I had a "spa day" at my house the other day and totally confused the dog!!! He would not even look me in the eyes but was very concerned about his momma!
This recipe for a face mask is very soothing and the essential oils that I added are soothing and nourishing to the face! I have to share this with you. The essential oils used are Frankincense which has anti-aging properties and Geranium. I learned something very important early on about these oils. The lesson I learned was that they do smell good; but the other attributes they have outweigh the fragrant smell. Be patient with the list and references, but I hope that you enjoy this list and get a little understanding of the benefits of these wonderful oils!!!
Analgesic: The presence of components such as α- and β-pinene, d-limonene, β-myrcene, and para-cymene (among others) suggests that the oil has excellent pain relieving properties.
Anti-inflammatory: Hirota et al. (2010) noted that d-limonene, a component in some Frankincense essential oils, has considerable anti-inflammatory activity—it decreases cell migration and cytokine release and shows excellent antioxidant activity.
Antioxidant: Yang et al. (2010) reported that Frankincense oil has considerable free radical scavenging action. See also anti-inflammatory.
Cicatrisant: The essential oil contains several components that demonstrate actions important to the skin’s healing process. Many are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial. Anecdotal evidence certainly suggests that Frankincense plays a role in skin care.
Immunostimulant: Oils such as Frankincense that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties may offer strong immune support.
Skin healing: See cicatrisant.
Tonic: Boswellia species have been used for millennia in traditional medicine for their effects on mood. Some species can inhibit acetylcholinesterase (Awadh Ali et al. 2009 cited by Hussain et al. 2013), and might have beneficial effects on cognition, and perhaps memory.
Analgesic: The essential oil can rapidly relieve the pain of postherpetic neuralgia, no a complication from shingles that causes nerve pain (Greenway et al. 2003).
Anti-inflammatory: Geranium essential oil can reduce swelling and inflammation (Maruyama et al. 2006). Its principal components, the alcohols citronellol, and geraniol have anti-inflammatory actions (Su et al. 2010).
Antibacterial: Edward-Jones et al. (2004) investigated the effects of the vapors (in vitro) from several oils, including Geranium (alone and in combination), on Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, and epidemic methicillin-resistant S. aureus (EMSRA). Geranium oil showed excellent inhibition, and Geranium combined with Tea Tree was the most active against MRSA. This research was done in a lab, not on humans.
Antidepressant: Inhalation of Geranium’s aroma has been shown to reduce anxiety (Morris et al. 1995). It has antidepressant effects (Perry and Perry 2006). Monoterpene alcohols—especially geraniol, citronellol, and linalool—are associated with anxiety-relieving actions (Setzer 2009).
Antifungal: A Geranium oil with 47% citronellol was active against several Candida strains (Rosato et al. 2008). Geranium is active against some dermatophytes including Trichophyton species (Shin and Lim 2004). Geraniol is also believed to have antifungal actions (Lang and Buchbauer 2012).
Antispasmodic: Citronellol has direct vasorelaxant action on vascular smooth muscle (Bastos et al. 2010). So it’s possible that Geranium, which contains significant amounts of this component (and others, such as geranyl esters) has antispasmodic effects.
Cicatrisant: See skin healing.
Hypotensive: Geranium contains significant quantities of citronellol. This component has vasorelaxant and hypotensive properties (Bastos et al. 2010).
Skin healing: Rose Geranium has significant potential in the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory skin diseases (Boukhatem et al. 2013).
Tonic: Geranium’s therapeutic profile suggests it is a perfect oil for strengthening and restoring vitality, especially when depleted by stress.
It is not important to know details about these properties, but it is good to know that researchers have pulled out the components and documented the benefits of the oils!
Recipe for the Mermaid Mud Mask!!! I made one change to the recipe. I substituted Frankincense for Basil due to the therapeutic properties noted above.
This recipe was obtained by Simply Earth essential oils. These oils are all available in the store.
References for Frankincense
Awadh Ali, N.A., Wurster, M., Arnold, N., Lindequist, U. and Wessjohan, L. (2009) Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from the oleogum resins of three endemic Soqotraen Boswellia species. Records of Natural Products 2, 1, 6-12.
Camarda, L., Dayton, T., Di Stefano, V., Pitonzo, R. and Schillaci, D. (2007) Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of some oleogum resin essential oils from Boswellia species (Burseraceae). Annali di Chimica 97, 9, 837-844. Cited by Hussain, H. Al-Harrasi, A., Al-Rawahi, A. and Hussain, J. (2014) Chemistry and biology of essential oils of genus Boswellia. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine doi: 10.1155/2013/140509.
Hirota, R., Roger, N.N., Nakamura, H., Song, H.-S., Sawamura, M., and Suganuma, N. (2010) Anti-inflammatory effects of limonene from yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) essential oil on eosinophils. Journal of Food Science 75, 87-92.
Rhind, J.P. (2014) Fragrance and Wellbeing. London: Singing Dragon
Yang, S.-A., Jeon, S.-K., Lee, E.-J., Shim, E.-H. and Lee, I.-S. (2010) Comparative study of the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of six essential oils and their components. Natural Products Research 24, 140-151.
References for Geranium
Bastos, J.F., Moreira, I.J., Ribeiro, T.P., Medeiros, I.A., Antoniolli, A.R., de Sousa, D.P. and Santos, M.R. (2010) Hypotensive and vasorelaxant effects of citronellol, a monoterpene alcohol, in rats. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology 106, 4, 331-337.
Boukhatem, M.N., Kameli, A., Ferhat, M.A., Saidi, F. and Mekarnia, M. (2013) Rose geranium essential oil as a source of new and safe anti-inflammatory drugs. Libyan Journal of Medicine 8, 22520. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ljm.v8i0.22520
Edwards-Jones, V., Buck, R., Shawcross S.G., Dawson, M.M. and Dunn, K. (2004) The effect of essential oils on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using a dressing model. Burns 30, 8, 772-777.
Greenway, F.L., Frome, B.M., Engels, T.M. and McLellan, A. (2003) Temporary relief of postherpetic neuralgia pain with topical geranium oil. American Journal of Medicine 115, 7, 586-587.
Lang, G. and Buchbauer, G. (2012) A review on recent research results (2008-2010) on essential oils as antimicrobials and antifungals. A review. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 27, 13-39.
Maruyama, N., Ishibashi, H., Hu, W., Morofuji, S. and Yamaguchi, H. (2006) Suppression of carrageenan and collagen induced inflammation in mice by geranium oil. Mediators of Inflammation 3, 1-7.
Maruyama, N., Takizawa, T. and Ishibashi, H. (2008) Protective activity of geranium oil and its component, geraniol, in combination with vaginal washing against vaginal candidiasis in mice. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 31, 1501-1506.
Morris, N., Birtwistle, S. and Toms, M. (1995) Anxiety Reduction. International Journal of Aromatherapy 7, 2, 33-39.
Perry, N. and Perry, E. (2006) Aromatherapy in the management of psychiatric disorders: clinical and neuropharmacological perspectives. CNS Drugs 20, 4, 257-280.
Rosato, A., Vitali, C., Gallo, D., Balenzano, L. and Mallamaci, R. (2008) The inhibition of Candida species by selected essential oils and their synergism with amphotericin B. Phytomedicine 15, 8, 635-638.
Setzer, W.N. (2009) Essential oils and anxiolytic aromatherapy. Natural Product Communications 4, 9, 1305-1316.
Shin, S. and Lim, S. (2004) Antifungal effects of herbal essential oils alone and in combination with ketoconazole against Trichophyton spp. Journal of Applied Microbiology 97, 6, 1289-1296.
Su, Y.W., Chao, S.H., Lee, M.H., Ou, T.Y. and Tsai, Y.C. (2010) Inhibitory effects of citronellol and geraniol on nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 production in macrophages. Planta Medica 76, 1666-1671.
Tisserand, R. and Young, R. (2014) Essential Oil Safety 2nd Edition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
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