McCluck Farms Essential Oil Scents:

BERGAMOT:

Have you ever enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea? What makes this tea unique is the addition of bergamot essential oil, which flavors many beverages and candies. A small citrus tree originally from tropical Asia, it produces the round, green fruit whose oils are expressed from the rinds before ripening. While not edible or pretty, they smell truly wonderful! The fragrance is fresh, green, fruity, and cleanly refreshing, but slightly spicy and balsamic compared with other citruses. According to legend, Christopher Columbus brought the tree to the Caribbean, where it was popularly used in voodoo practices to protect one from misfortune. Columbus may have had his own reasons for traveling with bergamot. Carrying the dried fruit in your pocket was thought to keep travelers safe on their journeys and soothe the stress of traveling. Modern aromatherapists suggest placing a few drops of bergamot on a cloth and carrying it in your pocket or travel bag. Sniff the scented cloth while traveling to reduce stress, depression, anxiety, or insomnia.

Therapeutic properties of bergamot:
Antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antiviral, antibiotic. Bergamot fights several viruses, including those that cause flu, herpes, shingles, and chicken pox. Due to its versatile antibiotic properties, it also treats bacterial infections of the urinary system, mouth, and throat and a variety of skin conditions, including eczema. The best way to use it is diluted in a salve or massage oil that is applied externally over the afflicted area. As a natural deodorant, it not only provides a pleasant scent, but it kills bacteria that are responsible for odor. Bergamot is second only to lavender in its ability to relax brain waves when sniffed.

GINGER:

You have certainly encountered ginger’s succulent, spicy rhizome in the grocery store. Used fresh, or dried and powdered for a culinary spice, it flavors ginger ale, cakes, and cookies and is a major ingredient in curries and other Eastern cuisines. The Chinese scholar Confucius ate fresh ginger with every meal. Since it was one of the earliest herbs transported in the spice trade, it is now difficult to determine if ginger originated in India or China. One ancient Indian trading city was named Shunthi, the Sanskrit name for ginger. Ginger has many applications in aromatherapy. From 200 B.C.E. and continuing for a thousand years, Arab traders monopolized the ginger trade, carrying the root in sealed earthenware jars on camel caravans through Asia Minor or on boats sailing through the Arabian Sea to Egypt. Ginger was also used in ancient Greece, Rome, and even Britain before the Norman conquest. Spanish conquistadors introduced ginger to the West Indies. In the Philippines, ginger is used to fish with as it is believed to attract fish. It is also thought to drive out the evil spirits that cause disease. In Melanesia, men used it to win the affection of women. Arabs consider it an aphrodisiac that greatly increases energy. Could St. Hildegarde of Bingen have known this in the twelfth century when she recommended its use for stimulating the vigor of older men married to young women? Or perhaps she was aware that its name comes from the same root as generate and beget, meaning to procreate? Because of such qualities, the word ginger has developed an informal meaning of liveliness and vigor.

Principal constituents of ginger:
Gingerin, gingenol, gingerone, zingiberene, linalol, camphene, other alcohols and terpenes, with citral and resins

Scent of ginger:
It smells peppery sharp, pungent, aromatic, and warm, sometimes with a camphoraceous or lemon note.

Therapeutic properties of ginger:
Stimulates circulation, increases perspiration, relieves gas and pain, aids digestion Uses for ginger: Ginger stimulates the appetite and relieves inflammation throughout the body. An ancient Ayurvedic remedy from India advises placing crushed ginger rhizome on the forehead for a headache. You can use this ancient headache treatment or a more simple, modern version by adding a few drops of ginger essential oil to water, soaking a cloth in it, and using it as a compress. Also use a ginger compress wrapped around the neck or placed on the chest to ease sore throat or lung congestion. The smell of it alone will often open congested sinuses. If you experience nausea or motion sickness, inhale a drop placed on a hankie, eat a little candied ginger, or sip ginger ale, which contains a small amount of the essential oil. To relieve indigestion or menstrual cramps, rub a massage oil containing ginger into the skin on your abdomen or place a poultice made from the grated root on it. In a warming liniment, ginger essential oil treats poor circulation and sore or cramped muscles, since it decreases the substances in the body that make muscles cramp. Drinking ginger tea made by boiling the fresh rhizome for about twenty minutes is a classic cold, cough, and fever treatment (try adding a little lemon juice, chopped garlic, maple syrup, and cayenne). Ginger tea can also be an energizing substitute for coffee in the mornings.

JASMINE:

Probably an Iranian native, jasmine, whose name means heavenly felicity, has captured the imagination of poets and perfumers for thousands of years., and in China it was used to scent and flavor jasmine tea. It has a distinctively rich, warm floral fragrance that is sweetly exotic, with a fruity-tea undertone. A vinelike evergreen shrub, jasmine is also known as mistress of the night and moonlight of the grove. Because its seductive scent reaches its peak late at night, this is when the flowers produce the most oil and are gathered . Try as chemists might to make it, the scent cannot be duplicated. Synthetic jasmine is so harsh, it demands a touch of the true essential oil to soften it. Jasmine’s aromatherapy applications and uses for the essential oil are many. It sedates the nervous system, so it is good for jangled nerves, headaches, insomnia, and depression and for taking the emotional edge off PMS and menopause, although keep in mind its age-old reputation as an aphrodisiac! Studies at Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo show that jasmine also enhances mental alertness and stimulates brain waves. In another study, it was able to help computer operators reduce by one-third the number of mistakes they made. It also eases muscle cramping, such as menstrual cramps. Cosmetically, the oil is wonderful for sensitive or mature skin. In its native India, jasmine flowers infused into sesame oil are applied to abscesses and sores that are difficult to heal.

LAVENDER & LEMONGRASS:

A well-loved Mediterranean herb, lavender has been associated with cleanliness since Romans first added it to their bathwater. In fact, the name comes from the Latin lavandus, meaning to wash. It is a favorite for scenting clothing and closets, soaps, and even furniture polish. Lavender was traditionally inhaled to ease exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, and depression. In the Victorian era, women revived themselves from faints caused by tight corsets with lavender-filled swooning pillows. Lemongrass essential oil is what gives Ivory Soap its familiar scent. A fast-growing, tall perennial grass originally from India and Sri Lanka, lemongrass is an important medicinal and culinary herb in South and Central America, South East Asia, and the Caribbean, it is widely known as “fever grass.” India’s Ayurvedic medical tradition, for instance, has long used it to treat cholera and fevers. Its pleasant, clean fragrance is also incorporated into soaps, perfumes, and deodorants, and it flavors many canned and frozen foods. No wonder it is one of the ten best-selling essential oils in the world. Lavender’s aroma is sweet, floral, and herbal with balsamic undertones. It is noted for relieving muscle pain, migraines and other headaches, and inflammation. It is also one of the most antiseptic essential oils, treating many types of infection, including lung, sinus, vaginal, and especially candida infections. Cosmetically, it appears to be a cell regenerator. It prevents scarring and stretch marks and reputedly slows the development of wrinkles. It is used on burns, sun-damaged skin, wounds, rashes, and, of course, skin infections. Lavender also treats indigestion, including colic, and boosts immunity. Of several fragrances tested by aromatherapy researchers, lavender was most effective at relaxing brain waves and reducing stress. It also reduced computer errors by almost one-fourth when used to scent the office. The scent of lemongrass is lemon/herbal, grassy, and slightly bitter. In traditional medicine, lemongrass is usually given in the form of a tea or foot bath made from the fresh herb, from which the patient additionally benefits by inhaling the scent. Lemongrass also treats pain arising from indigestion, rheumatism, and nerve conditions. Researchers also found this refreshing fragrance to reduce headaches and irritability and to prevent drowsiness. Lemongrass is an antiseptic suitable for use on various types of skin infections, usually as a wash or compress, and is especially effective on ringworm and infected sores. In fact, studies found that it is more effective against staph infection than either penicillin or streptomycin. When added to a hair conditioner, facial water, or vinegar, it counters oily hair and acne by decreasing oil production. Used as a spray it may discourage insect invasions and mold. Add it to pet shampoos as a bug repellent.

PEPPERMINT:

The most widely used of all aromatic essential oils, peppermint makes a grand and obvious appearance in all sorts of edible and nonedible products, including beverages, ice cream, sauces and jellies, liqueurs, medicines, dental preparations, aromatherapy preparations, cleaners, cosmetics, tobacco, desserts, and gums. It was known to the Egyptians, who dedicated mint to the god Horus. The Romans personified it as Minthe or Mentha, the beautiful naiad loved by Pluto, god of the underworld. When Pluto’s queen, Proserpine, saw what was going on she jealously trampled Minthe, transforming her into the lowly plant. But Pluto decreed that the more mint was walked on the sweeter it would smell. Peppermint self-hybridized by the seventeenth century into more than 20 modern varieties of square-stemmed perennials that easily spread by underground root systems. It now grows wild throughout Europe, North America, and Australia, and is one of the few essential oil plants grown in the U.S., where the rainfall, temperature, and soil conditions in Michigan and central Oregon are ideal for high oil production. Most of the oil is redistilled to produce a lighter mint flavor for candies and gums. After the British Medical Journal noted in 1879 that smelling menthol, which is the main component in peppermint, relieves headaches and nerve pain, menthol cones that evaporate into the air became all the rage. Taking center stage in several controversies, herbalists have long argued for or against the assertion by the ancient Greek physician Galen that peppermint is an aphrodisiac. But everyone, including modern scientists, agrees that it is a strong mental and physical stimulant that can help one concentrate and stay awake and alert.

Principal constituents of peppermint:
Menthol (up to 70 percent), menthone, menthyl acetate, limonene, pulegone, cineol, azulene, and others

Scent of peppermint:
Peppermint has a powerful, minty-fresh, camphoraceous, cool, and distinctive fragrance.

Therapeutic properties of peppermint:
Anti-inflammatory; relieves pain, muscle spasms, and cramping; relaxes the nerves; kills viral infections; decreases gas and indigestion; clears lung congestion; reduces fever.

Uses for peppermint:
Peppermint helps the digestion of heavy foods and relieves flatulence and intestinal cramping, actually relaxing the digestive muscles so they operate more efficiently. A massage over the abdomen with an oil containing peppermint can greatly aid intestinal spasms, indigestion, nausea, and irritable bowel syndrome. Peppermint essential oil is included in most liniments, where it warms by increasing blood flow, relieving muscle spasms and arthritis. Peppermint relieves the itching of ringworm, herpes simplex, scabies, and poison oak. It also clears sinus and lung congestion when inhaled directly or when a vapor balm is rubbed on the chest. It also destroys many bacteria and viruses. Peppermint is not drying, as one might assume; rather, it stimulates the skin’s oil production, so use it blended with other oils to treat dry complexions. When using peppermint, remember that it is an energizing scent.

Warnings about peppermint:
Watch out! At first peppermint feels cooling, but too much of it can burn.

ROSE:

Originally from Asia Minor, the plant was brought by Turkish merchants to Bulgaria, where the most valued essential oil is now produced. The oil is distilled or solvent-extracted from blossoms; but, as it is difficult to separate from water, the oil must be distilled at least twice, resulting in two products. The first is called attar of roses; the by-product is called rose water. The unadulterated oil congeals when it cools, but can be liquefied again by the warmth of the hand. It has been an age-old favorite essential oil in facial creams because, in addition to its incredible fragrance, it is reputed to fend off aging. It is also used in aromatherapy preparations and costly perfumes. Wonderfully intense, the fragrance of rose is sweet and floral. Its used therapeutically as an antidepressant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, antibacterial, and antiviral; and to increase menstruation and calm nervous tension. A cell rejuvenator and powerful antiseptic, rose essential oil soothes and heals skin conditions, including cuts and burns. Rose treats asthma and can be used as an inhalant, albeit an expensive one. It helps a variety of female disorders, possibly by balancing hormones. Rose massage oil helps various types of female problems, including menstrual cramps, PMS symptoms, and moodiness during menopause. Many women report that simply smelling rose’s fragrance is enough to do the trick. Sniffing the oil or using a massage oil containing rose has even been suggested to help reverse impotency.

TANGERINE:

Classified as a bitter aromatic herb, tangerine has digestive, stimulant, choleretic and analgesic effects. It acts on the spleen (Chen pi), liver, gall bladder and breasts and for relieving pain. It is particularly renowned for calming and balancing oily skin. Also known as mandarin oil, tangerine essential oil may just calm stress and anxiety, providing welcome relief to tension. It has a toning effect on the digestion and helps gastric complaints. On the skin, it is a great way to fight acne and a congested oily skin. When used in a massage blend during pregnancy, it can help minimize and reduce stretch marks by reducing fluid retention and stimulating the circulation. It has antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, sedative and tonic properties.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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