On Aromatherapy: Why the Blends in My Practice Are Never Off the Shelf
- Juliana Rego
- Nov 24, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 8
It’s Not Just a Scented Massage
Aromatherapy massage has a reputation problem. For a lot of people, it conjures images of dim lighting, generic lavender oil, and a vaguely pleasant hour that’s quickly forgotten. That’s not what I do, and it’s not what aromatherapy actually is.
This post isn’t a treatment explainer. It’s an attempt to describe how I actually use aromatherapy in my practice, why I made the choices I did about how to offer it, and what that means for the clients I work with.
How Aromatherapy Works
Essential oils work through two routes simultaneously: absorption through the skin during massage, and inhalation through the olfactory system. Both pathways are direct and fast-acting.
Through the skin, the lipophilic compounds in essential oils penetrate the dermal layers and enter the bloodstream, where they can exert localised and systemic effects depending on the oils used. Through inhalation, aromatic molecules reach the limbic system, the part of the brain most closely associated with emotion, memory, and nervous system regulation, almost immediately.
This is why aromatherapy can shift your state so quickly. It’s not a placebo. It’s physiology.
Why Aromatherapy Is Part of Every Treatment I Offer
When I looked honestly at how I was working, I realised that separating aromatherapy out as a standalone ‘add-on’ option didn’t reflect what I actually believe about it. If I think it’s therapeutically valuable, and I do, then it should be present in every session, not reserved for clients who happen to select it from a menu.
So I changed how I offer it. Every treatment I deliver now includes aromatherapy as a matter of course. The blends I use are ones I’ve created myself, not purchased pre-made, not off the shelf. They’re formulated with specific therapeutic intentions and chosen to complement the kind of work each session calls for.
This means that even in a clinical session focused on back pain or jaw tension, the oils in the room are considered and purposeful. I’m not reaching for the nearest bottle. I’m making a choice.
The Bespoke Option
For clients who want to go further, I also offer a dedicated Bespoke Aromatherapy Massage. This is where the blend becomes the centrepiece of the treatment rather than an integrated element within it.
Before the session, I take a full consultation, physical presentation, emotional state, what you need from the treatment that day, and create a blend specifically for you, for that appointment. The massage is then built around it.
The difference between this and a standard session isn’t that one ‘has’ aromatherapy and the other doesn’t. It’s that in the Bespoke Aromatherapy Massage, the aromatherapy is the primary therapeutic focus. Everything else follows from it.
What Aromatherapy Is Particularly Good For
In my experience, aromatherapy tends to be most effective for presentations where the physical and the nervous system are closely intertwined which, honestly, is most of them.
It’s particularly well-suited for:
Stress held in the body, muscular tension, shallow breathing, the feeling of being permanently ‘on’
Fatigue and nervous system dysregulation, supporting the shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic
Headaches and jaw tension with an anxiety or stress component
Hormonal fluctuations: oils can be selected to support different phases of the cycle
Sleep difficulties rooted in an overactive nervous system
Maintenance and ongoing support between more targeted clinical sessions
It’s also worth saying plainly: aromatherapy massage is a therapeutic treatment, not a luxury. Some of the most significant shifts I see in clients, in how they feel in their bodies and how they function in the days that follow, happen in these sessions.
"Aromatherapy is a caring, hands-on therapy, which seeks to induce relaxation, to increase energy, to reduce the effects of stress and to restore lost balance to body, mind and soul." — Robert Tisserand
A Note on Safety
Essential oils are potent. Used without training or at incorrect dilutions, they can irritate the skin, trigger sensitivities, or interact with certain medications and health conditions. Every oil I use is sourced for therapeutic quality, diluted correctly for massage application, and assessed against your health history before use.
If you have known sensitivities, allergies, or are pregnant, please mention this when you book, I’ll adapt accordingly.
How to Book
Aromatherapy is already part of every treatment I offer, so if you’ve been to see me before, you’ve already experienced it in some form.
If you’d like a session where bespoke blending and the therapeutic properties of essential oils are the primary focus, the Bespoke Aromatherapy Massage is the right choice. It runs for 90 minutes at £115 and includes a full pre-treatment consultation, a blend created specifically for you, and a massage built entirely around it.
If you’re new to the practice, your initial assessment is always the best starting point, it gives us the space to understand what your body needs and which direction makes the most sense from there.
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