An estimated six million Americans suffer from panic attacks or some sort of panic disorder every year. Some people may only experience in a highly tense situation, while others experience regular episodes. Panic attacks come without warning and the symptoms can vary in intensity. How can you handle a panic attack when you first notice symptoms? This article aims to cover six powerful essential oils that can promote calm during a stressful attack. 

What Is A Panic Attack?

A panic attack can appear in an instant and experts characterize it as an intense fear that triggers physical reactions. This can occur whether or not real danger is present. It can be very frightening for the individual, as it can feel like they no longer have control or that they are having a heart attack. More often than not, panic attacks occur once or twice during a lifetime, but people can experience recurring attacks. Although they may not be life-threatening, panic attacks can interfere with quality of life.

Scents For Panic Attacks

Certain essential oils are beneficial for anxiety or feelings of panic. One study monitored 58 hospice patients who received hand massages once a day for one week. The massage used a blend of essential oils with a 1.5% dilution of sweet almond oil. All patients reported less pain and fewer depression symptoms, concluding aromatherapy’s benefits for pain and depression. Continue reading to learn about the best essential oils for panic attacks. 

Bergamot Essential Oil

If you enjoy Early Grey tea, then you are familiar with the powerful aroma of bergamot. It’s a refreshing scent that helps to promote energy. During a panic attack, this essential oil may help you cope with the symptoms, as it works to help stabilize fearful thinking. A 2011 study found that bergamot helped relieve anxiety when combined with lavender essential oil. Bergamot essential oil may also help to promote a sense of deep relaxation.

Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

It’s common for panic attacks to bring about bouts of intense crying and sadness. Ylang ylang oil, which comes from the flowers of ylang ylang trees, helps to relieve tension and anxiety. It’s quite fragrant and the aroma works to combat sadness by boosting overall mood and attitude. The best way to apply it is by adding a drop or two on the inside of each wrist. Take a deep breath and let the aroma bring about a sense of calm.

Frankincense Essential Oil

People commonly use frankincense essential oil with lavender and bergamot essential oils to enhance the benefits. The aroma helps to provide a tranquil energy, promoting spiritual grounding. It’s a very common oil in aromatherapy because it can deepen meditation by quieting the mind. The theory is that it has the same effect during a panic attack, counteracting the overwhelming sensations that a person experiences. 

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender exhibits soothing effects that help to promote natural relaxation. Many people place a few drops of lavender essential oil under their pillow to promote better and deeper sleep. The smell of lavender works to reduce feelings of nervousness, inducing a sense of calm. People who experience symptoms of panic disorders benefit from using lavender, as it works to relieve headaches and migraines. Some people find that it can alleviate jitters and boost overall mood. 

Rose Essential Oil

Not only does rose essential oil smell floral and beautiful, but it also exhibits properties that may soothe the nervous system. One study found that inhaling rose essential oil for ten minutes significantly lowered anxiety levels. The placebo group in the study performed breathing exercises, but did not experience the same relaxation that the rose oil group did. Rose oil’s scent is emotionally settling as well, working to relieve tension during a panic attack. 

Vetiver Essential Oil

One of the reasons why aromatherapists prefer vetiver essential oil is because it has a natural grounding energy. It works to promote reassurance, helping to calm and stabilize the mind during trauma therapy. Vetiver essential oil helps to reduce hypersensitivity and may even relax the nervous system. It may also exhibit natural sedative properties, helping to improve sleep. For someone who experiences a panic attack, inhaling the scent of vetiver essential oil may relieve jitters and anxiety. 

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Have you noticed that your face is drying out as a result of the colder months? If you answered “yes” to that question, you are not alone. Between all the showering, use of harsh soaps, aging, and lack of humidity, it’s easy to experience dry skin during the winter. The epidermis (outermost layer of skin) loses water as a result of the reduced moisture in the air. That means that you have to take action to lock in as much moisture as you can. 

How Do You Keep The Moisture In?

A combination of sun-damage, excessive skin cleansing and exfoliation, and underlying medical conditions make it difficult to maintain moisturized skin. On top of that, you have low humidity attacking the skin. Both the outdoor cold and indoor heat dry out the skin, contributing to flakiness, cracking, and itching. The way to lock in moisture is by supplying the epidermis with moisturizing ingredients. The problem is that regular moisturizers contain harmful chemicals that dry out the skin. That’s why you have to choose natural ingredients that seal in the moisture without clogging pores. Let’s explore some of those ingredients below.

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil is one of the best carrier oils to use on the skin, both the face and body. It feels light because the skin easily absorbs it, taking in the vitamins and minerals more easily than other oils. Several studies found that jojoba oil actually balances the skin’s oils. How does it do that? It sneakily tricks your skin into thinking that it produced enough oil to keep the skin moisturized. This prevents your skin from producing too much oil, which can contribute to blackheads. Additionally, jojoba oil has antibacterial properties from the high iodine content. This can decrease the risk of acne development, especially when used as a spot treatment at night.

Rose Petals

Rose petals are great for all skin types, but if you have dry skin, you just hit the jackpot. The moisturizing properties of rose petals work to combat itchiness and keep the skin hydrated by preventing moisture loss. By maintaining a strong barrier, your skin has a better chance at not drying out if the weather lacks humidity. Rose petals also strengthen the skin’s cells, helping to regenerate skin tissues. 

Green Tea

Green tea has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which help reduce acne or oily skin. People with oily skin often suffer from acne because the excess sebum can clog pores. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is potent polyphenol in green tea and it reduces sebum secretions, which in turn may reduce acne. When you apply green tea on the face, it helps to alleviate any inflammation or puffiness. Finally, green tea is a natural source of vitamin E, which is known for its ability to hydrate the skin. 

DIY Green Tea And Rose Facial Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup jojoba oil
• 30 grams green tea leaves
• 10 grams dried rose petals
• 1 gram alkanet root
• 20 grams beeswax
• 25 grams coconut oil
• 20 grams shea butter
• 1/3 cup rose hydrofoil
• 1/3 cup aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoon rosemary extract
• 15 drops geranium essential oil
• 10 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 8 drops clary sage essential oil

Instructions:

• First off, you have to infuse the herbs into the jojoba oil. So pour one to two inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler over medium heat. 
• Add the jojoba oil, green tea leaves, dried rose petals, and alkanet root to the top of the double boiler. Stir the oil occasionally until it reaches 100º F. Once it does, turn off the heat for a couple minutes. Repeat this process three to five times. 
• Once you completed the infusion process, strain off the herbs and reserve the oil in a heat-safe glass jar. 
• Add the beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter to the top of the double boiler and stir until melted. Remove from heat once the mixture is liquified. 
• Pour that mixture and the infused jojoba oil into a food processor and let the mixture harden. 
• Add the rose hydrofoil, aloe vera gel, rosemary extract, and the essential oils to the food processor and then pulse to combine. You may need to scrape down the sides to ensure that everything is thoroughly blended. 
• Spoon this cream into small containers and store either in the fridge or in a cool, dry place. 
• To use, massage a small amount into the face and neck after you wash your face. Leave on overnight. 

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Lip balm is a salve or wax-like substance that you apply to your lips to increase moisture. Chapped or dry lips are quite common, especially as the weather gets colder and dryer. Using lip balm fights the dryness by creating an occlusive layer on the lips. This helps to protect the lips from external exposure and ultraviolet damage, and it also helps them retain moisture. 

There are chemically flavored or colored lip balms that have unnatural ingredients, but you can easily make a lip balm with natural ingredients that provide moisture. For the lip balm recipe in this article, the most time-consuming step is the making the rose-infused oil. 

How To Make Rose Oil

Take a handful or dried rose petals and add them to a jar with enough olive oil to completely submerge the petals. If you don’t want to use olive oil, you can use avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil. Close the lid on the jar and leave it in a cool, dry place for three weeks. Strain the rose petals after three weeks and that’s your rose-infused oil. 

How Roses Benefit The Skin

Rose petals contain a variety of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that work to moisturize dry skin. Because rose petals have astringent properties, they help to combat inflammatory skin disorders, acne, and any redness on the skin. Rose-infused oil or rosewater are also beneficial because they contain antibacterial properties. Additionally, rose oil works to balance the skin’s pH level and minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. 

How Vanilla Benefits The Skin

You don’t typically think of vanilla extract when you think of skin care. It’s only for desserts, right? Wrong. Alcohol-free vanilla extract is excellent for fighting acne because the vanillin has antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Those same antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals on the skin, which can reduce premature signs of aging (dark spots, wrinkles, and fine lines). Finally, anyone with dry skin can benefit from using vanilla extract. The B-vitamins in vanilla play a role in nourishing skin cells, and they help lock in moisture. 

How Cocoa Butter Benefits The Skin

The high fatty acid content in cocoa butter makes it an excellent ingredient for nourishment and hydration. The fats in cocoa butter also create a protective barrier on the skin to help it retain moisture. This is wonderful news for your lips because that’s exactly what you want out of a lip balm. The phytochemical in cocoa butter work to increase blood flow to the skin, which not only slows the signs of aging, but also provides protection from UV rays. 

DIY Rose Vanilla Lip Balm

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon cocoa butter
• 3 tablespoons rose-infused oil, plus 1/4 teaspoon for mixing
• 1/2 tablespoon castor oil
• 1 tablespoon beeswax
• 1/4 teaspoon alkanet root powder
• 1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
• 5-6 lip balm tins

Instructions:

• Pour about two inches of water into a small saucepan. Place a heat-safe glass measuring cup with a pour spout in the center of the saucepan.
• Add the cocoa butter, 3 tablespoons of the rose-infused oil, castor oil, and beeswax to the measuring cup. Turn the heat on low and stir the oil mixture occasionally until all the ingredients are thoroughly melted and combined. 
• You don’t want the water to boil, so keep that in mind and watch the temperature. 
• While the mixture is melting in the pan, combine 1/4 teaspoon rose-infused oil with the alkanet root powder in a small bowl. Mix until well-combined.
• Once the cocoa butter mixture is melted, remove the measuring cup from the pot, set on a towel on the countertop, and stir in the alkanet powder mixture. This will give you the beautiful burgundy color. 
• Finally, stir in the vanilla and then evenly pour the mixture into the lip balm tins. Allow the balm to harden at room temperature and then use as you please. 

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Some people have rose bushes at their homes or in their neighborhoods. The flowers get picked and placed in a vase to beautify the living space, scenting the room with a lovely aroma. We’re not taking anything away from this, but seldom do people take advantage of the therapeutic properties of roses. One of the best ways to do this is by making natural rose-infused oil.

Rose Oil Fact: It takes tens of thousands of rose blossoms to yield about one ounce of rose essential oil. It is often expensive due to the high concentration, but you only need to add a few drops to a recipe to reap the benefits.

Rose may possibly be one of the most popular ingredient in skin care products, and it’s not just because they smell pretty. Rose blossoms contain a diverse mix of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and emollient properties that help to moisturize the skin. If you regularly experience dry skin, rose-infused oil helps to reduce redness, inflammation, and may even help control some cases of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Not enough benefits for you? That’s okay because they don’t end there. Recent studies have found that rose oil may help to relieve anxiety symptoms and depression in post-partum women. Combining rose oil with lavender essential oil can enhance this benefit.

Helpful Tip: It’s best to have silicone molds to make your lotion bars. When the soap finally hardens, the silicone mold makes it easy to pop the lotion bars out without damaging them.

How To Make Rose-Infused Oil

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rose petals
• 1 cup carrier oil of your choice (olive oil or jojoba oil are great options)

Instructions:

• Bring a couple inches of water in a saucepan to a boil and then remove it from the heat.
• Pour one cup of carrier oil in a glass jar. Crush one cup of rose petals with your hands before adding them to the jar with the oil. Swirl the jar, but don’t shake it.
• Cover the jar and place it in the saucepan with the hot water. This helps to release the aromatics from the rose petals.
• Once the water cools, remove the jar and place in a sunny windowsill for at least 24 hours.
• Strain the oil through a cheesecloth, pressing the petals to get out as much oil as possible. Pour the strained oil into a dark bottle with a lid to help keep out the sunlight. Store in a cool, dry place.

Rose Lotion Bars

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup rose-infused oil
• ¼ cup organic beeswax
• ¼ cup organic Shea butter
• 3 drops geranium essential oil

Instructions:

• Add oil, beeswax, and Shea butter to a heat-safe glass jar and set this jar in a saucepan filled with a few inches of water. This is your makeshift double boiler.
• Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and warm until the beeswax and butter have melted.
• Once they have melted, carefully remove the jar from the saucepan and let it cool for a couple minutes. Stir in the essential oil until everything is well combined.
• Pour the mixture into a heatproof silicone mold and let it cool until the lotion bars are completely hardened.
• Pop them out of the molds once they have hardened and store in metal tins in a cool, dry place. Rub on dry skin to moisturize as needed.

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