Aromatherapy blending

An aromatherapy oil is not an essential oil. It is a product that meets the requirements of the profession of aromatherapy. It contains blends of undefined percentages consisting of vegetable oils and essential oils and sometimes absolutes. 

A practically odourless clear oil with a faint yellow tinge. Inexpensive, thin and non-oily it is especially suitable for blending with other carriers. Extracted from the seeds, which have a long tradition in culinary applications. The oil is available in a range of qualities and is also a favourite for cooking but this is the highly refined oil, which is not usually recommended for aromatherapy. External use is believed to be beneficial for skin problems such as ulcers, bruises, acne and seborrhoea. Fatty acid composition linoleic acid (up to 74%), oleic acid (up to 15%), palmitic acid (up to 6.4%), stearic acid (4.2%), linolenic acid (0.2%) and palmitoleic acid (0.1%). It is also high in vitamins A, B-com-plex, D and E, with minerals calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and phosphorus. Considered to be a safe oil with no reported contraindications. 

Due to its emollient properties it is found in products like soaps, hair conditioners, skin moisturizers and lipsticks. It is also employed as a hair pomade, particularly popular in tropical regions where it is reputed to prevent hair from going grey unfortunately there is no scientific evidence to support this. In aromatherapy the emollient properties of the oils are put to use for massage blends and skin creams. Coconut oil, particularly the solvent extracted, has been implicated in allergic reactions so a cautionary approach is advisable. 

In general, for the commonly used essential oils the percentage dilution is within the range 1-5%. Most aromatherapy books will describe blend compositions in terms of drops of oil, whereas a clearly defined measure such as a ml (millilitre) would be more scientific. However, this would not be very practical in practice. 

A randomized controlled pilot study was carried out to examine the effects of adjunctive aromatherapy massage on mood, quality of life, and physical symptoms in patients with cancer attending a specialist unit (Wilcock et al., 2004). Patients were randomized to conventional day care alone or day care plus weekly aromatherapy massage using a standardized blend of oils for 4 weeks. At baseline and at weekly intervals, patients rated their mood, quality of life, and the intensity and bother of two symptoms most important to them. However, although 46 patients were recruited to the study. 

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