Aura Cacia Peppermint Essential Oil Organic .33 oz
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Price:$6.73
Peppermint
Widely used in toothpaste,
chewing gum and candy, peppermint oil has a very potent fresh, minty aroma
that produces a cooling and refreshing sensation. Combine peppermint,
lavender and a skin care oil for a soothing stomach massage oil.
The thought of
peppermint is likely to evoke its distinctive sweet, menthol aroma. The pure
oil itself, as well as extracts of the oil, are widely used as food flavorings.
Most of us have encountered the cool, refreshing aroma and flavor of peppermint
essential oil in chewing gum, candy, breath mints, toothpaste and mouthwash.
Peppermint belongs to the labiatae family of
plants, along with other well known herbs like
lavender and
rosemary. Although up to 600 kinds of mints have been classified, most are
probably variants and hybrids of around 25 well-defined species.
Mints hybridize easily; many differently
scented and colorful plants have been produced both in the wild and by plant
hybridizers. Mint plants are popular as ornamentals, often cultivated as
fragrant herb garden plants. They tend to spread rapidly via underground stems
-- to the point that some gardeners consider them invasive weeds.
The two primary cultivated mints are
peppermint (Mentha piperita) and
spearmint (Mentha spicata). Spearmint has a strongly sweet aroma, almost
creamy and candy-like with a sharp menthol undertone.
The aroma of peppermint isn't quite as suave
as spearmint. It has a strongly penetrating menthol aroma with a sweet
undertone.
Most botanists agree that peppermint is a
hybrid of the sharply scented water mint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint. Its
balance of sharp and sweet aroma characteristics support this classification.
The oil is distilled from freshly cut,
partially dried plant tops. These are cut just before the plants come into
flower so the oil will have the best balance of fragrant constituents. If
allowed to over-mature, the quantity and quality of the resulting oil will
suffer, developing off-aromas that can be sharp, bitter and overly
menthol-scented.
The primary constituent of peppermint oil is
menthol, which causes a physical reaction when inhaled or applied to the skin.
Menthol produces an immediate and pronounced sensation of coolness which the
body reacts to quite strongly, producing its own "warming effect" as blood flows
into the area of application. This physical sensation impresses the senses as a
"medicinal" effect and is partially responsible for peppermint's long history of
use as medicine. Today menthol is often found in sports creams and chest rubs.
The English herbalist Culpeper stated that
mints are:
. . . of warm subtle parts; great
strengtheners of the stomach. Their fragrance betokens them cephalics; they
effectually take off nauseousness and retchings . . .
Peppermint tea is very refreshing after a
heavy meal. Inhaling its clean, penetrating aroma can help clear the head as
well.
Peppermint oil can be both energizing and
soothing. This isn't as contradictory as it seems if one takes into account
peppermint's unique aroma and the constituent menthol. At first cooling and
bracing, then warming and comforting, the body and mind seem to tune into and
benefit from the needed characteristic.
Recipes
Sweet Clarity, an energizing aromatherapy blend that enhances clear thinking:
Many aromatherapy blends formulated to be
energizing can be a bit too brisk and overpowering. But this blend combines oils
that yield an energizing benefit with sweetly scented ones, making a combination
that's pleasant and uplifting. This blend is wonderful inhaled directly from the
bottle or diffused when studying for a test or sitting through a long meeting.
Make a Consternation Massage by adding 3 drops
of the Sweet Clarity blend to 1 ounce of sweet almond vegetable oil. Apply a few
drops of this mixture to the fingertips and gently massage the temples during
times of stress and confusion. A little aromatherapy interlude can sometimes
ease you through the trials of your day.
*Above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
