Jomar presents at KL meet

Sanctuario Spa prez Jomar Fleras was a speaker to the International Spa and Wellness Exhibition and Conference at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia this 15-17 July. Jomar joined 11 other international spa experts to discuss the global spa outlook, emerging trends, benchmarking for success, challenges and opportunities. Jomar discussed  the grant given by the European Union Asia Invest Program to internationalize the operation of spas in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Real aromatherapy

By Dr. Mike Turvill, Spa Essentials

Aromatherapy is defined as the systematic use of essential oils in holistic treatments to improve physical and emotional wellbeing. Essential oils extracted from plants, possess therapeutic effects which can be used to improve health and prevent disease. They are readily absorbed through the skin (during massage) or through the lungs (when inhaled after evaporation in an oil burner) and then effect our body chemistry through gentle physiological effects.

Essential oils are very concentrated when neat (hence they are blended with another oil, known as a carrier oil, during massage) and are not safe to apply directly on the skin, with the exception of Tea Tree and Lavender.

Many people wonder why essential oils are expensive and some are more expensive than others. The price of an oil reflects the time and energy to produce the plant material and the yield, of essential oil the plant material will provide. For example, more oil is contained in a leaf rather than a flower and so oils from leaves (e.g. Tanglad) will be cheaper than oils from flowers (e.g. ylang ylang). Clearly Tanglad is also easier to grow and harvest.

The expense of essential oils together with increased demand for aromatherapy has created a market for poor quality, artificial or synthetic oils so that companies and individuals have started to adulterate expensive oils to make them go further and in some cases to make more money. Essentials oils can be changed in many ways such as dilution in which the essential oil is diluted in a solvent or spirit base; or stretching when an expensive oil is diluted with a cheaper.

It is difficult not only to know the contents of these adulterated blends but also to detect synthetic versions such as fragrances. However, in all cases these artificial or synthetic oils will not have the same therapeutic effects and so the effect on the body will be limited or non-existent. The pure oil is made up of hundreds of different chemical constituents, many of which are still unknown to scientists, and mixed together they produce the particular effect. In addition, as the adulterated or synthetic oil will be placed on the skin or inhaled through the lungs it is best to ensure you are using the ‘real thing’.
The most important factor to consider when buying essential oils is who supplies them. With a good supplier there is really no need to worry about the purity and origin. In addition, it is worth considering whether the oils are unusually cheap? As an example be suspicious if 10ml of supposed pure Jasmine oil is being sold for 100 PHP.

Whether using aromatherapy it is necessary to consider the safe use of essential oils. As a first step essential oils should never be taken internally and must be kept away from children. The effects of oils can be positive for many conditions and problems can be avoided by

• Consulting with your therapist so he or she understands your medical history or any contraindications. (You should be immediately suspicious if no medical consultation occurs before your treatment)
• Knowing the properties of essential oils
• Using essential oils at their correct and safe dilutions (e.g. no more than 2% in a carrier oil for massage and at a lower percentage for children, the sick or elderly).

With regard to specific conditions essential oils should be avoided during pregnancy and oils such as fennel and rosemary should be avoided for epileptics. Some oils can be irritants for those with sensitive skin and others can cause photosensitisation.

In conclusion, aromatherapy using the therapeutic effects of essentials oils has many proven benefits. It is worth bearing in mind the above information to ensure you get the very best results.