Like many neo-hippy types I like my food and beauty products to be as natural, non-toxic, and economical as possible while preserving quality and efficacy. Additionally, I pride myself on my bargain-hunting and creative macgyvering abilities. When you live in a city like San Francisco, those are crucial life skills. All these predilections have come together in my experiments with aromatherapy.
One drawback to home aromatherapy is that certain essential oils are often very pricey. Frankincense essential oil, for example, can easily cost $30 an ounce. I have found my way around this issue by putting some of the pricier ones on my X-mas wish list, and purchasing others from places like www.sfherb.com. There are also some substitutions that can be made, such and ylang ylang for jasmine, or one can buy diluted oils that are 1/5 the strength of pure essential oils. This can sometimes be a good option since essential oils are used in tiny quantities measured by the drop and this is especially true for bottom notes.
However, one of my personal mantras is: “If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.” I habitually make my oils blends as strong as possible and this requires a lot of ingredients. A 20% solution just won't cut it sometimes especially for an ingredient as versatile as frankincense. In aromatherapy it is used to alleviate anxiety, treat acne, fade scars and stretch marks, moisturize skin, and slow aging. It has many more benefits and uses, but these are the ones that interest me. Do a bit of independent research and you'll find out much much more.
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