Aromatherapy Body Massage & Most Used Essential Oils
Aromatherapy body massages are becoming more popular, with the inclusion of essential oils, the benefits and uses of this type of massage have expanded. In fact, aromatherapy massages with essential oils may help ease body pain, create relaxation, and can even improve your mood.
Let's talk more about the benefits of aromatherapy body massages, & discuss some of the most popular essential oils for body massages.
What is An Aromatherapy Body Massage?
You may be wondering what an aromatherapy body massage looks like. In short, aromatherapy massages include a full body massage. A professional masseuse will use their hands to deeply press into the muscle tissues and lymph nodes of the body using a few different techniques. This can include techniques like Swedish massages, deep tissue, and hot stone massages.
Now, in addition to these techniques, essential oils are then added to the experience. Essential oils help create a form of aromatherapy. Smelling these oils as they are rubbed onto your body and absorbed through the skin can help give you a sense of deeper relaxation, and can also potentially produce a few health benefits.
Several of these health benefits have had some sort of scientific evidence behind them. You can read about them in our individual articles involving specific essential oils, like; lavender, peppermint, vetiver and patchouli.
The goal of the essential oils is to further enhance the effects of the massage. This is what makes aromatherapy body massages so unique and fun.
Benefits of Aromatherapy Body Massages:
1. Reduces Stress and Improves Mental Health
If you want to reduce your stress levels and improve your mental health, aromatherapy massages may be something your add to your arsenal. Aromatherapy, in general, is a great stress reducer, as the aroma of these oils are said to stimulate the limbic system of the brain which hence effects emotions. With the added professionally carried out massage taking the tension and anxiety out of your body, you can really enter a state of pure bliss.
Certain essential oils may help enhance this effect even more. Chamomile and lavender for example, may help calm the body, hence getting your thoughts and body under control. Chamomile in specific, has been said to have a sedative type effect.
Lavender is one of the more researched essential oils, and may have the ability to act as a sleep aid, helping with sleep disorders like insomnia, as it can help calm the nervous system. In some cases, this type of massage can even reduce symptoms of stress, generalized anxiety, and help you feel more balanced over-all.
2. Induces Further Muscle Relaxation
Muscle relaxation is probably the primary reason people get massages. A good massage helps to get rid of knots and overly tense muscles. However, with the inclusion of essential oils, your muscles have the ability to relax even more as the oils go to work.
Certain natural oils help the body unwind and let your muscles loosen up even more. For instance, sandalwood is great for relieving muscle tension and inflammation as well as certain compounds in vetiver essential oil which have been suggested to be anti-inflammatory solutions.
3. Reduces Pain and Body Aches
Finally, aromatherapy body massages are ideal for body aches and pain, even if you suffer from chronic pain, this type of massage may just be the answer. Aromatherapy may have the ability to reduce pain. Oils like bergamot have been showed in studies that when used as complementary medicines, may help to further manage pain.
So you can see how adding essential oils to an already beneficial massage, may be beneficial to pain sufferers.
Massages also help to release tension, realign muscle tissues to reduce pain. With the help of essential oils, pain may be reduced even further. Joint pain, neck pain, inflammation, and back pain are just some of the issues that have the potential to be lessoned with aromatherapy massages with essential oils.
Most Popular Essential Oils For Body Massages:
In this final section, we'll talk about some of the best and most popular types of essential oils that can be used for a body massage. Each oil has its own healing properties and benefits.
1. Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense is a popular essential oil that is said to have a musty pine aroma, with notes of citrus and spice, kind of an earthy scent as well. It is well known for it's respiratory effects. One study even concluded that it helped to reduce symptoms of asthma in 70% of patients in the study.
It's also been said to have an effect on reducing anxiety and body tension, like several other essential oils. Frankincense is used by some to help with body pains, as one study even found that it may have the ability in helping with inflammation in illnesses such as ulcerative colitis, bronchitis and sinusitis.
2. Bergamot Essential Oil
Bergamot oil can be found in Italy and has been used for centuries to help heal and relax the human body. With hints of orange and citrus it has become a popular oil. Research has indicated that Bergamot may also help with chronic pain reduction. This beautiful scent has become a go to for many aromatherapy enthusiast.
Some caution should be used with this oil, and each individual should always do research to understand how to dilute this oil properly to apply to the skin. Several essential oils if not diluted properly, can result in rashes or skin irritation.
3. Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender is another great essential oil that can be used during a body massage, it's also probably the most well known essential oil and globally loved. Lavender smells amazing and has researched health benefits. Often, professional masseuses use this oil to soothe their clients and bring balance to the body.
Lavender oil is made by steam distillation of mature freshly harvested lavender flowers. It has been shown to help with stress symptoms or anxiety related issues. Studies have shown that this natural remedy is great at reducing the effects of anxiety on the body, as this is a popular oil for people that suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia.
Lavender essential oil is widely popular not only for it's potential health benefits, but it is one of the easiest oils to blend as well. This oil goes great with other aromas, like mint, litsea, orange, patchouli, and even vetiver. It can be used as a top note with all of these, but also plays nicely when used as a mid-note.
4. Coriander Essential Oil
Coriander essential oil is just another great oil for using when paired with massage. Coriander has been commonly used for people who may suffer from bouts of fatigue.
This is another one of those oils which have components that suggest potential antimicrobial and antifungal properties, and inhibiting some amount of growth of certain strains of infections. Overall, this oil has a light and sweet scent and is excellent in not just cooking in your spice collection, but also has an oil in massage.
5. Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil is a natural energy booster and another option for an aromatherapy body massage. It has a bold and easily recognizable aroma, that many people link to relaxation. Heavily used in aromatherapy, essential oil diffusers and even car diffusers for it's ability to give you that extra little energy boost.
Many ancient civilizations used peppermint to heal the body. The Egyptians, Greeks, and even the ancient Romans used this oil on their body to heal themselves, and it has been said to help with digestive issues, like IBS, as well as helping with symptoms of nausea, the common cold, joint pain and muscle aches.
Putting peppermint around the temple area and behind the ears may also help with reducing tension and headache. Aromatherapy in one study of shoulder pain, showed that acupressure along with aromatherapy showed a 30% reduction in pain symptoms.
6. Ginger Essential Oil
The last oil we'll discuss is ginger essential oil. Ginger itself has long been known to have anti-inflammatory compounds or chemicals called gingerols. This natural remedy has been beneficial for joint pain like the knees, elbows, and shoulders.
Many athletes/weightlifters or people who are regular exercisers may benefit from this natural anti-inflammatory. Ginger may be a good complementary solution for Rheumatoid Arthritis as well. According to one animal study in 2016, rats that were given ginger essential oils had lower rates of chronic joint inflammation.
Another 2001 study concluded that a highly purified ginger extract had a statistically significant effect on knee pain symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis.
Final Thoughts!
Please be sure to share some of your favorite essential oils that you use during a massage on our blog! Also, keep in mind that it's important to use these oils responsibly as some of them can be irritating if not diluted and used properly to the skin. It's always recommended to have these applied by a licensed professional.
Make sure to do your research and buy these oils from reputable sellers. Not all essential oils are pure extracts, and not all are created equal, so do your do diligence. If you find inexpensive essential oils, there may be be a reason behind that!
Thanks for coming by!
Resources:
- https://www.naturalbody.com/blog/5-essential-oils-to-use-in-massage
- https://www.verywellmind.com/aromatherapy-massage-89736
- https://www.youngliving.com/blog/essential-oils-for-massage/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9810030/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5192342/
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10412905.1998.9700989
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115784/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11710709/