The days when essential oils and natural fragrances were limited to hippie communes and off-the-grid naturalists are long gone. Today, mainstream medical professionals and scientists regularly recommend plant-derived aromatic byproducts for their mental health benefits and physical healing properties.

The earth is abundant with flowers, trees, herbs, fruits, and spices that stimulate our senses and benefit our bodies and minds for enhanced well-being and functionality. But how do they accomplish this, and which plant-based scents are safe to use?

Understanding the complexities and wonders of natural wellness is a powerful catalyst for living life in a more holistic and longevity-oriented way. Join us as we explore nature’s perfumes from root to bud.

How Do Plant-Based Scents Affect Us?

There are many different ways that a plant-based scent can impact the human body. But when it comes to inhalation, you can thank the olfactory system.

When you inhale an essential oil or another form of natural fragrance, the particles enter your body via your olfactory system. From there, depending on the nature of the chemical compounds, the particles find their way into various bodily systems, such as the nervous or digestive system.

For instance, the molecules found in lavender essential oil have a positive effect on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. Or, in less scientific terms, they stimulate the neurotransmitters responsible for helping us fall asleep. This is why lavender oil has a reputation for helping to alleviate anxiety and insomnia.

How Do Plant-Based Fragrances Have The Power To Heal?

In the past, there’s been some healthy skepticism around the effectiveness of natural aromatherapy. Compared to more contemporary medicines, plant-based healing products can sometimes feel primitive. But over time, we’ve gathered comprehensive scientific evidence that certain plants have the potential to treat a variety of common ailments—or simply be used as beautiful, natural perfumes.

If you look at the timeline of human civilization, people have been using natural products like bark, leaves, flowers, and aromatics to treat a myriad of ailments practically ever since they started identifying plants over 11,000 years ago.

There are several reasons why a plant might have the capacity to heal.

Certain essential oils have demonstrated the ability to kill diseases or toxic particles. Others assist with boosting immunity, aiding sleep, soothing nausea, and even offering pain relief. However, the key to utilizing plant-based scents for natural wellness lies in a deeper understanding of which ones to use and for what purposes.

6 Healing Plant-Based Oils And Scents To Try

There are over 90 types of natural essential oils actively in use today. The sheer variety and complexity of these precious organic compounds are enough to boggle the mind. But you don't need to be familiar with all of them to experience their many benefits. Learning about some of the basics is a great place to start.

The following six plant-based oils are all widely accessible products that you can probably find at a local health shop or organic drugstore. Their benefits range from anti-inflammatory effects to improved memory, increased relaxation, and everything in between. Let’s dive in:

Peppermint

Natural peppermint fragrances are some of the most popular around the world. Refreshing, zingy, cooling, and a little bit sweet, this scent boosts your mood and cools down mild sunburns. You can also use it in natural cleaning products for effective odor management and for managing mites, mosquitos, and other pests.

Additionally, some studies suggest peppermint has powerful cognitive benefits. It’s sometimes used as a memory enhancer or concentration booster for studying for exams or awakening the senses and making you think more clearly.

2. Rosemary

This fragrant, mildly bitter herb is frequently used in cooking for its deep, earthy flavor profile. However, it’s hugely versatile, and its uses extend beyond cooking to natural beauty and cleaning products.

Using rosemary oil for softer, thicker, and more voluminous hair has become super trendy, as the herb encourages new growth. Not only that, but it smells fantastic, too!

3. Wintergreen

If you’ve ever treated muscle tension with arnica gel, you’re already more familiar with wintergreen than you might think.

This sweet, pepperminty herb is used as both a naturally warming and cooling agent in muscular spasm relief products. The edible plant product is found in some types of candy, too, such as wintergreen peppermint candy, which is typically consumed in winter.

Not only that, wintergreen oil promotes blood circulation, soothes skin irritations, and helps with colds and flu.

4. Lavender

As we briefly glossed over before, lavender’s fragrance can assist with insomnia, anxiety, and even heart palpitations. With its ability to calm down the nervous system and stimulate GABA receptors, people who inhale lavender oil before bed report sleeping better and feeling more relaxed.

Additionally, lavender is easy to grow in your garden, is an excellent addition to natural cleaning products, and has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.

5. Lemon

Fresh and bright lemon rind aroma makes an effective natural deodorizer, which is why you find it in so many natural cleaning products.

However, its benefits don’t stop there. Lemon oil is a natural mood booster as it has the ability to stimulate essential neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine—two chemicals every person needs in order to maintain a healthy sense of vitality and well-being.

6. Copaiba

While copaiba isn’t as well-known as other natural essential oils, its wellness benefits are off the charts. Associated with anti-inflammatory effects, copaiba oil and aromatherapy can be used as a natural pain reliever, aphrodisiac, and immune booster.

Some studies suggest that copaiba may treat a variety of ailments, including gonorrhea, strep throat, and bladder infections, so it certainly packs a punch.

Follow The Scent To Better Health

When we know where to look (or what to smell!), nature offers us an abundance of health benefits and healing properties. Plant-based scents are powerful tools you can use for everything from practicing self-care to getting a better night’s sleep or improving the way you study.

By learning more about how plant-based scents work and why they’ve remained such a huge part of healing processes throughout human history, we can experience the same holistic benefits people have been enjoying for thousands of years. Looking after your health and well-being could be as simple as following your nose!

Exploring Natural Wellness: The Healing Power of Plant-Based Scents