HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WORK?
Fragrance is quickly gaining credibility as a powerful tool in both medical & scientific communities.Smell & Taste Treatment & Research Foundation, Chicago, IL
Your senses connect you to the world and allow you to respond to your environment. Essential oils can fill your senses and trigger physiological and psychological responses in your body.
The Sense of Scent
Fragrance is the substance of memories. One whiff of a childhood aroma can set your memory in motion, bringing back thoughts, faces, and feelings long forgotten.
How does this happen?
Fragrance consists of volatile molecules that float in the air. Millions of olfactory receptor cells line your nose. Aroma causes these nerves to fire and send messages to the limbic area of your brain. From there, the messages travel to other parts of your brain, activating thought and memory. Your pituitary gland is also stimulated to release chemical messages that travel via your blood to glands and organs that create physical body responses. Hence, a scent has the power to activate a number of physical and emotional responses. It happens in less than a second.
The Sense of Touch
Because of their molecular structure, essential oils quickly absorb when applied to your skin. Silky smooth to the touch, they penetrate the
outer layer of your skin. It is often possible to smell some oils on your breath shortly after applying them to your body. Upon reaching the dermal layer of your skin, essential oils lead to different effects, depending on the type of oil you apply.
The Sense of Essential Oils
Essential oils – non-greasy yet soft and soothing – are different from common vegetable oils. The pure essence of plants, lost in the normal processing of their herbs and flowers, is captured in essential oils. Pure essential oils are rapidly absorbed or inhaled, and rush directly to their targets. The quick distribution of essential oils result in a rapid response.