Other Essential Oils

Camphor essential is my least favourite. It is said to help with skin complaints, arthritis, bronchitis, colds, fever, flu and many other complaints but I will never use it again. It is a commonly held view that because a remedy is natural, it must be good. However, this is not always the case. Many essential oils are not safe for certain groups of people, and camphor is an excellent illustration of this point. The oil itself comes from the camphor tree which is native to Japan, Taiwan and China. There are different species of camphor and each one produces a slightly different oil. The ho-sho variety (Japan) produces ho leaf and ho wood oils. ...  Read the complete review

Camphor oil is highly prized by the Chinese, who use it for embalming purposes and to scent soap. The Chinese attribute many virtues to it. It is mentioned by Marco Polo in the thirteenth century and Camoens in 1571, who called it the 'balsam of disease.' Camphor is a solid substances which together with the essential oil, is present in the wood of the camphor tree which grows naturally in China and Japan, and is cultivated in Sri Lanka and California. The oil is extracted from the stems by the steam distilling method. It is then fractionalised into blue, brown and white camphors. Blue camphor is the heaviest and weakest and is used mostly in ...  Read the complete review

This is one of THE most, most useful of all the essential oils. I always have at least one bottle in the house as it is useful in so many situations. I often have Rosemary oil 'burning' when I am at my keyboard, because it really does help clear your mind and help you concentrate on what you are doing. It also smells delicious - clear and fresh so that is an added bonus. Very useful as anti bacterial agent, it is useful in combatting coughs, colds etc. Therefore always have some burning when you have these symptoms. It really clears the head too. For headaches or 'thick heads', just rub some oil into the temples (diluted in a carrier oil) and it ...  Read the complete review