“Essential oils” is the buzzword of the decade in the health and wellness arena, and even in spiritual groups. There are many free resources crawling in the Internet and in social media groups on how to use essential oils. However, how would you know if these are credible and safe practices? Certified Aromatherapist Balot Del Rosario (yep, that’s me) rounds up some reasons why:

• The main role of certified aromatherapists is to promote safe and effective use of essential oils.

Well, this is a general statement but this is what we should do. I still see a handful of certified aromatherapists out there who promote indiscriminate use of essential oils. With this I mean, casual ingestion of essential oils and undiluted applications in unnecessary situations. When looking for a certified aromatherapist, it is a PLUS that they are a member of an organisation that promotes safe and effective aromatherapy. There are a handful but the most prominent ones are the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy or Alliance of International Aromatherapists. Aromatherapists who are part of these organisations abide by the code of conduct, maintain professional ethics, and continuously develop their skills.

Check out members of NAHA in the Philippines by clicking on this link>>

• Certified aromatherapists know the essential oils on a deeper level.

An aromatherapy certification is extensive. Certified aromatherapists study the profiles of essential oils. This includes the chemical constitution of the oils, which includes safety data such as age appropriateness, contraindications, maximum dermal limits and more. As one goes higher in our credentials, (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3), we need to study more essential oils.

Safe formulation is also of utmost importance. When we are dealing with risk groups such as children, pregnant & breastfeeding women, immunocompromised, we need to exercise caution. In these instances, certified aromatherapists don’t rely on general recipes but look into the safety data of their formulations.

• Certified aromatherapists study anatomy and physiology.

Certified aromatherapists learn about the body and its different mechanisms. We study how the aroma and the chemical constituents of essential oils affect the whole system. This includes the pathways on which delivery is most effective on specific conditions, how long the exposure, and so on. 

These are just some of the reasons why you should work with a certified aromatherapist when using essential oils. It could be as simple as consuming the materials they put out for safe and effective oiling, joining their aromatherapy classes, or availing of their formulations.

If you are looking for more resources about aromatherapy, you can check out the following:

YouTube: www.youtube.com/callmebalot

Aromatherapy Posts on the Blog

Holistic Aromatherapy PH Facebook Group

Hope this was helpful, loves! Talk to you soon!