AROMATHERAPY and ESSENTIAL OILS
WHAT ARE THEY? AND WHY WOULD I WANT USE THEM?
IS AROMATHERAPY JUST ABOUT THINGS SMELLING NICE?
You’ve probably heard the word “aromatherapy,” and it’s likely to conjure up images of scented candles or a fragrant bubble bath. But at Inshanti, aromatherapy is more than just a pretty scent. Our master blender, Debra Stoltzfus, scientifically blends products by hand to promote the healing of body, mind, and spirit. Her building blocks are therapeutic agents that come directly from nature, substances known as essential oils. On this page, we will dive in to what makes Inshanti have the best essential oils and what to look for in your own oil cabinet.
WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL OILS?
Essential oils are the distillation of the aromatic substance from a specific type of plant. They come from almost any part of certain plants—its seeds, flowers, fruit, leaves, stems, roots, bark, wood, needles, and resins. Technically, when this substance is in the plant, it is called an “essence.” So once it has been distilled from the plant, it is referred to as an essential oil. While you may have heard of essential oils only recently, they’ve been in existence for thousands of years.
Essential oils have long been treasured for their healing properties because they exhibit important properties:
• antiviral
• anti-inflammatory
• antibacterial
• hormone-balancing
Essential oils are used in products for health, beauty, and hygiene. Here at Inshanti we blend the oils for the same purposes. We create blends that are used for medicinal purposes, massage therapy, skin and hair care, and even household cleaning. Of course, we also create those lovely scented aromatherapy items you’re more familiar with, like bath salts, scrubs, fizzys, diffusers, and sprays. You’ll find them all in our Inshanti online shop.
HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WORK?
Essential oils are used in two basic ways, either inhaled in aromatherapy or applied to the skin to be absorbed by the bloodstream:
As its name implies, aromatherapy is all about your sense of smell. The actual odor floating around in a room is made of molecules. These molecules go through your nose and pass over fibers made of specialized nerve cells that interpret what the specific smell is. This information is sent up to the part of your brain that regulates your emotions, called the limbic system. Specific essential oils can provide relief from anxiety and fear, give you a sense of well-being and relaxation, or help balance your emotions.
On the other hand, essential oils applied to the skin are absorbed through capillaries and travel through the bloodstream enhancing cellular function. They assist the body in bringing relief from symptoms of many chronic health problems. It may take a half-hour or more for the oils to reach full effectiveness.
If you want a fuller scientific explanation, check out the asterisked (*) copy at the bottom of the page.
You only need to use small amounts of essential oils—often a single drop—to achieve their intended medicinal effects. So a half-ounce of pure essential oil can last you a long time!
AREN’T ALL AROMATHERAPY OILS THE SAME?
No! Many factors affect the quality of the essential oil. Unscrupulous vendors often take shortcuts because it takes a large amount of plant material to make a small amount of oil. For example, it takes more than 30 roses to produce just 1 drop of our Rose Otto Essential Oil!
Therefore, you need to be an educated consumer:
First, essential oils are not the same as perfumes or fragrance oils. Many synthetic oils on the market today try to replicate the fragrances of natural oils. If you unknowingly use them, expecting to derive the benefits of a true essential oil, you’re going to end up disappointed. The synthetic chemicals that create these products do not contain the beneficial properties of pure plant oils. Only pure essential oils can provide the valuable psychological and physical therapeutic benefits.
Second, even true essential oils can be contaminated by herbicides, pesticides, and chemicals. Some are even extracted from the plants using chemical solvents. You don’t want to be inhaling those dangerous substances when you’re looking for natural health benefits! Inshanti goes to great lengths to ensure that doesn’t happen.
WHAT MAKES INSHANTI PURE ESSENTIAL OILS THE BEST ESSENTIAL OILS?
Inshanti offers only essential oils that are either certified organic, wild crafted, or ethically farmed (unsprayed) this allows us to confidently say that Inshanti has the best essential oils. At Inshanti, we buy directly from farmers and distillers we know and trust. By avoiding working through middlemen we can be confident that our base oils are of the highest quality and never diluted. We strive for long-term relationships with our growers and distillers, working together to ensure the best product in the marketplace.
Each batch of oil is tested with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) so we know its precise chemical properties and can blend accordingly. All of the essential oils, carrier oils, butters, unscented lotions, Castile soap, and natural Himalayan salts used at Inshanti are free of chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides. Inshanti does not use synthetic oils or oils extracted by chemical solvents.
Once we’ve tested an essential oil, our master blender formats the chemical constituents into chemical families for therapeutic blending purposes. At Inshanti, we are dedicated to knowing exactly what we are purchasing and blending for you. Testing every batch of oil purchased with GC/MS technology ensures purity and gives the exact chemistry of each essential oil. Inshanti believes this process is vital for medicinal blending and for quality assurance.
Our process is rigorous and our product pure. You can be confident you’re receiving essential oils that deliver the health benefits you’re looking for.
Find the best essential oil that is just right for you!
See our Educational Resources page for more information about the chemical families of oils and for lists of oils that support certain health issues and emotional concerns.
DISCLAIMER
Inshanti does not endorse nor do we encourage anyone to implement aromatherapy or any suggestions contained within this site without the consent of his/her medical doctor. We also do not take any liability for any person’s implementation of any oils, recipes, or anything else available through this site, from any book or company recommendation, or on any site linked from Inshanti Essential Oils.
*The chemistry of essential oils is very complex. The chemical structure of an essential oil can penetrate cell membranes, travel throughout the blood system and tissues, and enhance cellular function. Most essential oils, although highly concentrated, do not appear “oily.” As oils, they are lighter than water and highly fluid. They are primarily lipid (fat) soluble rather than water-soluble, allowing for easy, fast penetration into the skin and bloodstream. Oils are absorbed through capillaries, lymph ducts, or the lungs (when oils are inhaled). Once applied to the skin or inhaled, the body takes about 30–90 minutes to entirely absorb the essential oils. Strong blood circulation increases absorption rate