22 Feb Soothe, our Newest Essential Blend

Since our beginnings nearly 30 years ago, Absolute Aromas has been renowned for creating unique blends of pure Essential Oils, each with their own characteristic and use.  Our newest blend Soothe was designed with relaxation and versatility in mind when it comes to its uses as it is equally suitable in massage as it is in home fragrance because of its combination of gentle ingredients.  Containing a delicate synergy of Petigrain, Tangerine and Neroli Essential Oils, Soothe is also suitable for use during pregnancy after four months and can be used diluted in massage and diffusion to support women during this period.

The Ingredients

Or Petitgrain Essential Oil Is sustainably sourced from Paraguay and is steam distilled from the leaves and green twigs from the Bitter Orange tree. Petitgrain has a complex green aroma with slight woody under-notes and has been used for years in the manufacture of Cologne; it therefore automatically smells quite traditional and grounding without being at all overpowering.  Petitgrain also boasts notes of fresh citrus and citrus blossom leading it to combine beautifully with our Neroli and Tangerine Essential Oils also used in this blend.

The Tangerine Essential Oil in our Soothe blend is sourced from farms in America and it can take around 100 of the fruit to make a 10ml bottle of the deliciously scented oil.  Don’t ever be tempted to eat this amazing oil- many citrus essential oils smell good enough to eat, but they are very concentrated and should always be used diluted and externally only.  Tangerine Oil can have antibacterial properties and is said to be uplifting and boosts optimism.

Neroli is also fresh and uplifting and is a scent that you won’t tire of due to its understated, calming nature. It’s therefore a great oil to help balance and calm the mind and is commonly used to soothe during times heightened stress – it is also very popular for use in skincare thanks to its natural nourishing and rejuvenating properties.  Neroli Essential Oil is steam distilled from the beautiful white flowers of the Bitter Orange tree and Neroli’s name came from an Italian princess who used it as her favourite perfume.  We source the Essential Oil from Tunisia where the Bitter Orange flowers are steam distilled to produce the oil. We often talk about distillation when we discuss the origins of our oils, but what exactly is that process?

Essential Oil Extraction Processes

Steam distillation is a process to extract the Essential Oil from the plant matter where in most cases the plant, leaf, bark or flower is boiled or heated with steam to break down the plant and separate the oil from other parts. As you can imagine, oil production requires a huge quantity of plants to produce any Essential Oil – it takes nearly 1000kg of flowers to produce one kg of Essential Oil in the case of Neroli, which is why it can be extremely expensive and for this reason is sometimes diluted in a carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil. This carrier oil is colourless and odourless so is a great carrier for Neroli without tarnishing its gentle, floral scent. We offer both a pure Neroli and a 5% Dilution version.

Many citrus oils from Bergamot, Sweet Orange and Tangerine are extracted by physically pressing the peel of the fruit at low temperatures to squeeze those precious oils out and this is known as cold pressing.

Did you know…?

Our Soothe blend was originally designed to be a combination of oils that could support women during pregnancy (after four months and with guidance from your midwife), but it became so popular that it was released in its own right as the name suggests, a calming, supportive oil.

Uses, tips and ideas!

Soothe is an incredibly versatile blend and is a great scent to comfortably diffuse around the house without out fear of it becoming overpowering, as it remains gently refreshing and soothing. As the name also suggests, you may like to use it in massage and the combination of uplifting Tangerine and fresh, calming Neroli is incredibly restorative. Mixed with some Jojoba as a carrier oil, this massage oil will also be super beneficial to your skin too as Petitgrain is wonderful at maintaining moisture and oil balance in the skin. Petitgrain is also rich in linalyl acetate, which has similar calming effects to lavender when gently inhaled as part of an aromatherapy massage.

Many of our Essential Blends are superb when added to the bath with a dispersant, but none more so in our option than Soothe. The Neroli in its blend is known to ease tension and promote relaxation so can be an amazing addition to your bath. We have also tried adding the Soothe blend to a balm recipe which we love, as it creates a little pot of ‘rescue’ balm which you can rub into try skin or add to pulse points when you need a moment of calm. Here’s a simple balm recipe you can try at home that we love.

Soothe Essential Blend

30g Shea butter

15g Jojoba oil

Soothe essential blend a few drops

15g Candelilla wax

30g Coconut oil (solid)

Small lidded jars

Melt all your ingredients except the Soothe Essential blend in a double boiler (a glass bowl over boiling water) or in a microwave on a medium power in 30 second bursts. Stir the ingredients with a spatula or spoon until they combine and do not let them overheat or come to a boil as this will damage their structure. Once all ingredients are combined in a bowl, remove from the heat and leave to cool for a minutes – be careful as the bowl and mixture will be very hot. Well before the mixture starts to solidify, but when it has cooled to warm, add around 10 drops of your Soothe. You can add a few more drops if you would like a stronger scent, but too much oil will reduce the setting capabilities of the balm. When the Essential blend is well mixed into the rest of the butters and oils, pour the liquid into your little jars (this can be the trickiest part, you may need a funnel or large pipette). Place your jars in the fridge to set quickly and evenly without their lids, then add the lids when they have been removed from cooling and returned to room temperature. The texture and hardness of the balms will differ depending on the ratios of wax and butter you use – more Candelilla wax will set the balms harder.  We love our Goodnight and Relaxation Essential Oil blends in a balm too – they can be really comforting and a great aid to relaxation, not to mention soft skin!  These balms make gorgeous gifts and a Soothe balm could be especially lovely for Mothers-to-be because of its pregnancy friendly ingredients…

We hope you love Soothe as much as we do and enjoy getting creative with its uses- don’t forget to tag us on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok with all of your favourite Absolute Aromas products and how you like to use them best!