Roller ball essential oils
A handy aromatherapy tool that makes it really easy to get the benefits of essential oils wherever you are, at any time. You might be feeling nauseous whilst sat at your desk at work or on a commute, en route to hospital whilst in labour or about to go into a planned caesarean birth. All times where a little roller ball could make all of the difference to how you are feeling.
Simply apply the oil by running the roller ball topically anywhere on your body, but the particularly absorbent areas are:
🔅On your wrists
🔅 Behind your ears
🔅 On your temples
🔅 The bottom of your feet
Check out this video on our Instagram here.
The oils get to work by penetrating into the deeper layers of the skin. Once the constituents of the oils enter the bloodstream they can be carried to all areas of your body.
The majority of essential oil constituents leave the body within hours, mainly through excretion via the kidneys, although their effects can last much longer within the tissues.
Other ways you can use essential oils:
- In your bath
- In an electric diffuser
- In an infused candle
- With an oil burner
- Room / pillow spray
- Inhaled via a few drops or a tissue, hanky or cloth
There are many more ways, but these are the most popular uses. If pregnant, it is important to be aware that Clary Sage should not be used before 37 weeks as it can stimulate contractions to start. Excellent for use in early labour, though! See and shop for essential oils that are safe to use in pregnancy here.
So what exactly is aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils for therapeutic benefit. It has been used for centuries, even dating back to ancient Egyptian times. When inhaled, the scent molecules in essential oils travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain’s limbic system and impact the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain.
The limbic system manages your emotions, memory, learning, appetite and sex drive.
10 proven benefits of using essential oils include:
🌟 Stress and anxiety reduction
🌟 Pain relief
🌟 Nausea relief
🌟 Balances hormones
🌟 Improves focus
🌟 Energy boosting
🌟 Improves digestion
🌟 Reduces inflammation
🌟 Improves sleep quality
🌟 Strengthens the immune system
The oils do these things by stimulating different bodily responses such as breathing patterns, blood pressure and heart rate.
Aromatherapy safety
It’s always a really good idea to choose high quality essential oils but particularly when using during pregnancy or around babies and children.
Good quality essential oils are highly concentrated, so it’s important to look for those that are organic, chemical-free, and pesticide-free. The terms “Clinical Grade” or “Therapeutic Grade,” are not standardised in the industry so be wary when it comes to judging their quality.
A quality supplier will sell their essential oils in a tightly sealed dark (usually amber or dark blue) glass bottle. Sometimes they’ll come with an eyedropper cap, but more often they’ll come with an orifice reducer (the round, plastic part fitted into the bottle’s opening that helps meter out one drop at a time).
When used topically (on your skin) they must be diluted with a carrier or base oil. These oils are taken from a plant’s nuts, kernels or seeds. It may seem like you’re reducing the potency making them less effective, however less is more and the carrier oil will make the safe level of essential oil travel further across the skin.
You can read all about each oil and their benefits on Neals Yard’s website here.
A special thank you to Take Five Aromatherapy, an award-winning mum-run small business who has created a range of gorgeous self-care promoting products. Something we could all do with having more of in our lives! They also make the perfect gift for an expectant parent.
Aromatherapy is just one of the many comfort measures and anxiety relieving tools that we talk about on our courses.
We are here for you every step of the way with our online Parent Hub subscription and award-winning antenatal hypnobirthing courses:
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