Best Ways To Use Ayurvedic Essential Oils

Ayurveda is a gift to mankind and it follows the implausible elements of nature. This safe science trusts and believes that human being is a part of nature and his illness should also be treated in a natural way using the gifts of ‘Mother Nature’. Here comes the importance of Ayurvedic essential oils which are derived from the natural plant extracts. These oils have therapeutic properties for which it has been used since ages in traditional medicine and folk medicine.

In the recent times, you might have heard about the essence and effective use of essential oils in Aromatherapy but won’t you get surprised if I say that Aromatherapy itself is one of the ways of healing holistically in Ayurveda? This ancient therapy of curing human beings have suggested numerous ways of using Ayurvedic essential oils and the best ways are here for your guidance.

  1. Aromatic bath: A popular adage goes like this ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’, as Ayurveda insists highly on keeping yourselves and your environment clean, it prescribes taking bath twice daily either with the use of herbs or Ayurvedic essential oils in your bath tub.  Adding few drops of essential oils to your bath tub will give you a refreshing bath, which would be energizing and help you stay calm physically and emotionally.
  2. Essential oils massage: You work all day long all through the week; won’t you feel that your mind and body needs some ‘Quality Time To Rest’? Don’t need to go in search of quality time to rest, instead your life partner can help you discover it apparently with a caring massage with the sweet-smelling Ayurvedic essential oils. You can also try exploring the real sense of relief and peace after a systematic massage by an Ayurvedic expert in a nearby Ayurvedic center if you really feel like having a space for yourself. Ayurvedic massage with healing essential oils are often said to alleviate stress, trigger your olfactory sense, make your skin supple and give a never before newness to your life.
  3. As a vitalizing household cleaner: Home is the best place to give a great start to everything and everyone of your family. Why can’t you try complimenting your home by adding few drops of refreshing essential oils to your floor cleaner, washing machine and at the time of washing your dishes and cleaning your toilets? Lemon essential oil is often recommended for laundry, cleaning dishes and other general cleaning as it has the potential to remove tough, oily and greasy stains. You can also try using essential oils with clean, fresh, flowery and woody aroma to bring the real effects of nature even when your doors are closed.
  4. For skin care: Nothing other than certain selective Ayurvedic essential oils can caress your skin and take better care of them. You can use a wide range of skin-friendly essential oils like lavender essential oil, lemon essential oil, rose essential oil, sandalwood oil, ylang ylang essential oil, palmarosa essential oil, tangerine essential oil, mandarin essential oil, chamomile essential oil, geranium essential oil and few other. You can add few drops of any of the above essential oils in your favorite lotions, creams, carrier oil, carrier lotion, cocoa butter etc, to get set with your ultimate skin care pack.
  5. Diffuser/Air-Freshener: Using essential oils in your diffuser or in your Air-freshener will help you kill germs, bacteria and other harmful viruses in the air while giving you an everlasting aroma especially in the rainy season.
  6. Cold/Warm Compress: Circulation problems, sprains, muscular tension and other pains can be easily treated either with a warm or cold compress. It will be a brilliant idea if you add few drops of essential oils with absolute healing properties like peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil etc to your compress the next time when you feel like getting instant remedy from excruciating pains like menstrual cramps.
  7. Vapor inhalation/ Facial steam: Adding few drops of Ayurvedic essential oils like Eucalyptus oil or Peppermint oil to steaming water and inhaling the steam will help you keep away from the persisting problems like sinus, bronchitis, cold, flu etc. You can also add few drops of refreshing oils like lavender oil or other cleansing oil like chamomile oil to warm water and use it as a facial steam for deep cleansing.

Note: The way of using Ayurvedic essential oils plays a dominant role on its healing potential. Do not use essential oils directly to the skin as more pure the oil, more concentrated it is.

Reference Links:

  1. Essential Oils by Wikipedia
  2. Methods of Application by Nature’s Gift
  3. How to Use Essential Oils Effectively by David Crow, L.Ac. Published in Yogi Times
  4. What is Aromatherapy by National Association For Holistic Aromatherapy

delta-3-carene

Delta-3-carene is a monoterpene that occurs naturally in Turpentine, rosemary and cedar. Its molecular formula is C10H16 and the other names of delta-3-carene are 3-carene, carene, (+)-3-carene and so on.

It is a colorless transparent liquid. It has sweet, pine, cedar, woody and pungent smell and citrus flavor. It is insoluble in water but miscible soluble in fats and oils.

Uses and attributes:

It is used as a raw material in perfumes, cosmetics, flavors and terpene resins.

Carene is used to differentiate and stimulate the productivity of calcium in bone cells, thus helping in bone growth.

Cypress oil containing carene is used in Aromatherapy and it dries out the excess fluid in eyes, mouth and nose.

Therapeutic attributes of delta-3-carene:

Antihistamine:

Carene serves as an antihistamine by reducing excess menstrual flow or perspiration.

Anti-inflammatory effect:

In the study“Pharmacological activity of the essential oil of Bupleurum gibraltaricum: anti-inflammatory activity and effects on isolated rat uteri”, it was found that delta-3-carene present in the essential oil of Bupleurum gibraltaricum is responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of the oil against carrageenan-produced pedal edema in rats.

Anti-fungal activity:

According to the study “Antifungal activity of Juniperus essential oils against dermatophyte, Aspergillus and Candida strains [2006] “, it was found that the leaf oil of Juniperus oxycedrus ssp.oxycedrus  acts as an effective antifungal agent against dermatophyte strains and delta-3-carene present in this juniperus oil is responsible for this antifungal activity.

Sedative:

delta-3-carene also exhibit sedative property and so it helps to slow down the brain function in case of insomnia. So delta-3-carene is used as a central nervous system depressant.

Reference Links:

  1. Delta-3-carene by Wikipedia
  2. Pharmacological activity of the essential oil of Bupleurum gibraltaricum: anti-inflammatory activity and effects on isolated rat uteri

beta-Phellandrene

beta-Phellandrene is extracted mainly from the essential oil of Water fennel and Canada balsam oil. It is also present in the essential oils of Angelica, Eucalyptus, Pinus species, Lavandula, Mentha, Curcuma Longa,Garlic (Allium Sativum), Ginger, etc.

Beta-phellandrene is a monocyclic monoterpene with the chemical formula C10H16. It is also identified by various other names such as cyclohexene, 2-p-Menthadiene, and beta-phellandren and so on.

Attributes of beta-Phellandrene:

It is a colourless to slightly yellow clear liquid with a pleasant aroma. It owns pepper-minty and slightly citrusy aroma. It possess burning taste. It is not soluble in water but it mixes well with ether.

Because of its minty aroma, it is used as a flavouring ingredient. It is also used as perfuming agents.

Antimicrobial and antifungal activities:

Beta-phellandrene is reported to exhibit antifungal and antibacterial activities. It is evident from thestudy“Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils Isolated from Aerial Parts of PrangosasperulaBoiss. (Apiaceae) Growing Wild in Lebanon”. In the study, it was stated that nerolidol, sabinene and beta-phellandrene was reported to possess antibacterial and antifungal activity.

In the study titled “Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil from Wedelia prostrata” it was stated that beta-phellandrene present in the essential oil of the flower buds of Wedelia trilobata is one of the constituent that contributes to the antimicrobial activity of the oil.

In the study “Chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of peels’ essential oils of different pomelo varieties in the south of Vietnam”it is stated that the higher amounts of alpha- pinene, gamma terpinene beta phellandrene and alpha phellandrene present in the essential oil of pomelo’s varieties, namely NamRoi in VinhLong and BuoiLong in DongThap contribute to the antibacterial activities of the essential oils.

Reference Links:

  1. Phellandrene by Wikipedia
  2. Beta-phellandrene by PubChem
  3. Chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of peels’ essential oils of different pomelo varieties in the south of Vietnam