The Essentials of Essential Oils

(This post is courtesy of massage therapist, Hilary Sohn, who uses essential oils in her massage sessions when appropriate.) 

If you’ve ever walked into a spa or healing center and wondered what incredible smells were wafting from the inner sanctum, it’s a good bet that one of the practitioners was using aromatherapy in their treatments. 

Aromatherapy, more than just smelling nice, is the use of essential oils extracted from plants to promote healing and balance in the body. Essential oils can aid in relaxation, improve circulation, increase learning and concentration, change pain perception and help the healing of wounds.  

Each oil has its own unique phytochemical signature, characteristics and benefits. 

The oil aromas are perceived by the nerve endings at the back of the nose and relayed to the amygdalae  which perform primary roles in the processing and storage of emotional reactions and learning; these signals are passed to the limbic system in the brain and impulses are sent to various areas such as the hypothalamus which governs the pituitary gland controlling hormone release throughout the body. 

These hormones affect organ function, digestion, mood, blood pressure and more.  Smells can trigger production of different neurochemicals that affect moods; for example, serotonin which calms, or endorphin which gives a natural "high" and relieves pain. In addition to being received in the body via the olfactory sense, essential oils can have a variety of effects such as reduction of inflammation, pain relief or wound healing when applied topically to the skin. 

Essential Peppermint 

As we enter into the season of planting and working in our gardens, you may find yourself feeling aches and pains in various muscles that had taken a holiday over the winter.  Digging, mulching, bending, carrying all take their toll on the body.  What better way to address our tired and aching muscles than with the essential oil of one of the very plants that we are planting this Spring!

The Peppermint plant gives us aromatic leaves for our summer drinks and essential oil that works wonders on the body. 

Besides its characteristic fragrance that seems to clear the sinuses, Peppermint essential oil has a number of beneficial effects including treating spasming of the bowel, gastrointestinal distress, nausea, relieving headaches, reducing itching, calming cough, relieving chest congestion. 

Most commonly, Peppermint oil is used for temporary relief of muscle and joint pain.  In fact, the main chemical component Menthol that is found in Peppermint oil is used in many topical sports creams.

Peppermint’s characteristic cooling sensation (remember the old York Peppermint Patty commercials?  ( “… I get the sensation of being on top of a cold mountain, and all I want to do is yodel . . .”) is one of the factors in reducing pain.   Acting as a counterirritant, the menthol in Peppermint stimulates thermoreceptors (temperature sensors) in the skin cells causing a signal to be sent that the brain interprets as cold.  This cold signal overrides the pain signal because the conduction velocity of a cold thermoreceptor is faster than that of a pain-perceiving nociceptor.

Additionally, Peppermint’s cooling sensation also triggers a process called vasodilation in which blood vessels increase in diameter and increase blood flow to the affected area. 

This process increases oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and increases the rate at which cellular waste is carried away, helpful in situations where a muscle is experiencing ischemia (dysfunction or damage due to a restriction in blood supply). With more nutrients available, healing is able to occur more quickly and pain lessens.

Peppermint also has local mildly anesthetic properties when applied topically, causing a numbing sensation of the surface and consequent relief from pain.  Not only pain, but itching and the pain of sunburn is affected by this action.  So, if your muscles are sore from gardening, and you’re a bit sunburnt, Peppermint is the oil for you.

Using Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil is fairly irritating to the skin used at full strength, so the best way to apply Peppermint oil to the skin is to dilute 2 to 3 drops of the essential oil in approximately 1 teaspoon of a carrier oil like olive oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil or coconut oil. 

Happy Gardening!

*Very high intake of peppermint oil can also cause nausea, loss of appetite, heart problems, loss of balance, and other nervous system problems. Excessive doses of peppermint oil can be toxic, causing kidney failure and even death.  Peppermint oil should not be used internally or on or near the face in infants and young children because of its potential to cause bronchospasm, tongue spasms, and, possibly, respiratory arrest.*