About Essential Oils
Used in aromatherapy to promote healing of body and mind, essential oils are the most potent and concentrated extracts of various parts of flowers, fruits, leaves, spices, roots, and woods. The plant’s essence molecules are approximately five to 100 times more concentrated as an essential oil than in the dried plant.
Here are a few of the oils used at Spa Shiki,
including their properties:
Rose
Aromatic Description: strongly floral, sweet.
Possible Uses: Depression, eczema, frigidity, mature skin, menopause, stress.
Properties: Antibacterial, Antidepressant, Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Astringent, Diuretic, Sedative
Lavender
Aromatic Description: Fresh, sweet, floral, herbaceous, slightly fruity.
Possible Uses: Acne, allergies, anxiety, asthma, athlete’s foot, bruises, burns, chicken pox, colic, cuts, cystitis, depression, dermatitis, dysmenorrhea, earache, flatulence, headache, hypertension, insect bites, insect repellant, itching, labor pains, migrane, oily skin, rheumatism, scabies, scars, sores, sprains, strains, stress, stretch marks, vertigo, whooping cough.
Properties: Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Antiseptic, Diuretic, Insecticide, Sedative
Chamomile
Aromatic Description: Sweet, Herbal, Fruity
Possible Uses: Abscesses, allergies, arthritis, boils, colic, cuts, cystitis, dermatitis, dysmenorrhea, earache, flatulence, hair, headache, inflamed skin, insect bites, insomnia, nausea, neuralgia, PMS, rheumatism, sores, sprains, strains, stress, wounds.
Properties: Analgesic, Antibacterial, Antiseptic, Digestive Stimulant
For more information on essential oils, visit these web sites:
History of Aromatherapy
3000 B.C. Egyptians preserved organs and removed cavities with unguents including essential oils such as elumni and galbanum.
2800 B.C. Papyrus document revealed recipes for potions and pills using plant extracts. In the same era, dancers at state occasions would burn cones diffusing essences in the atmosphere.
BABYLON MESOPOTAMIA BASIN King ordered planting of medicine gardens which must include – apples, quinces, cucumber, garlic, onions, fennel, saffron, thyme, mustard, caraway, coriander, roses, juniper and myrrh.
GREEK CIVILIZATION Hippocrates wrote extensively on many plants. Galen medicinal log of plants. Plaque of Athens was halted by fumigation using lemon essence.
ROMAN CIVILIZATION, 78 A.D. Dioscorides, a doctor in the army, collected plants from all over the Mediterranean. He produced five volumes recording the results: “Medica Materia.”
BYZANTINE EMPIRE 856 – 928 A.D. Over 20 books recording herbal formulation and herbal remedies.
DARK AGES Crusaders in Persia each brought back herbal formulations.