Bedbugs and Dust Mites: When I was first introduced to aromatherapy, I studied every single aromatherapy book I could get my hands on at the public library. In one of those many books I stumbled upon information about bed bugs and dust mites. The entire topic caught my attention. First, because bugs are just gross, but also because of my dust allergies and skin sensitivities. One of the top selling products I created in our aromatherapy party plan business years ago was Bed Bug Spray. My recipe was super simple, but I couldn't make enough of it. Most people bought it because of the initial fear value of the possibility of creepy crawlies being in bed with you, but they continued buying it because it helped them sleep, reduced their allergies and they never got bed bug bites when they travelled.

Expanding Your Anointing Practice: By Candice Covington This mini-article is a follow up to the NAHA Subtle Aromatherapy issue (2010.1) article Amulets and Oils-in which the concept of a personal anointing practice is introduced where one could either anoint energy centers in the body (specifically chakral) or amulets that vibrate to different elemental energies that in turn effect the doshas. A list of exotic essential oils were offered at that time. This follow up article is intended to introduce more commonly used essential oils to expand and enrich that practice. If more in-depth information is required please see the before mentioned Journal's back issue.

Summertime aromatherapy: Summertime is a glorious time of year. The weather is hot and the days are long; a perfect setting for being with friends and enjoying life. Aromatherapy, the use of essential oils extracted from aromatic plants, enhances the rapture of summer with its ability to capture our senses as well as comfort the afflictions of the season. Staying Cool in the Heat: The higher temperatures of the summer season are uncomfortable for many people, especially those whose personal cooling system (perspiration) doesn't function well. Water is the key to staying cool in warm weather, both internally and externally. Drink plenty of water to prevent becoming dehydrated and use water on your body to help dissipate the heat.

A Poetic Tribute to Lavender: Like serpentine waves of color undulating across the continents, the lilac hues of lavender farms weave together all that is good about us humans. For love of beauty people flock to the cascading purple terraces of Provence, New Zealand, Himachal Pradesh, California, drawn like the bees climbing through their miniature labyrinthine worlds of ultraviolet scent. Because there still lives, somewhere in our heart and soul where the artificialities of modernity are not allowed, an innate indescribable love for nature's tender expressions, the soft voice of lavender's gentle spirit is universally understood. Because there still abides beneath our hardened, agitated, aggressive, restless madness an inescapable vulnerability to the feminine power of the earth's compassion, lavender's soothing touch transcends our painful imagined differences, bonding us together again in the simple child-like truth that we all suffer and need comfort.

Aromatherapy Awareness: There are a lot of people who want to enjoy the benefits of true aromatherapy yet unbeknownst to them, they purchase inferior products which do not provide the therapeutic property intended. They in turn pass off aromatherapy as pointless and the aromatherapy industry loses credibility. It is not the customer's fault that the majority of apparent aromatherapy products do not hold true to the principles of aromatherapy. As an aromatherapist, you have naturally been drawn to the botanical world, understood its value and decided to get educated. For many others, this knowledge would be embraced and welcomed if the proper principles were shown to them. This is why your dedication to supporting your clients with information about true aromatherapy and education about this industry is important.