Mar 21, 2019 | Aromatherapy, Body & Beauty, Fitness Centers & Mind-Body Studios, Health & Wellness
After you’ve hit the gym and gotten in a really good workout, you probably feel great. Like you’re on top of the world. The endorphins are flowing and you feel energized. But there’s a small thought in the back of your head – this is going to hurt in the morning. You get out your foam roller and go to town, but it only does so much. You still feel sore the next morning.
Instead of always needing to default to over-the-counter pain medications, why not try some natural pain relief? Essential oils and other natural products are a great way to help ease muscle soreness and stiffness. Here are a few of our favorites and how to use them:
Menthol Crystals
These are a game-changer when it comes to muscle pain and soreness, and because their properties are so concentrated, you don’t need much product to make a difference. Here is a simple recipe to make an all-natural muscle salve that you can rub into any sore muscle for pain relief:
Ingredients:
2T coconut oil
2T shea butter
2T beeswax
4T almond oil
1t menthol crystals
30 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions:
- Measure out the coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax and melt them on low heat.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the menthol crystals until they’re dissolved. Be sure to keep your face away from the mixture so you don’t irritate your eyes or nose.
- Once the crystals are dissolved, mix in the almond oil, followed by the essential oils.
- Pour the mixture into a container that has a tight lid, but allow the mixture to cool before putting the lid on.
- Store in your refrigerator to maintain texture and shelf life.
Lavender Oil
Lavender is known and loved for its calming and relaxing properties and it can do the same for your muscles as it does your mind. One effective way of using lavender specifically for sore muscles is to add the essential oil to a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil and use it as a massage oil. Working the oil deep into your muscles allows those effects to really get where it’s most needed.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint contains menthol, which brings a much-needed cooling effect when you’re sore. It’s also anti-inflammatory. If you have access to a steam room, bring our Mint-Infused Pure Eucalyptus ShowerMist along with you to get both the benefits of Peppermint and the steam room (read this blog post to read more about the benefits of steam rooms). Simply spritz a few sprays of the ShowerMist away from your face and breathe in and feel the benefits.
What are some natural ways that you deal with muscle pain?
Please share below in the comments!
Jan 30, 2019 | Aromatherapy, Health & Wellness
Menthol Crystals are small but mighty when it comes to natural remedies to common ailments. These crystals are made as a natural by-product of steam-distilled peppermint essential oil. The refreshing aroma and cooling sensation will remind you of products that use menthols, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, or pain relief liniments. There are several ways to use these crystals and a wide variety of benefits.
Here are five benefits of using Menthol Crystals:
Itch Relief
The cooling sensation of Menthol can dramatically reduce itchiness caused by a skin reaction or other irritation. Simply mix a small amount of the crystals in with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil or aloe vera and apply topically to the itchy area and get relief instantly.
Sunburn
In the same way, some Menthol Crystals mixed with aloe vera provides significant relief when applied to a sunburn.
Reduce Inflammation
If you have a bruise or scrape, Menthol Crystals can be applied directly to the area to reduce inflammation. If you have a sore, inflamed throat, apply topically around your neck and it will help with that too!
Congestion Relief
Perhaps one of the most popular ways to use Menthol Crystals is for congestion relief. Simply add a small amount of crystals to an empty saucepan and then pour in some boiling water. This creates an all-natural, menthol-infused vapor you can inhale for relief.
Hair Growth
Add some Menthol Crystals to your favorite hair oil and massage it into your scalp before you shower twice a week and it will act as a hair growth accelerant.
These are just a handful of ways you can use Menthol Crystals to help alleviate everyday ailments. Are there any other ways that you use Menthol Crystals that have been helpful to you?
Jan 16, 2019 | All About Eucalyptus, Aromatherapy, Health & Wellness, House & Home
Our ShowerMists are a fan favorite for relaxing, invigorating showers and baths. After all, nothing beats hot steam and aromatherapy! But that’s not all they can be used for. In fact, today we’re sharing five more ideas to help you make the most of your bottle, all around your home.
Grab your ShowerMist and get to spritzing in the kitchen, bedroom, mudroom, and more!
Deodorize Sneakers in the Mudroom
At the end of a long school day, give those tired feet a rest! Have your kids kick off their shoes, then spritz a few pumps of Tea Tree-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist into the soles to kill any lingering sweat and bacteria that was picked up on the playground. Let the shoes air out overnight before wearing again in the morning.
Freshen Up Your Kitchen
No one likes a stinky kitchen! A few quick sprays of our Citrus-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist can help keep trash can and garbage disposal odors at bay. Simply spritz a little down the drain or in the bin before you place a new trash bag inside. Want another boost of freshness? Peel any overripe, mushy citrus fruits you have laying around, toss a few small pieces into the disposal, and grind up while running some water.
Get a Great Night’s Sleep
Do racing thoughts have you struggling to fall asleep? Hold our Lavender-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist a few feet away from your bed and lightly spritz your pillows and sheets for a soothing scent that’ll help you wind down. The natural sedative properties of Lavender will have you counting sheep in no time! Bonus: it works for kids too!
Increase Focus in the Study Nook
Did you know that the zing of peppermint isn’t just a great way to freshen your breath, but can help you wake up, too? Spray some Mint-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist around the table while studying, reading, or working on the computer to encourage focus and feelings of alertness. If you’re also looking to ease stress, anxiety, and nervousness while you’re studying, try using our Menthol Crystals and Warmer. Keep working hard and ace that test!
Keep the Laundry Room Free of Mildew
Prevent mildew or musty smells by spritzing your dirty laundry hampers with your favorite ShowerMist. You can also spray a little on towels between uses for a clean, refreshing scent. This also works great for keeping road trip laundry bags fresh or when you’ll be drying a lot of towels and bathing suits in your hotel room.
Do you own one of our ShowerMists?
Which scent is your favorite and how do you like to use it?
Aug 29, 2018 | Aromatherapy, Health & Wellness, House & Home
Our ShowerMists are a fan favorite for relaxing, invigorating showers and baths. After all, nothing beats hot steam and aromatherapy! But that’s not all they can be used for. In fact, today we’re sharing five more ideas to help you make the most of your bottle all around your home.
Grab your ShowerMist and get to spritzing in the kitchen, bedroom, mudroom, and more!
Deodorize Sneakers in the Mudroom
At the end of a long school day, give those tired feet a rest! Have your kids kick off their shoes, then spritz a few pumps of Tea Tree-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist into the soles to kill any lingering sweat and bacteria that was picked up on the playground. Let the shoes air out overnight before wearing again in the morning.
Freshen Up Your Kitchen
No one likes a stinky kitchen! A few quick sprays of our Citrus-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist can help keep trash can and garbage disposal odors at bay. Simply spritz a little down the drain or in the bin before you place a new trash bag inside. Want another boost of freshness? Peel any overripe, mushy citrus fruits you have laying around, toss a few small pieces into the disposal, and grind up while running some water.
Get a Great Night’s Sleep
Do racing thoughts have you struggling to fall asleep? Hold our Lavender-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist a few feet away from your bed and lightly spritz your pillows and sheets for a soothing scent that’ll help you wind down. The natural sedative properties of Lavender will have you counting sheep in no time! Bonus: it works for kids too!
Increase Focus in the Study Nook
Did you know that the zing of peppermint isn’t just a great way to freshen your breath, but can help you wake up, too? Spray some Mint-Infused Eucalyptus ShowerMist around the table while studying, reading, or working on the computer to encourage focus and feelings of alertness. If you’re also looking to ease stress, anxiety, and nervousness while you’re studying, try using our Menthol Crystals and Warmer. Keep working hard and ace that test!
Keep the Laundry Room Free of Mildew
Prevent mildew or musty smells by spritzing your dirty laundry hampers with your favorite ShowerMist. You can also spray a little on towels between uses for a clean, refreshing scent. This also works great for keeping road trip laundry bags fresh or when you’ll be drying a lot of towels and bathing suits in your hotel room.
Do you own one of our ShowerMists?
Which scent is your favorite and how do you like to use it?
Aug 22, 2018 | Fitness Centers & Mind-Body Studios, Spas, Steam Rooms & Saunas
Have you ever gone into a retail store just because of the lovely, enticing smell wafting out of it? Have you ever lingered in a shop that smells great and just felt happy to be in there? Retailers are catching on to what spa owners and operators have known for a long time: scents can enhance the guest experience, create a bond with a brand, persuade people to linger longer, and even positively influence buying behavior.
Perhaps as spa owner/operator, you’re not employing scents consciously, but your facilities smell great anyway. What do you think the results would be if there was mindful intention behind what scents and fragrances your guests are experiencing while at your spa?
Fitness center operators may want to consider thinking about how their facilities smell — do you think your clients have a positive connotation when it comes to the smell of your equipment, mats and locker rooms? Think about it: you can be the gym or hot yoga studio that actually smells great and has little to no ick factor!
Clearly, Katy’s been to some great spas that have put the power of Eucalyptus oil to work!
What is Scent Marketing?
Scent marketing, scent branding, and aroma marketing all refer to the sensory marketing that targets the consumer’s sense of smell in order to improve the customer experience, increase sales, develop brand awareness, and nurture brand loyalty and connection.
Research has shown that scent has the ability to evoke an emotional response and is closely linked with memory, more than any of the other senses. Scientists have found that odors that trigger strong, emotional memories more so than visual stimuli. The perfume industry is built around this knowledge, and perfumers have been developing scents for decades to convey and evoke a wide range of emotions. And as many of us know from personal experience, the scent of a perfume or a cologne can bring us right back to a moment in time, whether positive or negative. Smell is a powerful thing.
Aromatherapy is the natural version of perfuming and has become popular both on the home front and in commercial use. Aromatherapy is the practice of using natural oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots, or other parts of a plant to enhance psychological and physical well-being as a form of alternative medicine. The inhaled aroma from these essential oils stimulates brain function, as science has shown. Aromatherapy also involves essential oils being absorbed through the skin, where they travel through the bloodstream to promote whole-body healing. As an alternative medicine, aromatherapy is used for a variety of uses including pain relief, mood enhancement, and increased cognitive function.
Why should you use Scent Marketing in your spa or fitness center?
Savvy spas use aromatherapy as a foundation for their experience and build on it for scent marketing. Our customers use our eucalyptus oil ShowerMist in their steam rooms for a number of benefits, but usually, the main reason is simply to make the steam room smell amazing. Having an amazing-smelling steam room keeps guests lingering for maximum relaxation, and creates fond memories of your facilities.
Practitioners are also starting to use ambient scenting and aromatherapy during treatments both as therapy and alternative medicine but this may not necessarily be scent marketing, just good practice: guests are gently eased further into relaxation with calming scents such as lavender.
Retailers who use ambient scenting, or diffusing a pleasant aroma in a space, do so in order to influence customer behavior — their intention is to create a pleasant atmosphere with a scent that eventually nudges customers towards a purchase. Data has shown that people stay as much as 44% longer in businesses that smell good.
Astute fitness center operators use aromatherapeutic scent marketing to differentiate themselves in the highly-saturated marketplace: they’re the ones whose facilities and equipment smell clean, fresh and energizing, uplifting the moods of their clientele when they work out. How many gyms can say with confidence that they actually smell clean and nice?
In terms of product, research indicates that scent affects the moods of shoppers and a good product with a poor fragrance strategy isn’t likely to go over well with consumers. In today’s crowded marketplace, fragrance changes the game and gives products a distinct edge among others for selection on the store shelves. Fragrance is often a deciding factor, and it is a matter of survival of the nicest smelling when two similar products are offered at similar prices. What would you rather have on your retail shelves: a product that naturally smells fabulous with scents that people love and recognize or one that smells like a perfumy chemical scent not found in nature? Apparently, well-received ambient scents can positively influence purchase behavior if the scent seems to match the products in the store.
A scent’s main role is to make the customer feel comfortable, happy and put them at ease so they will spend more time in the store, spend more money and ultimately make them more likely to return. For spas and fitness centers, this means repeat visits, customer loyalty, and higher spends in the retail areas.
3 Ways to Use Scent Marketing for a better guest experience
1) Spas and fitness centers should always use eucalyptus oil in the steam room.
Beyond just making it smell fantastic, eucalyptus has proven health benefits in wet and humid areas: steam-borne eucalyptus oil wipes out bacteria and microbes before they can get a foothold in a steam room. Mold and mildew become a non-existent worry with a steady diffusion of eucalyptus oil.
For aromatherapy, using eucalyptus in the steam room is great as a powerful antidote against mental fatigue, general sluggishness, and bad moods. For an even better guest experience, try one of our ShowerMist infusions to deliver a different aromatherapeutic benefit:
(All of our ShowerMist products are available in commercial sizes and wholesale prices. If you don’t have a wholesale account with us yet, call us to get set up, or register online.)
Make commercial diffusing easy in your steam rooms using our Mystifier Automatic Injection System — no more need for hand-spraying or clumsy bowls that need constant refilling.
2) For the mind-body areas, clean your equipment and facilities using cleansers with natural germ-fighters and aromatherapeutic benefits.
This 2-for-1 deal is good for mind, body and planet — everyone wins. While there are plenty of natural cleaners on the market, very few have been designed with spas and fitness centers in mind.
Our Lavender-Infused Yoga Mat Cleaner ($12 retail for 16oz) was created with yoga mats in mind, but we quickly realized that it actually performs exceptionally well all over any mind-body and fitness areas. Our Yoga Mat Cleaner uses plant-based oils and enzymatic action to effectively remove makeup, perspiration, body oils and dirt without degrading surfaces.
Our Yoga Mat Cleaner infused with pure lavender oil does double-duty in mind-body studios. First, it effectively cleans mats and props naturally, without any danger of degrading surfaces or changing the color of those surfaces. Next, because it’s infused with Lavender oil, it acts as a tonic for the nerves and anxiety issues. Lavender’s refreshing aroma removes nervous exhaustion and restlessness while also increasing mental activity, so students are calmed as soon as they hit the mat or the Reformer, making for a deeper practice or workout from the start.
Fitness Centers can change the perception of gyms and help their clients love the smell of their facilities. Studio owners know and love our Yoga Mat Cleaner for its ability to freshen up yoga mats. Pilates instructors discovered it was also fantastic on apparatus and equipment like the Reformer and the Wunda Chair. Gyms and Fitness Centers also found that the Lavender-Eucalyptus combo is a powerful antidote to stinky, sweat-covered machines and balance balls. Our Yoga Mat Cleaner can be used anywhere in a fitness facility to get a good anti-microbial, anti-bacterial clean at a very economical and competitive cost.
3) Diffuse in your retail areas to create a better atmosphere that’s conducive to lingering, shopping and pure enjoyment.
While you can use any essential oils to diffuse in a retail space, the aromatherapeutic benefits and effects should be carefully considered before you start pumping out scents. After all, you don’t want to turn people off with scents that aren’t generally appealing or too overpowering.
Our ShowerMists can be added to any water diffusers for a steady stream of eucalyptus-based goodness. You can also melt Menthol Crystals ($13.50 retail for 2oz) in a wax/crystal warmer ($20) for a constant cool, refreshing, minty aroma. But be warned — our Menthol Crystals are pretty potent and the vapors can get strong after a while. So if you use them in a retail space, it’s best to experiment with the amount of time you diffuse to keep things pleasant.
If you want a scent that expresses the personality of your brand, consider creating a eucalyptus-based signature scent with us! Whether herbaceous, floral, woodsy or earthy, there’s an essential oil in each group that combines well with eucalyptus. Some trending combinations we’re seeing these days are:
- Eucalyptus + Lemon: bright and invigorating
- Eucalyptus + Lemon, Peppermint, Rosemary: revitalizing and calming
- Eucalyptus + Laurel Leaf, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Lemon, Ravensara, Cardamom: minty and refreshing
- Eucalyptus + Sweet Orange, Cinnamon Bark, Cinnamon Leaf, Gurjun Balsam, Camphor: calming and blissful
- Eucalyptus + Peppermint, Lavender, Pine: increases energy, positivity and mental clarity
Think about how you’d like your customers to feel about your brand and being in your space, then choose an essential oil or oil blend to help achieve that: would you like them to feel relaxed in your space? Then lavender, chamomile, bergamot, peppermint, and of course eucalyptus would be good oils to start with. Do your customers seem to always come in wound up, stressed out and irritable? Then try blends with Clary Sage, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang and Citrus to help uplift, ground and soothe. Would you like to promote a little bliss and positivity in your customers? In addition to a chill and happy music playlist, you could try putting vanilla, a citrus blend and mint into your diffuser to promote positive energy in your space.
Have you tried scent marketing in your facilities? We’d love to hear about it! Comment below or connect with us on Facebook or Instagram. If you’d like to work with us on private label, custom signature scents or scent marketing using the finest eucalyptus oil on the market, then please get in touch with us to get started!
