I just came across a company that is selling essential oils and giving incorrect information. And what’s worse she has a very large following and claims to be certified in aromatherapy. Either when she went to school she learned nothing or if she’s totally disregarding what she learned just to make money.

When you purchase from an essential oil company there are certain things you have to make sure that you look for and what you don’t look for that puts up a red flag

1. All essential oils should have the Latin name of the oil on the bottle. There is so many variations and chemo types of different plants each With a different usage

2. Descriptions should have no medical terms in them And if you’re going to quote studies You need to have references Exactly from where you found your information with links to that particular study. Also essential oils do not cure they help the body heal but they do not cure. So if you come across the website where the company is telling you that this particular oil is going to cure you there’s your red flag The FDA Does not allow medical terms to be used for anything other than prescription drugs. Or anything that is categorized as a medical usage. Essential oils are not in the category. 

3. There are only certain oils that can be trademarked. Lavender, lemon oil And they are a whole lot more cannot use the TM trademark. Also oils that say they are therapeutic grade it is also a marketing tool. Every essential oil is therapeutic.  So if you see this it is totally bogus..

4. When you going to an essential oils store or even an online store they should supply you with the GC report of each oil. This shows you the chemical percentage that is in each one of the oils. This basically proves if the oil is pure or not. Unless you are purchasing straight from the distiller, you have no idea if the oil was contaminated nor what they put in the oil  or if it’s totally pure.

5. Please make sure you check the company fully before purchasing. There are enough Facebook groups where are you can ask if the company is legit before purchasing.

6. I also recommend to see if they have a Certified a Aromatherapist who consults with them. This way you know what they’re selling is certified also.

Please be safe while these oils a wonderful , when not safely safely can cause all types of problems.

Aromatherapy!  So what is it?
The definition is by Wikipedia is based on the usage of aromatic materials, including essential oils, and other aroma compounds. It states: “Aromatherapists are people who specialize in the practice of aromatherapy, utilize blends of supposedly therapeutic essential oils that can be used as topical application, massage, inhalation or water immersion.”
Notice how it is emphasized by “Essential Oils”

But you see there is one problem here. My opinion is that Aromatherapy is not just the usage of essential oils.  There is a much bigger picture here.

If you go back in time, there was no such thing as essential oils.  We really did not have the technology to make essential oils as we can today.
What was used was the plants and trees all around us. Parts of the plants were used in teas. Parts were actually done with an oil infusion, using Olive Oil which came from the Olive Tree which grew around their regions.  Some like in resins, especially the Frankincense species were burned, oil infused and used in water. And yes so many of the plants and resins were used by ingesting them.

When I studied to become an Aromatherapist, we touched on each plant, but we never really got down and dirty and learned about each one.  We learned the chemical make-up of the essential oils that were distilled by using the plants but that is basically it.

But this is a problem because we need to understand each aspect of each plant to really understand these essential oils.  We need to learn how the plant "ticks” to be able to use the essential oil medicinally.
Also sometimes the whole plant is better to use than the essential oil, especially for a longer period of time.  We are told you cannot use the essential oil for long periods because you may become sensitized to a particular oil. You can use the plant or tree material longer because it is the raw material and is not so concentrated like the essential oil is.

I think an Aromatherpist needs to be well rounded and learn both about herbalism and essential oils. There are times I find in my Hospice practice that essential oils just do not cut it and I find by using a particular frankincense species in a lotion or salve or serum actually works better, it is way gentler.  And it is not just the resins, I oil infuse lemon balm which I grow , which helps with muscle pain and stiff joints a lot better than using the Melissa essential oil and less expensive.  I also do an oil infusion with the wild mint I grow and it is wonderful for respiratory problems and also muscle aches and sometimes find this much better than using an essential oil blend, depending on the client I am using it for.  I make a tincture out of Myrrh to use with mouth problems.  I would never think to put a few drops of the essential oil in my mouth because of the concentration of resin in it.  But I will use the essential oil in a blend for topical usage for other medicinal uses.  See they can go hand in hand.

So this concept that Aromatherapy is just the essential oil to me is bogus. Maybe we need to change the wording to say Aromaherbaltherapy instead or call us "Aromaherbalists"  like my colleague Mindy Green who is both a pioneer in Aromatherapy and Herbalism says,  or combine the two when trying to explain what this profession is really about.  She has presented on the topic of  Aromaherbalism.

​What do you  think?

I recently found out the shaking in my hands that I have had for years, the loss of balance and also movement and “shaking” inside my eyes, , and has gotten worse is a nervous disorder called Essential Tremors. ET causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking. It can affect almost any part of your body, but the trembling occurs most often in your hands — especially when you do simple tasks, such as drinking from a glass or tying shoelaces.
It is similar to Parkinson ’s disease but it is diagnosed differently.  With Parkinson’s Disease if you put your hands on your lap or on your side, and they continue to shake then you may have Parkinsons , also with Parkinson’s Disease your hands shake all the time no matter what you do.  In ET, if you reach for something or hold something in your hand- it shakes.
Essential tremor can occur at any age but is most common in people age 40 and older and sometimes triggered by trauma. Also it seems it is appear to result from a genetic mutation, which means a close relative like your mother or father had it and passed it down to you.
If you want to learn more about it you can check out this website    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/essential-tremor/symptoms-causes/syc-20350534  It explains much more about this disorder.

Being that I am a clinical aromatherapist I decided to do more research to find out what I can use to help myself..  There are some prescription drugs called beta blockers-that block the action of stimulating substances called neurotransmitters, works like a sedative to the nerves in the brain,  one can take,  but the side effects for me were not worth it.  There is physical therapy which I tried but it did not do a thing. I have been seeing an acupuncturist and that helps a bit but not enough.  Deep brain stimulation uses a surgically implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator to delivery electrical stimulation to targeted areas of the brain that control movement, temporarily blocking the nerve signals that causes the tremors.  Other surgical intervention is effective but may have side effects. I am nowhere ready for this route.
All the research I found, these procedures try to calm or block the nerve sensations in the brain, so there are essential oils and a particular Frankincense resin species that seems do the same thing without the heavy side effects.
 
 
Frankincense Boswellia papyrifera
This resin is very unique.  It is extremely hard to get it in an essential oil because it takes a lot of the resin to get the essential oil out of it.  Boswellia papyrifera can be distinguished from other types of Frankincense by the presence of large amounts of octyl acetate and octanol. It also has two other unusual and unique chemical markers — incensole and incensole acetate. Studies have shown that incensole acetate affects the central nervous system  by calming it down. I actually infuse the resin in fractionated coconut oil. I have found by putting the oil on the inside of my wrists, it will calm down the tremors a bit.  Also when I burn it I have been finding my tremors will actually stop for a few hours.  The advantage of using this resin it is not highly concentrated like the essential oil so I can use it all the time.
This resin is very calming to the mind and acts just like a beta blocker does.       I sell this resin and you can get it here:
https://www.robinsresinsplus.com/store/p30/papyrifera.html#/
 
 
Valerian Root Essential Oil: (Valeriana officinalis)
Valerian seems to act like a sedative on the brain and nervous system. It is extremely calming.  It is used also for sleeping issues.
 
Damiana (Turnera aphrodisiaca)
Damiana has been used for depression, relief of anxiety and nervousness.  It is extremely strong so only a little bit is needed.  I have used it for my clients in blends for anxiety issues and on myself and I find it works.
 
Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides
It is very calming to the mind, used for nervousness and can be used for sleep.
Vetiver and Valerian Root essential oils some say they have a stinky smell like being in a men’s locker room after a workout or they may smell like “stinky socks”.  So to camouflage this a bit, you can add Sweet Orange Essential Oil to cut the stinky smell.  Sweet Orange is calming so you are not destroying what you make. You can use this oil if you find Valerian does not work for you.

There are some other essential oils you can use but the two that actually helps me deal with my tremors especially when they get bad is using Valerian Root and Damiana  in an inhaler.  This way I can make 2- one for the home and one to put in my bag when I am out.
While there is no cure for this disorder and unfortunately it can be passed down to the next generation, as I stated above these methods helps me the most so far when it gets bad.
If you are making an inhaler- this is what I do.
7 drops of Valerian Root Essential Oil (or Vetiver)
3 drops Damiana Essential oil (as said this one is very strong so you do not need a lot)
3 drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil
A few drops of fractionated coconut oil.  What this does is keep the smell on the cloth for a longer period of time.
You can also take the infused Boswellia papyrifera and use that for the few drops- in this case 2 drops is more than enough. I still like it separate on my wrists because it stays with me longer.

If you have this disorder you can try my advise, maybe it will work for you as it works for me. Just make sure you are not allergic to trees or any of the plants before trying this.  Also Valerian Root is not recommended for those that are elderly because it may be stimulating instead of calming.

Wherever you go do you see essential oils, In stores on the TV it’s becoming an epidemic
I don’t understand why you need and essential oil in a fabric softener Or even in the detergent. Lavender seems to be the main one you see.
What is this obsession with lavender?
Yes lavender Is a really nice plant and distilled into the essential oil It can be good But it also can be bad.It is a very calming oil to some but it could be also a very agitating oil to others.
And what do you do if you’re allergic to it and here is now in your detergent, you’re a fabric softener, even it’s now being put in commercial air fresheners.
Now it’s even being put in a pillow that you sleep with
The concept of this Pillow looks wonderful But what are you do if you don’t like the smell of lavender or if it works opposite on you, It agitates you, And you were up all night. And what do you do if you find out the pillow feels great but you’re allergic to lavender? Lol
I just think it’s been advertised totally wrong. Don’t get me wrong, no I actually don’t like the smell of most lavender essential oil, I actually purchase mine from a lavender farm in NJ. Called Hidden Springs Lavender Farm , theirs is unique And the smell is not overpowering. But to put it in commercial products especially since we don’t know how much is being put in and how much is real I feel it’s totally ridiculous.
And a pillow like this is totally ridiculous. How much lavender are they actually putting in it it could be more than we can handle, And instead of a good nights sleep we are being overdosed with lavender.
When it’s in a diffuser the rule of thumb is not to run it more than an hour because our brains really can’t handle anymore of it, Imagine being overdosed with it all night., I really do not think this is a very good idea.  So why are we so obsessed with Lavender?  Again the plant is nice- the essential oil when used properly and safely is nice to- but these companies are getting way carried away with this .

I see it all the time, people putting Lemon Essential Oil into water and drink it

If you look at the chemical breakdown in lemon eo, one of the main chemicals is
D-limonene, which is almost in all detergents.
Think about it, would you put Mr. Clean in your water and drink it?
The other problem is the eo is made from the rind of the lemon, which btw has absolutely no nutritional value once distilled. And it has no vit c, so why put it in water. And add to this it takes a whole lot of lemon rinds to make one drop of the essential oil

Understand that the rind is distilled in “boiling water” when it is steam distilled to extract the essential oil.
When it is cold pressed another method the rind is crushed to pull out the essential oil.
Both methods do not pull out the nutrients from the rind including any vitamins.

Vitamins are either fat/lipid soluble or water soluble. Since essential oils do not contain water or fat/lipid, , when distilled the essential oil floats to the top , they would not be able to ‘hold’ vitamins within them and so would not serve as dietary supplements.

This is why it is important to understand the chemistry of essential oils.

Think of what this is doing to your body, besides eroding the enamel on your teeth, when it goes down, since essential oils and water do not mix at all, as it goes down it is sticking to your esophagus, then going down into your stomach, our liver does not have the enzymes-to break up the oil so over time it can damage your liver

Why can’t you just take a small piece of lemon and put that in your water, or even squeeze a few drops of the juice instead, at least this way you get the benefits and the rewards.

Essential oils are wonderful but they also can be dangerous if not used properly.  People say they are natural plant products, but while yes they are they are made up of natural chemicals and very highly concentrated once distilled into essential oils.
One of the reasons why one needs to be careful using them topically.  Being they are so highly concentrated they can burn your skin if you do not use them with a carrier oil.  The carrier oil will dilute the oil so that it is harder to burn your skin.  Also using them neat is a waste.  Part of our skin is made up of water and since water and essential oils do not mix all that is going to happen is it will sit onto of the skin and burn and what doesn't burn will evaporate so basically you are not getting the good usage of the oil.

I would also not ingest the oils unless you are working with a highly trained professional clinical aromatherapist with a some sought of medical degree.  This professional has the skills and knowledge and experience working with ingesting oils.

I will give you an example of how concentrated and dangerous these oils can be if not used properly.
When I started using essential oils awhile back, I was blending 3 essential oils  to be put into a 10ml bottle with carrier oil and I accidentally put one drop of the oil onto my kitchen table.  The phone rang and i was talking for 10 minutes and totally forgot i had the oil on the table.  When i got off the phone and went to wipe off the oil thinking nothing really would happen, i had a hole in the table about 1/2 inch deep.  I used dish detergent and water to wipe out the rest hoping it would not go deeper.  Thank goodness i got it in time not to go deeper but now i still had this hole and i definitely was not happy.  When my husband came home he filled it in with wood putty, sanded it when it dried and we put a little bit of poly urethane on it to keep it from dissolving every time i cleaned the table.
I learned a very valuable lesson from this.  The picture you see here is the hole filled in.  This is an oblonged table with 2 leaves.  This happened in one of the leaves, that is why you see a line. I like this table a lot and did not want to have to purchase a new table.  It has been 7 years since this happened and so far the table is fine.  I am wondering what would have happened if i had spilled the entire bottle- ehhhhhhh!! I do not want to even think about it.

I wear gloves when i blend so if i do drop oil at least it is not on my hands.  I have occasionally gotten a drop on a shirt and had to throw it out because i tried everything and nothing took the stain out even after i immediacy cleaned it.

So i am telling you all this to be very careful using essential oils, get as much education on them, seek out Qualified Aromatherapists like myself that have the proper education and experience,  even we can run into trouble but at least we know what we are doing and how to rectify a situation.

There is lots of controversy out there about having a RA (Registered Aromatherapist) in addition to a CA (Certified Aromatherapist)   or CCA (Certified Clinical Aromatherapist).
In a lot of states including mine in New Jersey, a CA means squat.  It is not a recognized profession. When going on an interview to a medical facility the first thing you are asked” Are you licensed?”  Well we are not.  Without a license the facility, even an alternative healthcare facility cannot apply your fee to any insurance company especially Medicare.  Yes some get special grants for Aromatherapy but those grants are really not a lot of money. Do not expect to get a decent fee  for your services, because the facility cannot pay you.  They do not just get a grant for Aromatherapy, they use this money for other services for the patient not covered by insurance. So you only get a small piece of it.
Having a RA then means nothing, it is only a piece of paper and since most facilities do not recognize your CA what is the point?  We do not live in a perfect world, especially here in the Northeastern part of the USA.
I battle this all the time.  My specialty is working with Hospice and seniors.  I have been turned down by nursing homes only because I do not have a license.  They do not care that I have over 700 hours of aromatherapy education nor 10 years of experience in this field and 3 yrs clinical experience working with hospice patients. They want the license so they can bill the insurance companies to get back what I would be charging them.   Is this fair?  Absolutely not, but in our world of medicine or alternative medicine, having the ability to charge Medicare or other insurance companies is the most important to them.  Take the fact that our methods are sometimes better than traditional methods in the cases of stress and pain with less side effects and might actually make the client or patient feel a bit better.  I am not saying to take away traditional medicine but Aromatherapy compliments it alongside it.
I just found in the state of Maine there is a bill up now for a vote  called An Act Relating to Complementary and Alternative Medicine Licensure
 (here is the website you can go see for yourselves-  http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/SP042801.asp) which forces everyone in the health field  to certain rules and standards or they cannot practice, this includes Certified and Clinical  Aromatherapists  and yes even those who are RA’s.
If this passes this will basically wipe out our profession. We will no longer be allowed to consult without a license. Now since our profession is not licensed then what will be the point of taking more courses if one cannot apply them to anything?  What will happen to all us Certified and Clinical Aromatherapists who have worked our butts off taking the certification courses, plus thousands of dollars spent on taking these and additional courses to further our education!
If this passes in Maine (and the reason they want this bill is because of all the unsafe usage of essential oil and all the accidents that have been happing), other states will eventually follow.
​
Instead of arguing over which piece of paper we should have we should be banning together, writing to our congressman and senators and push to make our profession licensed, otherwise the only aromatherapy you will be doing is to yourselves.

We as Aromatherapists see this every time especially when on social media like Facebook.  I actually saw a post by a fellow aromatherapist who talked about this same subject and she is so right so I wanted to give my take too.  I belong to many Aromatherapy groups and when I look at posts there is always someone saying: "I got this rash all over my body or I have not slept in weeks, or my toes hurt etc etc".  Then the next thing you see is 50 answers from well meaning people with so much advice it makes your head spin.  Some one says "Use Lavender it will allow you to sleep all night",   "Have you tried Almond oil it might help with the rash,"  "oh for your back have you tried Wintergreen?"  Has any of these well meaning people thought first:  Is she allergic to Lavender? how about that this other person might be allergic to nuts and you are now recommending Almond Oil?,  and last but not least for the one with back pain, umm, wintergreen essential oil should not be used with individuals on anticoagulant medication  because this chemical methyl salicylate which is in this oil,  can increase the effects of blood thinners which can cause hemorrhaging even used topically.  What if she is on a blood thinner?

Now if these 50 people told her she should talk to a trained Professional Certified Aromatherapist I guarantee you this would stop happening.  I am betting at least 3/4 of these people have not had enough education in Aromatherapy.  Some took a class or two, some actually read a book about Aromatherapy.  Certified Aromatherapists, lets see, It took me 1 year to be certified.  I went to a reputable school where I had to take a course (that actually took me months to complete) on Aromatherapy, pass a 50 question test,  do 20 case studies on humans and write a very large research paper, also take an Anatomy and Physiology Course (again months to complete and pass its 50 quite hard test) then I became certified.  Add to the fact I took another extensive certification course in aromatic medicine, plus the numerous other courses I took, and actually are still taking because things change all the time,  and to keep my certification where I am now a clinical aromatherapist, I have to take continuing education courses to keep my certification.   I am asking those out there to please think before you answer one of the questions thrown out on social media.

Also btw it is a profession.  Once I became an Aromatherapist I realized what doctors go through when they go to social gatherings.  Hey Dr Brown can you give me advice please my head is falling off my body, can you recommend what I can do?  as he spoons the dessert into his mouth at our friends wedding.   Well actually now I get the same thing when I go to a social gathering.  Robin can you please recommend an essential oil I can use for the dark spot on my face or the pain in my foot?.  LOL now a days I do not tell anyone what I do in social gatherings. And forget when I am on facebook, do people have radar? they know when I am on?  I open my ipad and all of a sudden I have 20 msgs and half of them are for advice?  Now I do not mind giving free advice occasionally but as long as it is general and educational but if you have a problem set up an appointment with me via the telephone or skype or see me in person and we can go over everything about you,  the meds you are on or not, the allergies you have to certain plants, which plants smell nice or not to you, and a few other things I need to know about the whole you.  Please do not get insulted when I tell you I will not give you free advice.  Dr Brown tells you to make an appointment at his office and he gets paid for that, well guess what? so do I.
We as Educated Trained Professional Aromatherapists, we work very hard at what we do and we are entitled to be paid for what we do.
​So to end I am asking everyone to take a step back and really read what I wrote and please do not be insulted it is not meant in anyway to insult, it is to educate, which is my main focus.

Whenever I go to websites that sell essential oils or even blogs where they talk about oils, I always see the title as Frankincense Oil.  Buy our Frankincense Oil or Lets talk about Frankincense.. The wise men gave Jesus Frankincense, we see this everywhere.   It is wonderful, delightful bla bla bla.   What the heck is it? Which frankincense did the baby get?  is it Carterii, Sacra, Serrata, Frereana, Neglecta,  WHAT!  Actually for baby Jesus it is believed he was given Sacra since it comes from Oman which is closer to where Mary gave birth.  But for the rest of these sites, it is not a guessing game and we cannot read your minds on  which Frankincense you are talking about.

There are 18 species of Frankincense Trees.  You cannot just say Frankincense.  You can say "Frankenstein", there was only one of him. You need to understand also each one has different therapeutic properties and also different chemical makeups.  You can go back to my Frankincense page and read each one, I have a bunch on there and you can download the Frankincense Resins PDF that has all 18 of them there.
​So please if you see it written anywhere as just Frankincense- tell the person or persons WHICH ONE YOU TALKING ABOUT?