Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Are you all ready with your Q-tips? Are you smeLLing?  What do you think?  Top note?  Don't forget to leave it for about 10 minutes and then come back to it and give it another sniff and once again to determine when it smeLL's the strongest and when it' s weaker to give it it's notes.

Now another question, what TYPE of Rosemary do you have?  There are actually THREE types of Rosemary; Camphor Type (Do NOT use on Pregnant women and Children under 10), Rosemary Verbenone type, (again I wouldn't use this on a pregnant woman and young children) and then there's your Cineole type Rosemary, and just the NAME should give you a clue.

Cineole Type Rosemary is the mildest of your Rosemarys, and can even be used by young children and Pregnant women after the first Trimester.  (Please note: I don't recommend ANY use of Essential Oil during the first Trimester of Pregnancy with the Exception of Peppermint and Ginger, and those only sniffing a drop on a Cloth tissue.)

Each of these Types of Rosemarys have their own area's of specialiaty.

Rosemary Camphor is used for for tired muscles, rheumatism, cramps, sciatica, arthritis, colds, flu, all respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, sinusitis, catarrh, stomach upsets such as constipation, bile production, flatulence, oedema,  nervous exhaustion, headaches,migrains, lethargy, and is a memory aid.

Major Chemical component's: Ketones. Terpene Ketone

Rosemary Verbenone is a MUST for skin care. It is reputed to be excellent for skin regeneration, acne, dermatitis, dry skin, broken veins, dry or oily hair, dandruff, seborrhea, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis, asthma.

Major Chemica Component: Ketones, Verbenenone.

Rosemary Cineole is the one to diffuse when suffering from sinusitis, catarrh, Bronchitis, colds, flu, stress, nervous exhaustion,  constipation.

Major Chemical Componet: Cineole

Myth Busting: In just about EVERY book one reads on Essential Oils, you will find the Following about Rosemary; "Do NOT use on people who have high blood pressure and/or epilepsy"

I want you to remember THIS, there has been NO evidence to support that statement.  In point of fact, no one has ever known it to raise ANYONES blood pressure.  And as for the epilepsy warning, Anecdotal evidence has shown it to be the oil of choice of epileptics to head off an attack and during the recovery period after an attack.

So next time you read that warning, remember, it's a well publisized MYTH.

Uses and Actions.  As we have been talking about 3 types of Rosemary I will give you a generality about "Rosemary's" Uses.  Anticatarrh, antispasmodic, anti-infectios, bactericide, cicatrizant, fungicide, chologugue, decongestant, digestive, emmenagoge, expectorant, sudorific, tonic.

Dose: 2 drops of Rosemary per 15 mls (tablespoon) or per bath tub.

Now when combining oils together, how many does one put in a tablespoon, tub all together?  10 drops TOTAL.  That's it, no more.

So far, we've done Lavender (7 drops), Tea Tree (2 drops) and Rosemary (2 drops). If we were to make a BLEND of these oils, add up the dosage amounts and we have 11 drops.  So what do we do? Do we say, "Eh! It's only one drop more." NO! More is NOT better, Less is Best!.

Look at your quantities: 2 Rosemary, 2 Tea Tree and 7 Lavender.  The only sensible thing to do is lower the Lavender by a drop.

BUT, what do you do if you're making a blend with Bergamot (10 drops), Lavender (7 drops) and Sandalwood (6 drops).  (BLEAH! Highly unlikely, but go with me here).  That's 23 drops.  Hmmmmmm.  Well you need to carve it down, and carve you do.  How you do it is up to you, but as long as you remain within the 10 drop limit, you'll do okay.

My choice?  I'm sure I heard one you of mutter ;-) 4 drops Sandalwood, 3 drops Lavender, and 3 drops Bergamot.  But then I'm not a big fand of Bergamot.  Also it will depend on what you are hoping your blend will achieve.  Play around with the numbers yourselves.

And that's it for this week.  Once again, a LONG lesson.  I DO try and keep them short and tidy, but I don't want to skimp on something.

Cheers!
Kathleen Petrides
Aromatherapist

© 2000 Kathleen E. Petrides, SmeLLeNNium
 

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