Aromatherapy You Can Wear: Lava Beads & Essential Oils
Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils to promote wellness, healing, and general emotional and physical health has skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade. Though, what you may not know is, aromatherapy has been used for centuries and has its roots in ancient practices.
Wearing scents is also becoming a popular practice, especially in the form of natural and unique lava beads. If you are looking to add essential oils to your daily jewellery for their therapeutic benefits, jewellery crafted with lava beads is a perfectly porous option for you.
What are Lava Beads?
To best understand how lava beads work, it is important to know their origin. Simply put, lava beads are exactly what they sound like: igneous rocks literally made from cooled down molten lava. When a volcano erupts, hot molten rock pours out and eventually cools into the lightweight and porous stones we can use as lava beads.
Symbolically, lava beads remind us to ground and represent a divine connection to Mother Earth. The beads themselves offer us strength, courage, and stability during times of volatility.
The Science Behind the Scents
Aromatherapy works by one of two ways: stimulating smell receptors in the nose AND through skin absorption. When the brain receives a scent it then sends messages through our nervous systems to the limbic system. The limbic system is the part of the brain that has control over our emotional wellbeing. For skin absorption, many essential oils contain anti-inflammatory properties and can be applied to the skin to fight infection or relieve pain. For our purposes, we will be focusing on how aromatherapy interacts with our sense of smell.
Because our sense of smell has a direct connection to our limbic system, aromatherapy is especially beneficial for stress-related conditions such as headaches, insomnia, or anxiety. For example, in order to combat work stress, an aromatherapist may recommend working with lavender, frankincense, or lemongrass essential oils because of how the body interacts with these scents.
Oil and Lava Beads
The application of your essential oil of choice is rather simple. As I have mentioned a few times earlier, the porous nature of the lava beads allow for easy absorption. Simply use a few drops of your oil on a cotton swab or your finger and rub it on the beads. Allow the oils to soak into the beads a minute or two before wearing and voila! You have your very own portable essential oil diffuser! The scents can last anywhere from a few hours to a full day, so reapply as needed.
(For those with sensitive skin, you may opt to dilute your essential oils with a drop of coconut, almond, or avocado oil to reduce a skin reaction.)
Uses for Essential Oil Jewelry
The natural and raw aesthetic of the lava bead makes for interesting and attractive pieces of jewellery with many spiritual, emotional, and physical benefits. The uses for essential oils are limitless, especially when combined with thoughtfully crafted lava bead pieces.
- A diffuser necklace can be worn anywhere and anytime. This means you can carry your favorite, therapeutic scents wherever you go.
- Earrings infused with essential oils are close to the nose and face, and can provide a subtle yet powerful boost all day long.
Lava beads combined with mindful and intentional essential oils offer unique jewellery with a purpose. As lava beads remind us to ground and inspire courage in us, our carefully selected essential oils can calm us, uplift us, and increase our connection to spirit.