Guest author , 23 March 2021

Aromatherapy

On the use and effect of essential oils

Moritz, the “Junge mit Ideen” (Lad with ideas), transports us into the world of fragrances. He describes how he made the transition from fragrance newbie to an advocate for the use of essential oils. He explains what you have to bear in mind when buying aromas, which Stadler Form aroma diffuser he uses at home and why they are best for fragrancing individual rooms.

Fascinated by fragrance - first contact with essential oils

Nature has always played a major role in my life, even if I was largely unaware of this. I grew up in the countryside and spent my free time in the cornfield on my doorstep, or in the woods, building dens and exploring. I still love the countryside and enjoy spending time outdoors, in the fresh air, on a regular basis.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been very inquisitive and curious about how things work. So it was only a matter of time until I discovered fragrances. Certainly there were many possible triggers in the past, such as the film of Patrick Süskind’s novel “Perfume: the story of a murderer”, which helped me to gain a better understanding. In this case, though, it was something much more pragmatic.

I work as a communications consultant for companies, shedding light on their communications ideas, optimising them and supporting these companies through the implementation process. My job took me to Lechaschau, in the Tirol. The entrepreneur there was passionately dedicated to aroma and aromatherapy. The work I did for him first involved research. I got him to explain to me what the fuss about aromatic oils was. Honestly, that day really opened my eyes. Up to that point fragrances were a mystery to me, something you couldn’t classify as part of nature, such as the fragrances in perfumes or room sprays. I very soon became bored with the interpretations of what you could supposedly smell in them, which is why I say fragrances were a mystery to me. I was much more interested in a pine-scented bubble bath, or a lemon-scented sauna infusion, but even they put me in mind of a McDonald’s strawberry milkshake – it tastes of strawberry, but there is no strawberry in it. I presumed the flavours used in it are artificial.

Thomas, that’s the entrepreneur’s name, took me into an attractive room in a building that smelled great. In the room was a very tall, clear pipe, filled with lavender flowers, and other raw materials in other pipes. “A bottle of lavender oil contains this many lavender flowers,” he told me. I was amazed because I had not expected so many. I had an image of acres of greenhouses full of lavender just for the purpose of obtaining the essential oil. Thomas also said that when he showed his customers these pipes his customers often had a lightbulb moment, and he was sure that afterwards they would add fewer drops of the distilled lavender oil to their aroma diffusers. He emphasised that “One or two drops is more than enough to operate an aroma diffuser!“

Essential oils can heighten the senses. Working with Thomas gave me a completely different view of fragrances. It is essential oil which make a walk in the woods so healthy. The trees emit these oils, which have a disinfectant effect, into the air, which in turn makes the air healthy. I find the idea of losing my sense of smell as a result of contracting coronavirus terrible.

Implementing fragrancing in my life was an interesting experience. Some people find the gentle drip of an aroma diffuser lulls them to sleep. Others find the noise very disruptive, and that’s because everyone is different. The same is true of fragrances. My favourites – peppermint, ravintsara, thyme, lavender, lemon eucalyptus – can cause heated discussions among friends and family as soon as I fill a room with these scents.

If essential oils are pure, they have a massive, unconscious and, above all, different intensity of effect on people. You can’t go wrong by adding thyme to your aroma diffuser if you are starting a cold because, in addition to the oil’s general disinfectant effect, the essential components promote health. Lavender is relaxing and helps promote restful sleep. Lemon eucalyptus on the other hand, revitalizes, supports concentration and energises.

Space before device - help when choosing an aroma diffuser

I currently own several aroma diffusers by Stadler Form because they are the only ones who understand how to construct the devices so that they are easy to clean and perfume the room as much as possible. They take you gently by the hand and guide you through everything – from choosing the device, via essential oils, to cleaning and cleaning products.

Admittedly, I may be a bit over the top about this, but I love a nice-smelling room and I like using the concentration-promoting blend of peppermint and lemon very much. One very important fact became clear to me over time and after many experiments – there’s the right aroma diffuser to suit every room.

When the coronavirus pandemic started early in 2020, I realised that it was a disease which affected the respiratory system so, rather than toilet paper, in addition to high-dose vitamin C I also stocked up on essential oils for my Jasmine aroma diffuser from Stadler Form, which I run in my living room. You can switch on Jasmine so that she distributes the fragrance around the room intermittently, in other words, she switches the perfume on and off at regular intervals. It fills my living room with delicious scent throughout the day and disinfects the air, without me having to leave the room, which would be the case with an ozonisation device. Jasmine looks great and fits in wonderfully well with my room’s décor.

Julia is my personal favourite, which I’ve placed in the bedroom. The pleasant dripping noise is heightened by the movable inner element. Julia is able to distribute the atomised fragrance more widely around the room due to the backwards and forwards movement. I also use this device as a local air humidifier. Placed on the bedside table, next to the bed, it directs a gentle mist over my face, which is a blessing. I can also dim Julia completely, so no LED shows but the device is still running.

I was excited when Zoe came on the market. I think it’s a great idea to include an orange LED so the lovely fragranced mist is also coloured orange. This device takes home fragrancing to a whole new level. I have Zoe next to me in the office. It’s just lovely when I get a whiff of the essential oils now and again and she’s also a looker, especially in the dark winter months, when light plays an important role. I even get the impression that Zoe’s light, which makes the mist look like a flame, is warming. Zoe is the quietest device of all. She does what is expected of her, without an annoying LED or dripping noises when you want to concentrate.

Essential oils - what to consider when buying

Unfortunately, there are some imposters on the essential oils market. It’s really very simple – essential oils should only consist of the natural raw material. Often, the mixtures of oils also contain alcohol or other additives, which not only reduce the intensity of the aroma, but also damage the device.

There are fragrance blends which contain a mixture of several different essential oils. This is often the case with Christmas blends. In addition to cinnamon bark, these also contain orange or tonka essential oils, for example. In the case of fragrance blends, take particular care that the fragrances are naturally occurring raw materials and are also organic.

Stadler Form has relented and developed its own blends of essential oils, presumably because there are so many poor quality or even unhealthy products on the market. 100% pure, natural essential oils for fragrancing rooms are available in the following five versions.

Advantage of blends: in my experience people are less likely to love or hate combinations. A pure fragrance, such as thyme, can be very strong. Blends, on the other hand, stimulate the scent receptors on multiple levels, which is perceived to be more pleasant. I like these fragrance blends very much and particularly enjoy using them in the office.

One final point is very important. My partner once gave me an essential oil when we were on holiday in Thailand. It was supposed to settle my stomach because I wasn’t feeling well. She knew that the essential oil she gave me could ingested without problem. I was sceptical because I had only come across essential oils that said “100% pure essential oil – use to fragrance rooms only. May be toxic and cause irritation if ingested or comes into contact with the eyes.” The oil I was given was manuka oil. Manuka is known for its very strong, antibacterial effect on viruses and fungi. It is an ancient remedy that has been valued by New Zealand’s Maori for centuries. The manuka tree is extremely robust and this is reflected in the essential oil, which is obtained by steam distillation. My partner had found this out before and knew what she was doing. As a general rule, though, these concentrated remedies should be handled carefully.*

^{*Editor’s note: please always consult a specialist regarding uses and dosage before using an essential oil.}

We warmly want to thank Moritz for giving us an insight into the world of essential oils from the point of view of an aroma user!

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