Who is deep aromatherapy?
Dee Power is the founder of deep aromatherapy, a company committed to quality health-based products.
Dee is an aromatherapist with a background in intensive care nursing, employing both these skills in a holistic approach to skin care products. Her range of care products brings preventative and complimentary medicine within the reach of us all.
Dee works with pure essential oils and other plant derived raw materials to achieve quality products that produce positive and healing outcomes.
She invites you to enjoy and benefit from her exquisite high quality hand made products.
What is aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is the art, and science, of using pure essential oils. It is a truly holistic therapy taking account of the mind, body and spirit.
Essential oils are complex mixtures of chemical constituents, which occur widely throughout the plant kingdom, flowers, leaves, bark, stems, roots and fruit. The precise nature and proportion of these chemicals determines the oils therapeutic and fragrant properties. Essential oils are extremely concentrated and so should only be used in very small quantities.
Olfaction is the sense of smell. The olfactory function allows a direct connection from the outside world to the brain. Sensory cells in the mucous membrane of our nasal cavities are stimulated by the presence of chemical particles dissolved in the mucous. Fibres from these smell receptors form the olfactory nerve. The olfactory nerve divides in two and has two pathways in the brain.
One pathway goes to higher regions of the brain where the sensation of smell is perceived. This perception of odour is in fact the chemical particles. We can register as many as 10,000 different fragrances. In contrast, we can only register four types of taste.
The second pathway goes to primitive regions of the brain, which includes the limbic system. The limbic system, a centre for emotions, is connected to the hypothalamus, which controls the whole hormonal system through the pituitary gland. As such, smells produce many different responses including, anger, anxiety, happiness, sensuality, memories and comfort.
The potential for aromatherapy to offer effective relief to symptoms and stress is immense.
Skin absorption of essential oils
Essential oils and vegetable based carrier oils are composed of fat-soluble molecules and are absorbed easily into the skin via:
The most rapid absorption is through the hair follicles and the sweat glands. Essential oil molecules pass through the layers of the skin and enter the blood system via the skins network of capillaries. From here essential oils are distributed throughout the body, depending on the essential oils affinity for various tissues.
Numerous essential oil constituents enter the central nervous system as the brain is rich in lipids and so fat-soluble essential oils have a natural affinity for it. The more blood flow a tissue gets, the more exposure that tissue will have to the essential oils. Massage increases blood flow, and will therefore increase the absorption of essential oils.