Aromatherapy for Winter Wellbeing with Anne Polet of AromaWizards – @AromaWizardsnorthdevon on Facebook 

Anne trained as an aroma therapist 30y ago. She gave a fascinating talk about a whole array of different essential oils. We learnt about how oils are distilled from plant materials (e.g. it takes 1.5kg lavender makes 15ml oil), how they can have many different effects and how they can help minor ailments e.g. dry skin, Seasonal Affected Disorder, stress to name a few. Whilst they are natural products they should always be handled with care. They are powerful chemicals and shouldn’t be used orally (in large amounts they can damage liver and kidneys note: in the food and drinks industry they are used in very diluted quantities i.e. as 1 drop per 6litres)  or neat on your skin. They also don’t last forever so buying small quantities is important.Inhalation is particularly helpful for mental wellbeing. Lemon can be really uplifting in the winter months and other oils can calm your mind and move you from a stressful state to a physiologically calm state. There are published research articles on the effects of lavender and other oils too. Burners and diffusers can be great but remember to use them to only use them for 30-45mins at a time to have maximum effect. 

Feel free to contact Anne for more information