Smell plays an important role in home life. If you prefer scented candles, then you need to be aware that they contain potentially harmful chemicals that are released into the air along with smoke. Often even soy candles, which are supposed to be harmless, are filled with chemicals. Most harmful substances are found in paraffin candles, which are the most popular and cheapest.
According to CNN, some of the candles may contain known carcinogens such as benzene and toluene, other heavy metals and paraffins. Given these facts, it’s best to opt for beeswax or soy candles if you do want to use candles.
However, there is an option that will help create a pleasant fragrance in the house without any health risks and smoke – natural essential oils.
says Elena Brauer, a yoga teacher in New York.
What’s more, diffusing essential oils releases thousands of oxygen-containing molecules and negative ions into the air and environment. Negative ions clean the air of mold spores, pollen, bad odors and even bacteria. So, if you want to create a pleasant scent at home as well as purify it, essential oils are a win-win.
Why are scents so strong?
Brower explains that during her two decades of training in yoga and meditation using essential oils, she discovered that a person can create new emotional pathways using scent, which can have a positive impact on how we deal with daily challenges and how we behave in environments. confrontation.
According to psychology, smells are processed first in the olfactory bulb, from inside our nose, and then sent back to the bottom of the brain. This is important because the olfactory bulb has a direct connection to two areas of the brain that are closely associated with emotions and memory: the amygdala (almond-shaped body) and the hippocampus. Therefore, when you listen to a smell, you are instantly “transported” somewhere. Visual, auditory, and tactile information does not pass through these areas of the brain.
Brower says she chooses essential oils based on the flow of the day or her mood.
Brower says.
Better than candles: a new approach to oils
So, you’ve decided to opt for oils instead of suffering from candle smoke and possible chemicals being released. How to create a real oasis in the house? Brouwer shares five recipes for oil blends to suit a wide range of moods.
Mix three drops of lavender essential oil, three drops of ylang ylang, and three drops of wild orange. Another option is three drops of bergamot, three drops of wild orange and three drops of cypress.
Mix three drops of ylang ylang with three drops of geranium oil.
This is one of the most difficult fragrances to make on your own. According to Brouwer, vanilla essential oil is impossible to obtain, so it is best to use ready-made blends of natural vanilla, which contain hexane, a non-toxic organic substance. Be careful if you see a label that says 100% vanilla, as the pure vanilla flavor is always synthetic.
Mix three drops of Siberian fir essential oil with three drops of wild orange. Then add two drops of cinnamon essential oil, two drops of cardamom and two drops of cloves.
Mix four drops of mandarin essential oil with two drops of black pepper oil.
How to flavor the air with oils
To aromatize the air, it is enough to buy a simple aroma lamp. It is affordable and very easy to use. Fill the lamp bowl with water and drop a few drops of the oil mixture into it. Place a lit candle under the bowl. When the water starts to warm up, the aromatic oils will begin to evaporate along with it, and the air at home will become fragrant with the aromas you have chosen. But make sure that there is always water in the bowl.
You can go an even simpler way. To scent a room, take an ordinary spray bottle, fill it with water and add a few drops of oil. Spray the mixture indoors, but be careful not to get it on furniture and fabrics. The fragrance will last no more than two hours.
Oils can also be used to scent bed linens. While rinsing clothes, add three drops of essential oil to the conditioner.
The easiest way, which will be available when the heating is turned on in city apartments: put a few drops of oil on a napkin or piece of cloth and place it on the windowsill above the radiator. This method will quickly fill the room with a pleasant fragrance.