You probably have a few bottles of essential oils at home such as lavender, tea tree or eucalyptus. But do you use them regularly? Essential oils have multiple benefits and it is not necessary to have many of them to improve many everyday ailments. To do this, you must choose them carefully. I offer you my selection of naturopaths in a table of essential oils by pathology to be found at the end of the article. Immune defenses, nervous system, joints… I have selected my “favorite” essential oils that are easy to use. This choice is of course personal and there are dozens of other essential oils with many virtues. These suggestions do not in any way replace the consultation of a doctor and his prescriptions.
Since ancient times, essential oils have been used for household, food, cosmetic, ritual and therapeutic purposes. The science that studies essential oils is aromatherapy. Its name comes from the Greek aroma (smell) and therapia (care). It is good to remember that the virtues of a plant should not be confused with those of its essential oil. This is why displaying a table of essential oils by pathology in your medicine cabinet can be very useful.
Read before using my table of essential oils by pathology
To choose an essential oil, it is important that it is 100% natural , 100% pure and chemotyped . The chemotype is the original name intended to characterize an essential oil from a botanical or chemical point of view. This is the only guarantee of therapeutic quality and safety of use.
I advise you to buy pure essential oils and make your own mixtures. In fact, a bottle of opaque essential oil stored away from heat and light lasts almost a lifetime. However, if you mix essential oils with a carrier oil, they oxidize. The mixture will only keep for 6 months.
Although essential oils are natural, some precautions are necessary. Do not mix any essential oils at the risk of multiplying their effects in an undesired way. Respect the dilutions and methods of application (oral, cutaneous, diffused, etc.). Indeed, certain essential oils should not be diffused into the air, others should not be ingested or even applied to the skin.
In all cases, we will be particularly vigilant with children under 6 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women, people taking medication (notably blood thinners), people with asthma, people with an autoimmune disease or cancer. hormone dependent. If in doubt, seek advice from a competent person.
Ways to use essential oils
Essential oils can be used in different ways depending on the plant from which they come and the pathology you want to treat. A very well-known mode of action is diffusion in suitable devices.
We can also benefit from the olfactory properties of essential oils, in particular for all conditions of the respiratory system. To do this, you can place a few drops of essential oils previously mixed with a vegetable oil on the chest, the inside of the wrists or under the arch of the foot.
Very occasionally and with great caution (ask a professional for advice), pure essential oils can be used ingestion or local application. Be careful, however, not all essential oils can be ingested and the consequences can be very serious. In addition, the duration of treatment should not exceed 6 days with a dosage of 4 to 6 drops per day maximum.
Finally, essential oils are very well indicated in mixtures with vegetable oils. Below I show you an anti-stress mixture based on chamomile essential oil and a mixture for the joints .
Dilutions to remember
If you wish to benefit without risk from the benefits of essential oils, it is imperative to respect the following dilutions (it is estimated that 1 ml corresponds to approximately 30 drops):
- 5% dilution for the nervous system
- 10% dilution in cosmetics
- 10 to 15% dilution in muscular action
- 30% for parasitic infections
For example, mixtures for the nervous system are made with 5% essential oil in virgin vegetable oil. That is to say, for a base of 10ml of neutral vegetable oil (jojoba, apricot, olive oil), you must add 15 drops of essential oil.
Having made these few recommendations, essential oils work wonders and I invite you to discover some of their virtues in my table of essential oils by pathology.
My essential oils to cleanse, disinfect, support the immune system
I often diffuse essential oils during the winter when many viruses and microbes are circulating. Be careful not to saturate the air; ventilate the room after diffusion. For this, essential oils of lemon, maritime pine and eucalyptus are ideal. Then, the anti-bacterial essential oil par excellence is tea tree. Finally, to prevent winter ailments, ravintsara essential oil is a perfect ally.
Lemon essential oil
Lemon essential oil ( citrus limomum ) is obtained from the dried peel of the fruit. On a global scale, it is the essential oil of which the largest volumes are produced . It takes approximately 3000 lemons to obtain 1 liter of essential oil. Lemons are harvested twice a year.
It is the winter harvest that will provide the lemons needed to make gasoline. Lemons harvested in summer are intended more for culinary consumption, particularly for an anti-inflammatory diet .
Lemon essential oil is well suited to children and women because it is gentle and well tolerated. It is generally known for its anti-infectious action . Indeed, it is an excellent atmospheric antiseptic . For example, it can be used as an air disinfectant in public places.
In addition, lemon essential oil is a very good liver regulator, an anti-emetic and a general stimulant . It also acts on micro-circulation by being an excellent circulatory fluidifier. It reduces capillary permeability and increases resistance while toning the walls.
Finally, lemon regulates the appetite and stimulates digestion.
Be careful, lemon essential oil is photosensitizing through the skin. So don’t expose yourself to the sun right after applying it.
Tea tree essential oil
Tea tree essential oil is one of the three best-selling essential oils in France. Indeed, it is a bit like the “Swiss army knife” of essential oils with its multiple actions. It is a mainly anti-bacterial essential oil . Its spectrum of action is quite broad: anti-fungal, anti-viral and immune stimulating.
Tea tree essential oil is traditionally used for:
External treatment is ideal. Often, 3 to 4 drops of essential oil applied 3 times a day for about 5 days are enough to stop the problem.
Ravintsara essential oil
Ravintsara is native to Madagascar. It grows wild in tropical rainforests and can reach 15 m in height. It belongs to the Lauraceae family.
Impossible not to include ravintsara essential oil in my table of essential oils by pathology. It is an antiviral and immune system stimulating essential oil . It is used for viral infections of all types: colds, bronchitis, sinusitis, herpes, shingles.
In addition, ravintsara essential oil is neurotonic and energizing . Therefore, I highly recommend it in cases of long and prolonged fatigue. Whether the fatigue is physical or mental, ravintsara essential oil helps fight depression and anxiety.
During periods of winter flu, I recommend applying under the arch of the foot or on the thorax, 6 drops of ravintsara morning and evening for a week.
Table of essential oils by pathology: coughs, colds, flu
Essential oils are multi-faceted, and that’s what I appreciate about using them. Thus, we have already seen that tea tree essential oil can treat respiratory tract infections. However, there are more specialized essential oils. For coughs and chronic bronchitis, you can use maritime pine for example.
Maritime pine essential oil
The maritime pine is a tree from the Landes forest. Its bark is reddish, it measures 20 to 30 m high. The branches are mainly grouped together at the top of the tree. Either the pine needles or the bark are distilled. We thus obtain two essential oils with very distinct properties.
So don’t go wrong when buying your pine essential oil. I will only talk here about that obtained by distillation of pine needles .
Pine essential oil is used in all bronchopulmonary pathologies. It is one of the major essential oils of the lung. It is stimulating, expectorant and anti-catarrhal. It helps to “pull out mucus”, which is why it is said to be expectorant. It is used for wet coughs and as support for chronic bronchial infections .
Catarrh is a secretion of mucus in the nose and throat, usually occurring during a cold. Certain anti-catarrhal essential oils help reduce this secretion .
Pine essential oil is also antiseptic , disinfectant and tonic. In this case, we will mainly use it for broadcasting. For example, it can be combined with eucalyptus essential oil to purify homes when a person is sick.
Maritime pine essential oil is used in olfaction, for example by placing a few drops on a handkerchief which will be inhaled, except for fragile people, asthmatics, those with respiratory allergies, children, pregnant or breastfeeding women. Maritime pine essential oil should not be ingested.
There are no known contraindications to physiological doses. However, maritime pine essential oil can sometimes be dermocaustic. People with fragile skin should therefore be particularly careful to stop skin application if they see redness appearing.
Essential oils to soothe and relax
I often recommend essential oils for disorders related to stress and overload of the nervous system. Chamomile essential oil brings calm, lavender soothes nervousness. Noble laurel also falls into this category by strengthening self-confidence.
Chamomile essential oil
Chamomile grows on sandy soils in western Europe. It is a perennial plant that has white and yellow flowers in the center.
Chamomile essential oil is above all anti-spasmodic and calming of the central nervous system. Thus, it helps rebalance the nervous system by inhibiting our sympathetic system and strengthening our parasympathetic system.
Chamomile essential oil has no known contraindications at physiological doses. It is often combined with basil when applied locally to tense areas.
As an anti-stress first aid kit, you can make a mixture of 80 drops of macadamia vegetable oil to which you add:
Apply 6 drops of this mixture to the solar plexus
Exotic basil essential oil
Basil is an annual plant from temperate regions that fears frost and likes warm climates. Its use is often culinary. In aromatology , we are mainly interested in exotic basil ( ocimum basilicum in Latin).
Basil essential oil is a nervous tonic and a powerful anti-spasmodic . It soothes, calms and relaxes. It is a perfect essential oil against stress. Basil also calms stomach spasms and soothes gastric pain . Therefore, it is perfect for people in a hurry who eat quickly and chew poorly. To facilitate digestion , it is often combined with peppermint.
Basil essential oil has no known contraindications at physiological doses. You may, however, experience skin irritation if you use it in too high a concentration.
Basil can be combined with chamomile by local application to tense areas. The concentrations are the same as indicated above for chamomile. All quantities are indicated in the table of essential oils by pathology to download at the end of the article.
True lavender essential oil
There are several natural varieties of lavender. Blue or purple in color, lavender has a delicate scent very appreciated in perfumery. The higher it grows, the lower its yield. But its quality is also better, hence its higher price.
Lavender essential oil is very versatile. First of all, it acts on the central nervous system which it calms, soothes and protects. It acts on anxiety and nervousness . In addition to being a very good essential oil against stress, it is also suitable for children ‘s insomnia .
In addition, lavender essential oil is a powerful spasmolytic . It calms muscle cramps, coughs and asthma. Lavender is also used as a healing and cellular regenerator for infectious and scarring dermatoses (burns, pruritus) and non-surgical wounds.
In practice, lavender essential oil is active through the skin . The oral route is therefore of no interest. We dilute it differently depending on what we want to use it for. If you choose to put a little lavender essential oil in your bath , always dilute it first in liquid soap. In fact, an essential oil is not miscible in water.
For a relaxing, low-concentration bath, you can mix 3 drops of essential oil and 50ml of sweet almond oil or liquid soap. Then take 1/2 cap of this preparation (the equivalent of a tablespoon) which you pour into a bath at 37°C.
Noble laurel essential oil
The noble laurel is a shrub 2 to 15 m high with leathery and evergreen foliage. It is known to fear the cold below -10°C. But it also cannot withstand severe droughts or excess water. Its leaves can be harvested all year round. Note that this tree is never struck by lightning.
Like many essential oils, noble laurel essential oil is anti-infectious , bactericidal and virucidal. It is also anti-sclerosing, analgesic and helps fight against aging. In addition, it is used as an aid in the treatment of rheumatism, osteoarthritis and arthritis.
In my table of essential oils by pathology, I chose to classify noble laurel in the stress and anxiety category because I have observed its effectiveness many times. Indeed, noble laurel is a neurotonic and brain stimulant. It is an essential oil that allows you to distance yourself, gain confidence and not let yourself be overwhelmed. Thus, it helps to take charge of oneself, to escape from emotional turmoil and mental torpor. It is a balancer of the sympathetic and parasympathetic system in neurovegetative dystonias.
Little historical note
“Nobilis” tree, the noble laurel has been revered since ancient times. He is associated with the god Apollo. It expresses greatness, victory. It symbolized Caesar’s military triumphs and was later associated with the baccalaureate.
To conclude my table of essential oils by pathology: daily worries
I have tried to limit the number of essential oils I present in this article. But it is impossible not to mention some essential oils with very useful actions on a daily basis. An essential oil for athletes, wintergreen relieves tired joints. Then for mosquito-free summer evenings, lemongrass will find its place in your suitcases. If you fear intestinal disorders on vacation, then also include a small bottle of cinnamon essential oil.
Wintergreen essential oil
Wintergreen is native to the Rocky Mountains of the American West and grows up to 1500m altitude on slopes resulting from ancient glacial moraines. Its yield is high since 100kg of wintergreen leaves produce 1.5 to 2 liters of essential oil.
Wintergreen is a great anti-inflammatory oil with a circulatory connotation. It is very well known to athletes because it is used in massage before exercise with hazelnut vegetable oil for example (10% dilution), against bruises, tendinitis and cramps. It is also used to relieve osteoarthritis and arthritis.
This is the preparation that I personally use for a joint or muscle massage. Adapt the total volume according to your bottles and frequency of use. The mixtures lose their effectiveness in a few months so prefer small quantities.
For a 200 ml bottle, mix in arnica oil
Generously massage painful areas.
Java lemongrass essential oil
Lemongrass belongs to the Poaceae (grass) family. It has long, narrow leaves with rough, sharp edges and hollow, bulbous stems at the base. It takes the form of a tuft up to thirty centimeters high and twice as wide.
Java Lemongrass essential oil is often used to prevent or relieve mosquito bites . In fact, lemongrass removes stagnation and helps unclog the skin, particularly in cases of boils, acne or abscesses.
Java lemongrass essential oil is also a good air freshener and helps deodorize interiors. Finally, this essential oil also acts on rheumatism by being anti-inflammatory.
You can use lemongrass essential oil diffused for 30 minutes as a room freshener. To do this, simply mix 10 drops of Java lemongrass essential oil with 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil.
Ceylon cinnamon essential oil
The cinnamon tree is a tree 5 to 10m high from tropical regions. It requires a lot of water as well as rich, deep soil. It is mainly known for its bark: the famous cinnamon sticks.
This is the essential oil not to forget when traveling abroad. Indeed, cinnamon essential oil ( cinnamomum verum ) is a powerful antibacterial and particularly an intestinal anti-infective . It is a magic oil to fight against turista and diarrhea, in combination with lemon and clove essential oil.
It is also a gastrointestinal stimulant which helps reduce flatulence.
Apply 12 drops of the following mixture to the stomach 3 to 4 times a day to relieve diarrhea, nausea and upper digestion problems.
Be careful, you should not diffuse cinnamon essential oil. It can also become dermocaustic in high doses when used on the skin.
Small historical and cultural notes
The use of cinnamon essential oil has been described for more than 2000 years, particularly in China where it is included in the first compendium of medicine of traditional Chinese medicine.
It is also part of the composition of healthy oils mentioned in the Bible. It is also used in the composition of numerous cosmetic perfumes “Mouchoirs de Monsieur” by Guerlain, or “Féminité du Bois” by Shisheïdo.
Conclusion
I hope I was able to show you the diversity of actions of essential oils and their many benefits. There are of course other very effective essential oils but I have tried to make a relevant and as minimalist selection as possible. If you have a particular problem and you are sensitive to a natural and holistic approach, do not hesitate to make an appointment with me for an individual assessment.