Aromatherapy and Herbalism
When I first started in aromatherapy I hadn’t given much thought to herbalism or learning anything about it. Essential oils cured it all! But boy was I wrong, and it wasn’t until I took an interest in herbal medicines that I began to realize that herbalism and aromatherapy go hand in hand. Herbalism, at least a basic understanding, belongs with aromatherapy. If you do not have a basic understanding of medicinal plants then it will be more of a challenge formulating products in aromatherapy, especially for aromatherapists. Essential oils are not the only remedies out there, they are not always the best remedy and they also can be improved with some herbal remedies.
So why is herbalism important to aromatherapy? And how can we implement it? A lot of aromatherapy products are made with carrier oils, or base oils, and can be improved by a herbal infused oil. Often times an herbal remedy would be more beneficial than the essential oil as well. Take clove for example, clove essential oil can be tricky to use for teething/teeth pain (and really shouldn’t be applied to the gums or in a babies mouth. But a clove teething oil/tincture can provide a lot of the same benefits as the essential oil, and its much safer. Especially for babies. Check out my favorite teething oil here. You can improve an oil DIY with an herbal infused oil, such as a muscle rub. Infuse your carrier oil with peppermint or spearmint for the cooling effect. Or infuse Calendula flowers in a carrier oil to make a base for some great first aid oils. Infuse lavender into your carrier oil to use as a base in some bath salts with your oils for a lovely relaxing experience.
If you go into aromatherapy only with an understanding of essential oils, and not knowing how to implement other herbs into your products than you might be missing a key component to making the best product for you. It doesn’t need to be fancy or super intricate either. Simple learn how to make infused oils, learn simple ways to implement herbal medicines and familiarize yourself with herbal/plant names. You need to know the latin/plant names for aromatherapy anyways. Also learn how the essential oils differs from the plant. For example peppermint. The essential oil is about 100x (honestly I’m just throwing out a number here) more potent than the leaves. So if I wanted some peppermint tea to curb an upset stomach I would steep the herbs, not ingest the essential oil. While they would both accomplish the same thing, the oil is so much stronger and comes with more risks when ingested. The tea is much safer as an internal remedy.
So what are some ways to learn about herbalism? Maybe you don’t want to take an entire course or maybe you just don’t know where to start. Some things I started with was picking up some books, I found a couple great ones for my area and that’s what got me started into learning more. I found Midwest medicinal plants which is a great book for anyone in the midwest. It really helped me to learn and identify books right in my own backyard. Another great book I found was The modern herbal dispensatory which details a lot of great plants for medicinal purpose. I followed some herbal pages that came up on my Instagram or facebook, I took the best rated herbal course on Udemy. Although Udemy does not give you anything accredited, I feel it’s still great to get your feet wet and see if its something that you like. I wish I could give more advice on where to look, especially for formal classes, but as someone who is just getting into herbalism I am also still on the look out for great herbal courses/lessons. Social media really helps, and those books really help as well. Honestly the greatest asset has been books so grab those whenever you see them.
If you are looking for a great place to source quality herbs as well, check out Mountain Rose Herbs for all your herbal needs. They are an amazing online shop providing great quality herbs for all your needs.
All in all, aromatherapy and herbalism pretty much go together. You can improve your aromatherapy experience with herbs, and bring your DIYs to a whole new level. Having knowledge of the plants and herbs is incredibly useful, and knowing when to use an essential oil, a herbal remedy or both is just a priceless skill to have. If you are doing any kind of aromatherapy, formal or not, trained or not, then I highly encourage you to also pick up some herbalism. Start with infused oils and tinctures. Those are your best bet, especially the oils, for starting to incorporate them into your aromatherapy practices.
