My love for essential oils started in the mid 90’s after I studied aromatherapy and learnt about all the powerful healing properties that flowers, herbs and spices have for the mind and body – both internally and externally. I love making up my own synergies for body lotions and oils, face creams and scalp oils and take great pleasure in making these for family and friends as home made gifts. Always dilute pure essential oils with a base oil or cream as they are very potent when undiluted, consider which oils work well together when blending your own mixtures as some oils create a better synergy when combined. Buff & Butter very kindly offered me the chance to select five of their essential oils to try in return for an honest review. I chose peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary and frankincense. Each of these oils has a lovely strong aroma which is a good indication of potency, you can also test that the essential oil is pure and undiluted in a base/carrier oil by putting a drop onto a sheet of white paper, a pure essential oil will evaporate whereas oils in general wont although I wouldn’t use a heavy gum like benzoin if you are going to do this test.
These are the essential oils that I chose from the Buff & Butter range along with the reasons why I like to use them:
Peppermint essential oil – this oil is one of my favourites, I not only love the fresh smell of peppermint but find it such a useful oil for bloating, stomach cramps and headaches due to its antispasmodic, analgesic and carminative properties. It’s these properties that make peppermint a valuable oil for acute digestive system disorders. It’s cooling and pain relieving action helps to ease headaches and muscular aches and pains. Peppermint is also a useful oil for respiratory disorders due to the menthol content, use an oil burner or vaporiser for rapid absorption into the lungs through inhalation.
Eucalyptus essential oil – another great oil for the respiratory system and particularly good with clearing the sinuses. It’s antiviral, bacteriacide, decongestant, and expectorant properties makes eucalyptus a powerful oil to have around for natural and safe home remedies when treating colds and flu. Either inhale using an oil burner or vaporiser or put a few drops onto a hanky or on your pillowcase to inhale while you sleep. Eucalyptus is also a good oil for general muscle aches and pains due to its stimulating, analgesic and antispasmodic properties. Use diluted in base oil and rub directly onto the skin, combine with other essential oils such as lavender and benzoin to create a synergy for maximum benefits.
Lavender – one of my most used oils as it blends with most other oils creating a good synergy and has many benefits both internally and externally. A valuable oil for most skin conditions aiding acne, eczema and psoriasis with healing effects also noted for burns – it was French chemist Gattefosse that discovered this when he accidentally spilt lavender essential oil on a burn he had and noticed how quickly it suddenly healed. It’s a very balancing oil for the skin with its cytophylactic properties making it a good anti ageing oil as it promotes the growth of new skin cells. Lavender has a very calming and relaxing effect on the body which makes it a good oil for aiding sleep, try adding a few drops to a bath in the evening, a handy tip if you don’t have an oil burner is to put a few drops onto some cotton wool and place in on the radiator during winter to fill the room with the lovely smell of lavender.
Rosemary – this oil is most well know for its ability to activate and enliven brain cells which stimulates memory making it a great oil for students that are revising or when under mental strain and feeling mentally exhausted, try adding rosemary essential oil to your oil burner when working or studying to aid memory and brain function during these times. Its stimulating action also makes it great for general scalp disorders encouraging healthy hair growth, click here for a recipe on how to make your own nourishing scalp oil with essential oils.
Frankincense – its effects on the mucous membranes makes this woody fragrant oil a valuable aid for clearing the lungs. Frankincense is also a tonic to the skin particularly helping ageing skin where its reported to help smooth wrinkles!
Headache rub:
Measure out 20mls of a base oil such as sweet almond, apricot, coconut, grapeseed oil etc and add the following essential oils:
3 drops of Peppermint essential oil
3 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil
3 drops of Rosemary essential oil
3 drops of Lavender essential oil
Store this oil in a glass amber bottle and shake well before use. When using the oil pour a generous amount into the palms of your hands and massage into the scalp and across the forehead, temples and back of the neck for tension headaches. Many tension headaches also come from tense shoulder muscles so consider massaging the oil into the upper back and shoulders too. Leave the oils on for as long as possible to allow the essential oils to soak into the skin and muscles, I often leave the oils on overnight and just sleep on an old pillow case.
For mild bloating and stomach cramps use the above headache rub or use just peppermint oil (1-3 drops per 5mls of base oil) massage from your right to left side (clockwise) in circular motions because this is the direction that your intestines and blood flows.
Buff & Butter have a large range of pure essential oils along with base oils and floral waters, they also have useful information on each individual oil along with other suggested oils that each will blend well with, they also have candle making supplies too. Overall very happy to recommend the Buff & Butter essential oil range.