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Do you feel like you’ve been hearing a lot about essential oils lately?

While you might think essential oils are a new, hip trend, these highly concentrated plant extracts have been used for therapeutic purposes by ancient civilizations around the world for centuries. It’s started in Egypt over 5000 years ago…

Essential oils have multiple uses, but one of the most well-known ones is aromatherapy.

 

How does it work?

It involves inhaling the aroma of the oils, which can stimulate your olfactory system (your sense of smell). That sends a direct signal to the part of your brain responsible for emotions, memory and behaviour.

Have you ever walked into a room and inhaling a certain smell instantly transported you back to those memories or past experiences? Or walking into a spa, the smell of lavender gave you that instant feeling of relaxation?

So, just like that, essential oils can affect your emotions and behaviour, helping with stress, alertness, or upliftment, depending on the oil.

And when it comes to menopause, essential oils can offer several benefits:

 

Hormonal Balance:

clary sage and geranium are believed to help regulate hormone levels, particularly oestrogen. This in turn may help you with hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings.

Studies have also shown that the aroma of lavender, neroli, jasmine absolute, roman chamomile, clary sage, and Indian sandalwood may elicit increased secretion of oxytocin in postmenopausal women. Remember that same oxytocin giving your that sweet feeling of being loved?

 

Relief from Stress and Anxiety:

lavender, peppermint, and chamomile oils have a calming and soothing effect that can help reduce anxiety and improve your sleep.

These oils can be used in aromatherapy, massage, or added to bathwater to promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.

 

Support Your Skin:

with increased dryness, thinning, and loss of elasticity in the skin, essential oils like rosehip, frankincense, and evening primrose can nourish and hydrate your skin.

Those oils are rich in antioxidants and fatty acids, and may reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

 

How to use them?

You can use them diluted in a carrier oil (coconut or almond oil, for example) and massage onto your skin, add them to a diffuser, or your bath water.

Overall, the benefits of essential oils on health are vast and diverse.

And, unlike synthetic perfumes, essential oils do not disrupt your hormones and quite the opposite, they could be a useful addition to your “menopause toolbox”, when it comes to managing your symptoms.

 

Which one of these oils you’ve been inspired to try? 🙂

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Olga x

 

PS Despite their benefits, it’s important to use essential oils safely. Unfortunately, essential oil industry is not very well regulated.

Therefore, there is only one real regulation they need to follow. That is, the essential oil must be GRADE A – D and contain at least 5% of the essential oil, to be labeled “100% pure therapeutic essential oil.” Five percent for a hundred percent? 🤔

Please do your research before you buy them.

Although most oil are very safe, some oils are highly concentrated and potent (oregano), so they should be diluted properly before use, and some oils may cause irritation or allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. It’s always a good idea to do a patch test before using a new essential oil or to consult a certified aromatherapist 🙂.