I have been using essential oils for about thirteen years
now. The power of essential oils
never ceases to amaze me. Today I
used roman chamomile essential oil (latin name: Anthemis nobilis); it has been a favorite of mine for years. There are a few different chamomiles
used in aromatherapy; all of them are lovely, but they have some similar and
also some different properties. Roman chamomile is a well known anti-inflammatory so it is thought
to be helpful for sore muscles, as well as for irritated skin. I have found that it is good for all
skin types, especially sensitive (though if you have a rag weed allergy, don’t
use it). It is used for
emotional uses too: it is thought to be calming, so it is useful for issues like
anxiety and stress.
I can attest to its useful for many of these issues. I was in a lot of pain today (I usually
have daily all over body tension or pain, but today was especially bad) and I had
a severe headache on top of that.
So I used a body oil made with roman chamomile essential oil (a very
simple formulation, just 1% in an ounce of carrier oil), and lightly massaged
it in. Immediately my muscles
relaxed and stopped hurting. The
headache lessened and within minutes was nearly gone. I felt calm too, and I could finally think since the pain
was gone. I have used roman
chamomile many times over the years for my muscles, and it usually works for
me. I have also used roman
chamomile numerous times for irritated skin and insect bites with success.
The scent is sweet, herbaceous, and many people describe it
as apple like. The color varies
from yellow to a very light blue.
Children seem to especially like the scent too (one of the few essential
oils that is totally safe for babies and children. Dilute well for kids: use half the adult concentration). The price of roman chamomile (as well as
german chamomile) has gone up a lot in recent years (in the past, it used to be
pretty inexpensive but recently I’ve seen it for $60-80 or more an ounce retail
wise), but since essential oils are used well diluted, only buying a few ml is
plenty. Some companies also sell it diluted in a carrier oil, which
is more affordable (depending on the dilution, it can probably be diluted even
further). Most essential oil
vendors sell roman chamomile essential oil, but be sure to buy only from
reputable vendors (see the right hand side of the blog, or my old posts on where to buy essential oil for some good vendors).
