byproduct. It’s cooled, separated from the water and then filtered into its purest form.
3. What Are Essential Oils Used For?
There are almost endless benefits of aromatherapy with scented candles, too many to list here! They can alleviate insomnia, muscle tension and aches, reduce stress (as we touched on above), or help you maintain focus. It’s the natural origin of the ingredients that help you to get these benefits – synthetic versions just don’t have the same level of oomph behind them! Lavender, for example, is famous for its calming properties, while the lively tang of grapefruit gives your energy levels a bit more zest.
4. Can I Use Essential Oils Myself?
You can do a couple of things at home with essential oils, but those are undertaken at your own risk! Far too many people underestimate the potency of essential oils – it’s not like juice from a lemon, for example. We’d strongly advise against putting them on your skin, as in their pure form they’re so highly concentrated that they can actually burn you. Even worse, some will seep through your skin into your bloodstream, which can open you up to a whole host of health problems. You shouldn’t swallow them either, for much the same reasons.
Trust us here at Melt – we know what we’re doing with them, and by far the safest and most enjoyable way to experience them is through our range of scented candles! If you’ve never tried one before, we’d recommend going with our eternally popular Angel scented candle, or just in time for spring, you can opt for the wonderfully upbeat Joy luxury handmade candle – ideal for pepping you up for a bit of spring cleaning!
