Aromatherapy involves using essential oils extracted from plants to improve physical and emotional well-being. Essential oils are blended together with different proportions of top, middle, and base notes to produce synergistic combinations tailored to individual needs. Top notes like lemon oil are stimulating and uplifting while middle notes such as lavender are calming. Base notes including sandalwood act as a fixative to prolong the scent. Aromatherapists carefully blend 2-4 oils considering their therapeutic properties and chemical compositions.

1. Aromatherapy

2. What is aromatherapy?
• A holistic treatment
involving the use of
essential oils, which are
extracted from plants, to
improve physical and
emotional well being.
• Also helps to promote
health & vitality by
stimulating the body to
heal itself and by reducing
stress, which is often the
cause of many ailments
and illnesses

3. What do you know already?
AROMATHERAPYAROMATHERAPY
History
Essential oils
Blending of oils
Chemical
composition
Treatment
procedures
Safety

4. Blending oils for aromatherapy
• The aim of the Aromatherapist
is to produce a synergistic
blend of oils.
• A synergistic blend is a blend
using 2 or more oils, which
complement each other and
work together to enhance the
overall effect.
• Synergy is created when the
chemistry of oils combine to
produce a therapeutic effect
greater than the effects that
could be achieved by using the
oils individually.

5. Blending oils for aromatherapy
• Blending oils enables more powerful combinations of oils
that are specific to the individual.
• Blending more than 4 oils may provoke an antagonistic
effect between the oils and the client may not receive
maximum benefit from the therapeutic actions.
• A successful blend is also a pleasing blend, one which
helps to address the emotions which can respond very
positively to a pleasant fragrance.

6. Blending oils for aromatherapy
• Up to three essential oils only should be blended
together for each treatment
• A well balanced blend of oils would contain:
• Base notes
• Middle notes
• Top notes
If your client required a stimulating
blend you could use mainly top notes;
for sedation mainly base notes

7. Top notes
• Oils that evaporate quickly
• The first aroma to hit you when smelt; often gives the first
impression of the blend (i.e. woody; floral etc)
• The fastest acting oils on the body
• Often the most stimulating and uplifting to the mind and
body
• Mostly obtained from citrus fruits

8. Top notes
• BASIL (French) Ocimum Basilcum
• BERGAMOT Citrus Bergamia
• CAJEPUT Melaleuca Cajeputi
• CLARY SAGE Salvia Sclarea (TOP/MIDDLE)
• EUCALYPTUS (Blue Gum) Eucalyptus Globulus
• GINGER Zingiber officinale
• GRAPEFRUIT Citrus x Paradisi
• LEMON Citrus Lemon
• LEMONGRASS Cymbopogon citratus
• MANDARIN Citrus reticulata
• ORANGE (Sweet) Citrus sinensis
• PETITGRAIN Citrus aurantium var.amara
• TEA TREE Melaleuca Alternifolia
• THYME (Red) Thymus vulgaris

9. Middle Notes
• Middle notes evaporate at a moderate
pace
• They mostly regulate the bodily functions,
such as digestion
• They are mainly obtained from flowers and
herbs

10. Middle notes
• BLACK PEPPER Piper nigrum
• CARROT SEED Daucus carota
• CHAMOMILE (German) Matricaria recutita
• CHAMOMILE (Maroc) ormenis multicaulis
• CHAMOMILE (Roman) Athemis nobilis
• CYPRESS cupressus sempervirens
• FENNEL (Sweet) Foeniculum vulgare
• GERANIUM Pelargonium graveolens
• JUNIPER Juniperus communis
• LAVENDER Lavendula angustifolia
• MARJORAM (Sweet) Origanum marjorana
• MELISSA Melissa officinalis
• PEPPERMINT Mentha piperita
• PINE (Scotch) Pinus sylvestris
• ROSE (Cabbage) Rosa centifolia
• ROSE DAMASK (Rose otto) Rose damascena
• ROSEMARY Rosmarinus officinalis
• ROSEWOOD Aniba rosaeodora

11. Base Notes
• Base notes are slowest to evaporate into
the air
• They act as a fixative, helping to slow
down the evaporation of the more volatile
essential oils, therefore making their
fragrance last longer
• They sedate and relax the mind and body
• They are mostly obtained from woods and
resins

12. Base notes
• BENZOIN Styrax benzion
• CEDAR WOOD (Atlas) Cedrus atlantica
• CLOVE (Bud) Syzygium aromaticum
• FRANKINCENSE Boswellia carteri
• JASMINE Jasminum officinale
• MYRHH Commiphora myrrha
• NEROLI (Orange Blossom) Citrus aurantium var. amara
• PATCHOULI pogostemon cablin
• SANDALWOOD Santalum album
• VALERIAN Valeriana fauriei
• VETIVER Vetiveria zizanoides
• YLANG YLANG Cananga odorata

13. Lavender
• Very popular oil
• Healing
• Calming
• Derived from the
plant
• Distilled
• Can be used
directly on burns
• Middle note

14. Geranium
• Balancing
• Antidepressent
• PMT and
menopause
• Distilled to extract
oil
• Middle note

15. Lemon oil
• Uplifting
• Expression
• Combats infection
• Strengthens
immune system
• Cleansing
• Top note

16. Aromatherapy