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Carrier Oils Use in Aromatherapy– So Many Choices

What Does The Research Show?

Carrier oils used in Aromatherapy are commonly cold pressed oils that are used as a Base to dilute an essential oil. Because of their potency, essential oils must be diluted before being applied to the skin. Standard dilutions of essential oils in carrier oils range from 2% to 10%. For a body massage, usually about a tablespoon of carrier oil is sufficient. The dilution ratio of an essential oil depends on various factors such as the way in which it is used, and the age of the client being treated.

Carrier oils are vegetable, nut or seed oils many of which themselves have therapeutic properties (Worwood 1991). Carrier oils used in Aromatherapy should be cold pressed to ensure that they are free of chemical agents used due to processing. The most commonly used carrier oils in Aromatherapy are Almond, Grapeseed, Apricot Kernel, Avocado, Sunflower, Soya, Sesame and Wheatgerm. When choosing carrier oils, BIBI Therapy considers the comedogenic rating of the carrier oils. This rating describes the level to which the oil clogs the pores of the skin with ratings from 0 (will not clog pores) to 5 (will most probably clog the pores), Table 1.

(1) Sweet almond oil (Prunus dulcis): light in texture, clear pale yellow. It is considered to have a relatively low clogging level, it is widely acclaimed and recognised the most popular massage oil; it can be used on all skin types.

(2) Grape seed oil (Vitis vinifera L.) is a popular and easily available oil of a medium texture. Its uses include oily skin; due to its linoleic acid content (Prado et al 2012).

(3) Apricot Kernel (Prunis armeniaca) – similar to sweet almond oil, with its high level of fatty acids it would be best used as a natural emollient for the skin. Aromatherapists use it on the face and neck.

(4) Avocado (Persea Americana) oil is very concentrated in nutrients for the skin (vitamin A, D, E, antioxidants, unsaturated fats). Therefore some of the acclaimed uses are for dry skin, inflammation of the skin, wrinkled skin including on the face as well as pain and inflammation reduction in osteoarthiritis (Christensen et al 2008).

(5) Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) oil has a zero comedogenic rating and very high linoleic acid content. Therefore, this humble oil is the perfect choice for body massage. Furthermore, its vitamin and nutrient rich content has multiple therapeutic effects ranging from antioxidant effects on the skin to wound healing and repair (Lin et al 2017).

Table 1: Comedogenic parameters for some common carrier oils used in BIBI Therapy practice.
Base oil Latin name Comedogenic rating Comments
Sweet Almond Prunis dulcis 2-3 Particular circumstance to use would be as moisturizer for dry skin; soothes stressed and sores muscles; as adjuvant for light forms of dermatitis
Grape seed Vitis vinifera L unknown High linoleic acid composition makes it the choice in breaking down the oleic sebum produced by the skin
Apricot kernel Prunus armeniaca 3-5 Beneficial in suppressing the generation of overall body malodour
Avocado Persea americana 2 May be beneficial in wound healing
Sunflower Helianthus annuus 0 Cold pressed sunflower oil has a range of nutrients and antioxidants

Not All Sunflower oils are best for your skin. Look for cold pressed, organic
This humble sunflower offers the least pore-clogging yet calming effect as base-carrier oil for massage.

For more information on how to use carrier oils contact BIBI Therapy via Facebook page. And Let’s stay connected!

Precautions

If you have a sensitive skin, make sure you conduct a patch test before you splash essential oils under your armpit. Furthermore, dilute 2-3 drops with a teaspoon of carrier oil of your choice and remember to check with your family Doctor before attempting to use any essential oil. This is especially important if you are pregnant, nursing or undertaking any special medication including homeopathic medication.

Disclaimer

BIBI Therapy does not offer a cure for any ailments you may suffer. The information and reference guides provided here are intended solely for education only. Please seek advice from a specialist or your health care provider.

References

Christensen et al 2008, Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 16 (4) 399-408 http://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584(07)00318-4/fulltext

Lin et al, 2017, Int J Mol Sci. 2018 19(1): 70. 10.3390/ijms19010070

Prado et al, 2012, J. Food Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.10.007

Worwood, 1991, The Fragrant Pharmacy: A complete guide to Aromatherapy & Essential Oils, London, 1991

 

 

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Turn Body Stench to Salubrious Skin Beating the Body Odour Smell

Bromhidrosis or body odour is a specific smell an individual has, due to bacterial overgrowth on the skin. The smell is often unpleasant and is related to the specific secretion of sudoriferous (sweat) glands. Most commonly it comprises pheromones, substances that make our unique personal scent.

One’s body odour gets worse under certain conditions, increased bacterial activity due to over sweating as well as a sign of disease (S1). Although, the sweat glands are distributed on various parts of the body (not described here) the unpleasant odour is often localised within the armpit area.

Sweaty Armpit

What can be done to alleviate the problem that may affect your social/work relationships as well as causing psychological distress?

Typical therapy options include:

  • The use of germicidal soap to control the bacterial biofilm;
  • Regular shaving of underarm;
  • The use of antibacterial garments, impregnated with silver or copper;
  • The use of crystal deodorants – that is chunks of salt applied immediately after showering;
  • Surgery or botox injections;
  • And more recently underarm microbial transplants (S2)*

Of course, BIBI Therapy recommends first you try natural therapies. Particularly, it praises the use of essential oils as they have proven benefits for the skin microbiome, in general.

When dealing with a lot of Body Odour the most acceptable antiseptic and anti-bacterial essential oils according to Valerie Ann Worwood are: Lavender, Pine, Thyme, Eucalyptus, Lemon and Bergamot (S3). Not only, using these oils is beneficial for the skin, but you can also formulate your own Deodorant powder or eau de colognes even create your own perfume in an easy way.

You can take control of all aromatic requirements if maintaining natural purity free of any harmful chemicals is important for you.

For more information on how to formulate your own deodorant or perfume, let’s stay connected!

Precautions

If you have a sensitive skin, make sure you conduct a patch test before you splash essential oils under your armpit. Furthermore, dilute 2-3 drops with a teaspoon of carrier oil of your choice and remember to check with your family Doctor before attempting to use any essential oil. This is especially important if you are pregnant, nursing or undertaking any special medication including homeopathic medication.

Disclaimer

BIBI Therapy does not offer a cure for bromhidrosis. The information and reference guides are intended solely for the general information. Please seek advice from a specialist or your health care provider if you require any advice on medications.

* Dr Chris Callewaert, known as Dr Armpit, plans new clinical trials this year, February-April 2018, in Belgium. Contact at info@drarmpit.com if interested.

References

S1 M J Olsson et al, (2014), Psychological Science, 25 (3): 817-823, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613515681.

S2 C Calewaert et al (2013), Plos One, August 2013 , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070538

S3 Valerie Ann Worwood, The Fragrant Pharmacy: A complete guide to Aromatherapy & Essential Oils, London, 1991

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Summer is Here! So are the Insects! What Choices Do We Have Using Essential Oils?

The Larvicidal Activity of some Essential Oils –

Did you know that some Essential oils have larvicidal activity?

Larvicidal activity is an insecticide designed to kill larval pests. That means it can be used to literaly kill the larvae of the mosquito too. This is really cool when one thinks that some essential oils can be used for this purpose.

For example Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) and Peru balsam (Myroxylon pereira) oils can be used to treat and eliminate the mosquito larvae with an enviable efficiency 97.5% (S1)

Ajwain or Ajowan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajwain) is a plant used as a spice mostly in the Indian cuisine: deliciously blending it with green beans and root vegetables or steamed cabbage. Research into the properties of the essential oil extracted from this interesting spice shows that its components (Thymol, phenolic compounds) are strongly germicide and antispasmodic (S2).

In the table below are some oils that can be used safely for the purpose described above.

Above all, keep safe, cool and have a great a great Christmas.

Essential Oil Activity Source
Larvicidal Repellent
Sweet Orange

(Citrus sinensis)

 yes
American basil

(Ocimum americanum)

 Yes Yes
Clove Basil or African basil

(Ocimum gratissimum)

 Yes
Lemon grass

(Cymbopogon citratus)

 Yes
Ajowan

(Trachyspermum ammi)

 Prevents mosquito eggs from hatching

Mosquito larvae as well as some cockroaches

 S1
All spice

(Pimenta dioica),

 Kills Japanese termites S5
Caraway

(Carum carvi),

 Kills Japanese termites S5
Dill

(Anethum graveolens),

 Kills Japanese termites Yes S5
Geranium

(Pelargonium graveolens)

 Kills Japanese termites Yes S5

References

S1S J Agr and Food Chem, 2012 May: 60 (23), pp 5909–5914, DOI 10.1021/jf301296d, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf301296d

S2 Int J Infect. 2014 July: 2(1):e19394, http://intjinfection.com/en/articles/14685.html

S4 Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2004 Aug: 99(5), 541-544. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02762004000500015

S5 J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57 (15), pp 6596–6602, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf9015416

 

Precautions

Always test is you are allergic to any of the oils you intend using. See Blog: Allergies testing. Use dilutions of one teaspoon with 5-6 drops of essential oil.

Furthermore, dilute 2-3 drops with a teaspoon of carrier oil of your choice and remember to check with your family Doctor before attempting to use any essential oil. This is especially important if you are pregnant, nursing or undertaking any special medication.

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Skin – What can Essential Oils Do for my Skin and the Trillion Living on It Essential Oils and the Skin’s Microbiome

Your skin is the ultimate physical barricade between the outside environment and your Health.

How can we best maintain this important organ and the trillion organisms living on it, in balance so that we keep our internal chemistry of life running as joyfully and pain free possible?

While the answer of this question is rather long, I will make a short summary on how to go about it capitalising on the powers of generally recognized as safe Essential oil.

Essential oils create a smooth biofilm on the skin that can help to

  • Slow down the loss of connective tissue: Lavender Oil. The most potent of all skin protectors, soothing the worst of sun burn, this oil requires no further introduction.
  • Hydrate the skin like the jojoba oil. This oil has the same microscopic structure as the natural sebum secreted by the skin. Aging affects this secretion so the skin becomes dryer the hair becomes brittle. Apply undiluted on your skin as well as hair for a smooth healthier new YOU ( Meyer et al 2012)
  • Counteract the effect of photoaging: Frankincense. This oil has powerful astringent properties. Therefore it notifies the skin and heals wounds due to exposure to the harmful sun rays. Use diluted ( 5 drops in a teaspoon of carrier oil)
  • Alleviate fungal/bacterial infections ( Athlete’s foot, Nail bed infection, other fungal issues)
Fungal infection Essential oil Source
Tinea (Trichophyton rubrum) and onychomycosis (T. mentagrophytes )infection Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

 Cassella et al, 2002
Candida albicans Lavender Thosar, et al. 2013
Escherichia coli

Staphylococcus aureus

 Peppermint

Tea tree

Thyme

 Thosar, et al.2013

 

How else can one nurture and have a healthy glowing skin?

  • By getting dirty. Yes that’s right get out and do some gardening with your bare hands or in other words let some of the soil based organisms get in touch with your skin. This way the skin microbiome (Grice & Segre 2011), i.e. the milieu diverse microorganisms living on the skin, will be enabled to do its job at its highest level.
  • Stay away or even ditch the harsh antibacterial skin soaps, use them only when pathogen situations strictly require;
  • Laundering clothes won’t kill the bacteria harboured within so make sure you dry the clothes in the sun;

Resources

Cassella et al, 2002, Int. J. Aromatherapy, 12 (1) 2-15, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962456201901274

Grice and Segre, 2011, Nat Rev Microbiol. 9(4): 244–253, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535073/

Meyer et al, 2012, Forsch Komplementmed., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22585103

Thosar et al, 2013, Eur J Dent. 2013 Sep; 7(Suppl 1): S71–S77, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054083/?report=printable

Disclaimer

The information on this website has not been evaluated by any medical body.

Please consult your doctor before acting on any content on this website. The information shared here is for educational purposes only. This is especially important if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.

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Allergies Seasonal Allergies – What can Essential Oils Do for YOU

Are you suffering from occasional allergies in spring or early summer?

Read this first:

There are risks and potential complications of using essential oils: this is particularly true for allergic prone people

  1. Pain, swelling, or tenderness of the skin;
  2. Itchiness;
  3. Hives, rash, or boils;
  4. Digestive upset;
  5. Difficulty breathing.

Essential oils can be used as an alternative or complementary treatment for allergy symptoms.

Before using the Essential oils BIBI Therapy always conducts an Allergy test reaction. Apply a small dose of essential oil (1–2 drops) diluted in 3–6 drops of carrier oil and apply to an inconspicuous area of skin (such as the abdomen, thigh, inner arm, etc.).

Allow the oil to fully absorb into your skin and then examine the area over the course of several hours. If any redness, pain, itchiness, swelling, or other adverse symptoms result, you may have sensitivity to that oil.

Aromatherapy can be used in various ways to assist you with this ailment:

  • diffusing them into the air;
  • using them in bath and spa products;
  • applying them onto the skin ( diluted);
  • or breathing them directly from a nasal container.
Picture of hand-test for allergies.
Allergy Testing