Moms and Dads
7 Starter Tips for Aromatherapy at Home: Mom Edition
Sometimes, a little aromatherapy at home helps soothe our mom brains and nerves.
Doing aromatherapy at home can help soothe the nerves. As moms, we’re always trying to make home and life better for our families but burn ourselves out in the process. Our brains are hardwired to keep on making the “perfect life” for our kids and we sometimes panic too much over it. While drinking some tea and binge-watching helps, a little aromatherapy at home can do the trick. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Match the scent to the purpose of the room
When starting aromatherapy at home, we need to mix and match the scents to the room. Different rooms mean different purposes which means different scents. For our bedrooms, we can use Lavender or Chamomile. Not only is it soothing but if our pets sleep with us, it’s not acidic. Most pets don’t like acidic or citrus scents since it’s too strong for their senses. For a study room, consider using something like orange or lemon to wake you up and get the mind going.
2. Make sure the your aromatherapy station at home is pet-friendly
Not all aromatherapy home kits are pet-friendly. For the kits you’re not sure of, we suggest keeping them in the dressing room or in a place where your pet doesn’t go. Some people have reported cases wherein their pets start vomiting because they licked up some of the oil/water. So, if you’re going to set up an aromatherapy station at home, keep it in a place that has a lot of ventilation and where your fur babies won’t get to it.
3. More ventilation you have at home, the better for your aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy works best in a home that has good airflow. It saves you money on how much essential oils you spray but it also makes the scent not as dominating. Some of us get headaches from strong scents which is why maybe a small fan or an exhaust fan can help spread the scent. What some people do in their homes is that they place the source of their aromatherapy adjacent to or near the source of air so it can circulate around.
4. Candle or diffuser? It depends!
There are different kinds of aromatherapy kits that work at home. Some people like candles because it has warmth. Then, there are some who like using the diffuser because the diffuse rate is slower. For us, it really depends on what one’s preference is. But for more practical moms, you can judge it like this: if a lot of your furniture at home is made of genuine wood (as in carved and all), the diffuser might be better. Candles will possibly work better in an alfresco area so it doesn’t just create a backdraft.
5. If you can’t do oils or sprays yet, shampoos and soaps are the best place to start.
The bathroom is the only place we’ll ever get privacy unless you own a cat or have a toddler. Some shampoos and soaps do have a specific scent that works well as a makeshift aromatherapy kit. After using the anti-bacterial soap that we’ve scrubbed ourselves so hard with, we can use our aromatherapy soap or shampoo for a calming finish. Besides, we moms sometimes like steaming hot baths and the steam helps the scent for the aromatherapy circulate better.
6. As tempting as it is, do not spray the oils/waters into the fan/aircon.
While fans and aircons help circulate things better, it’ll end up damaging the motor. Although oils help machines operate better by making gears slippery, there’s a special kind of machine oil that does that. It’s the kind that doesn’t become sticky right away. Aromatherapy oils don’t have that same property which leads to expenses in repairing your aircon or fan. If you really want the fan to circulate it, we’d suggest either putting a table nearby with the aromatherapy station or making a small pouch that contains the scent and hanging it on the blowers.
7. Keep all your scents in a box and in glass containers
Plastic bottles would have been fine if they weren’t oil-based. Plastics are also oil-based and may degrade over time when mixed up with the oils for aromatherapy. That’s why most aromatherapy kits for the home are sold in glass bottles. Oil doesn’t mix with glass since it’s made of sand, not oil. Also, keep everything in a box. There are times we might mistake our aromatherapy oils for cooking oil because we’re tired. But we’re pretty sure lavender oil isn’t meant for frying chicken.
Aromatherapy At Home: Another Form of Self-Care
While some of us are frustrated with food choices, maybe it’s time to try something a little more scent-based. Aromatherapy’s been known to help people relax and ground their minds so, why not try it at home? It might even get the kids to slow down a bit if they’re like the Energizer Bunny. At first, the scent may be a bit weird especially if it’s something new. But you’ll eventually feel the soothing effects and maybe want to try more scents after.
Need more self-care guides? Here’s more!
A Parent’s Easy 5-Step Skincare Routine to Radiant Skin
These Local Celebrity Moms Show How To Practice Self-Care
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