Geranium Essential Oil #AtoZChallenge

Posted on by Astrid

Welcome to the letter G post in my #AtoZChallenge series on aromatherapy. For this letter, I will talk about geranium. This is one of my less favorite scents, but when blended appropriately, it can definitely be beneficial.

Geranium is originally not native to Europe or the Americas. It originates from Africa and was introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century. Currently, it is cultivated all over the world. Geranium essential oil is sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s rose oil”, because it has similar properties to rose essential oil but is much more affordable.

The most common geranium species used for its essential oil is Pelargonium graveolens. Geranium essential oil is distilled from the leaves and flowers of the plant. It has a sweet, floral aroma, which comes from its constituent geranyl formate. Other chemical constituents of geranium essential oil include Linalool, Citronellol and Geraniol. The preferred variety of geranium essential oil by aromatherapists is Bourbon geranium, as it has a smell preferrable to others.

In aromatherapy, geranium essential oil is used for the reduction of feelings of anxiety, sadness and fatigue and to promote general wellbeing. It is also known to help with concentration and cognitive function.

Used topically on the skin, geranium essential oil is known to help eliminate dead skin cells and regenerate new ones. It is known to help tighten the skin and, as such, reduce effects of aging such as sagging and wrinkles. Geranium essential oil is also used in the promotion of healthy hair growth.

Geranium essential oil is a gentle and relatively safe oil to use. However, pregnant women are advised to be cautious with this oil, as it effects hormone balance and it is not known how this oil might effect their unborn child.

Geranium essential oil blends well with most other oils. I like to blend it with calming oils such as lavender and clary sage when I want a relaxing effect. It however also blends well with citrus oils. When creating diffuser blends, I personally like to add only one or two drops of geranium essential oil into my blends, as I don’t really like its scent when it’s too strong.

Gratitude List (January 2, 2021) #TToT

Posted on by Astrid

Yay, it’s Saturday and that means I’m going to write another gratitude list. I didn’t specifically resolve to be more grateful this year, but I already set a goal to do a weekly gratitude list in November. As usual, I’m joining in with Ten Things of Thankful (#TToT). Here goes.

1. I am grateful my extra one-on-one care got approved. The staff and manager will meet next week to discuss how to fill in the hours and whether extra staff will need to be hired for it. So far though, nothing will change for me, as I already had some one-on-one as of mid-November. I’m so glad it doesn’t stop though!

2. I am grateful for financial security. My long-term care copay is likely to increase by at least €70 a month this year, but it’s because my husband’s and my household income has increased. I’m pretty sure I can afford this increase without having to live extremely frugally.

3. Speaking of which, I am so grateful my husband bought a new-to-us car. We used to have a Suzuki Wagon R+, but that one wasn’t too comfortable on long drives. It also needed repairing anyway. Of course, buying another car rather than repairing your current one is rarely the economical choice (my husband calculated that it would be if we bought a very small car). He wanted some luxury though and so do I. We now have a Volkswagen Golf.

4. I am grateful for oliebollen and other new year’s snacks. I didn’t eat too many, but I did have some treats.

5. I am grateful for a relatively peaceful new year’s. My sister-in-law came by. My husband had made it clear beforehand that I could always retreat into the bedroom to go on my phone, so I did that a few times.

6. I am grateful for toast with sausages on it for lunch today. I’d never had this before, but it was good.

7. I am grateful for really good essential oil combinations in my diffuser. I even managed to make one that’s good even though there’s geranium in it. I normally hate that scent (don’t ask me why I bought it then), but combined with lavender, orange and cedarwood, it’s good.

8. I am grateful for a really nice nap this afternoon. I had the aforementioned combination of essential oils in my diffuser and slept like a log.

9. I am grateful the festivities are over with for now for a while. They were good, but I’d like to have some normal weeks now.

10. I am so grateful for still no COVID at my care home! I could post that one every week, because of course each week without COVID is a blessing, but well.

What are you grateful for?