by Sharon Falsetto

Created on: July 24, 2008   Last Updated: January 06, 2009

All natural baby skin care: aromatherapy

Using aromatherapy as a form of natural skin care for babies is a popular and growing trend. Used safely and correctly, aromatherapy can be beneficial for baby's skin. A lot more parents are now turning to more natural solutions for their children's health concerns than ever before.

An aromatic history

Throughout history, childhood ailments were often treated with plant medicine.

American Indians used a wide variety of plant medicine to heal both themselves and their young ones. Natural therapies were used for heat and diaper rashes. They used a cleansing wash for baby of strawberry and raspberry leaves. Other herbs and plants used included sweet grass, sage and honey made from wild bees. A lot of these remedies are still used today.

So it is only natural that aromatherapy be considered by today's parents in treating their own children. Aromatherapy is both an art and a science, seeking to achieve balance and harmony of the mind, body and spirit, by the controlled use of natural essential oils. Essential oils are extracted from various parts of a plant, tree or flower and aromatherapy uses these aromas of the plants and not the plants themselves (unlike herbal and plant medicine). Essential oils are considered to be the life force of a plant. There is a wide spectrum of essential oils (they number hundreds) to choose from.

Research studies

Recent research on a number of well known brands of skincare products has highlighted the sometimes potentially dangerous chemicals contained within them. In the extreme, some ingredients are linked to cancer and allergies, amongst other things; this is the case for some well known, and trusted, baby brands too.

Aromatherapy, along with other complementary therapies, is becoming more popular for those with chronic skin conditions.

An aromatherapist is not a qualified medical practitioner and can not claim to cure. However, aromatherapists' own case studies have shown that aromatherapy may help with some conditions in some babies and children.

In the UK, aromatherapy is now used by a number of open minded health practitioners, alongside conventional medicine. It is said that almost 40% of general practitioner partnerships will refer their National Health Service patients to a complementary therapist where appropriate. In the USA, healthcare practitioners have yet to catch up to the beliefs shared by their UK counterparts but as there is no National Healthcare Service in the USA, there is difficulty

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