Learn all about aromatherapy with Scentered!

Most of us have experienced a smell that immediately serves up a powerful memory. Does the smell of fresh-cut grass bring you back to your childhood? Does a certain perfume or cologne remind you of a grandparent? Does the smell of fresh-baked bread bring you back to that trip to Paris?

Of the five senses, the sense of smell is the most connected to where your memories and habits are stored in your brain, so depending on the meaning that you correlate with that memory, certain scents tickle your subconscious and will make you think and feel certain ways on demand. With this in mind, you can manipulate this to help keep your mind happy.

Boosting our mood often involves going straight to the more popular senses; we watch something on TV that makes us laugh, we listen to music that soothes us, we get under a blanket on the sofa, and we eat the foods that make us happy. But just as sight, sound, touch, and taste can increase our wellbeing, smell is a hugely underutilised tool that can help us feel and perform at our best.

Read on for Scentered's guide to aromatherapy for beginners and shop the range of Scentered products Here

Aromatherapy for Beginners

The first thing to know about aromatherapy is that it’s different to scent or perfume. Whilst all three certainly smell appealing, essential oils also offer therapeutic benefits, particularly for the mind.
Aromatherapy is an ancient, natural therapy that’s built upon this phenomenon of smell, memory, and emotion.

What are Essential Oils?

These are organic compounds that capture the fragrance and are derived from plant sources. Parts of a plant, including its bark, roots, petals, and leaves are distilled, resulting in a highly concentrated oil.

How Does Aromatherapy Work?

Inhalation of an essential oil automatically awakens your sense of smell. It stimulates smell receptors in the nose, which send a message via the nervous system to the brain’s limbic system, otherwise known as the emotional centre. So, aromatherapy largely works on the premise that different smells cause us to feel certain emotions which in turn, produces a physical reaction.
Lavender, for example, is used to help us feel calmer and de-stressed. This translates into slower, deeper breathing, relaxed muscles, and lower tension among other things.

How to start using Aromatherapy

There’s a multitude of essential oils for different ailments and when you’re starting out, it can blow your mind. Luckily, Scentered has made it easier for beginners by creating six beautiful aromatherapy blends that help you shift your mindset and feel the way you want to. Choose the mindset you’d like and apply the innovative aromatherapy balm, perfect for mess-free application to your wrists, neck, and temples. Inhale deeply three times and let the essential oils get to work and enhance your mood. How unbelievably simple is that!

Using Aromatherapy to help better your mood

Wondering which aromatherapy balm to use? Check out our guide below.

Be completely relaxed

Everyday stress can cause tension in the mind and muscles, leading to everything from headaches to sore stomachs. Give yourself some aromatherapy support with the de-stressing essential oils in our De-Stress blend to help with the everyday juggle, whilst maintaining a sense of calm and feeling in control. Essential Oils such as soothing chamomile can help actively help calm nerves and mandarin also acts as a natural sedative for the nervous system which makes this also a great blend to use at the end of the day to rapidly unwind from daily stresses.
Our De-Stress Balm uses these captivating scents, plus a hint of uplifting neroli to lift your spirits and help you diffuse any tension.

Achieve the perfect sleep

Restless nights can be frustrating, and the less you sleep, the more you overthink it. There are a few scents that can help improve sleep. The classic, lavender, helps to relax your mind, and ylang-ylang is known to soothe and balance emotions, helping you drift off naturally. If tense muscles are preventing your sleep, the scent of palmarosa acts as a natural muscle relaxant, which is why we use it in our Sleep Well Balm along with lavender and ylang-ylang. All of the essential oils work in total affinity so that you awaken feeling rested and rejuvenated.

Let's stay motivated

There are days when energy and positivity don't come easily, and that’s OK. It can be tempting to reach for the nearest chocolate bar for an instant kick of serotonin, but other ways don’t involve sugar. To brighten your mood, uplifting citrus scents such as Pink Grapefruit, plus strong fragrances like Spearmint and Lemon Myrtle help to invigorate your senses delivering a huge dose of positivity, leaving you feeling sparkly and energised, perfect for applying when you wake up to set your mood for the rest of the day. You can find all of these positivity mood booster oils in our Happy blend.

One last thing: making the most of Aromatherapy, taking a scent memory

Research shows that scents work to stimulate parts of the brain and trigger particular memories, emotions, and responses, affecting our mood and behaviours. Often this happens without us even realising, but what if we could consciously use scent to our advantage and boost those good vibes?

This is where Scentered comes in handy. You can create your magical moments by using our blends to punctuate specific moments so that when you want to revisit that feeling or emotion, you have the tool at your fingertips…literally. For example, if one of your favourite things to do is to go walking, you could use our HAPPY Balm right before you venture out each trip and again as you complete your journey. Then later on a rainy day or slow morning when you can’t go out but crave that feeling you get from being in nature, you can use the HAPPY Balm and think about some of your favourite walks. You might be surprised how easy it is to recreate these feelings of joy simply by breathing in deeply without having to leave the comfort of your warm, dry sofa.