Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy that uses essential oils and lotions that provide several health benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety and improving sleep quality.
While aromatherapy is often diffused into the air or with scented oils and candles, an aromatherapy lotion offers a soothing effect on your skin, with a calming sensation during a bath or massage.
The Benefits of Lotions With Essential Oils
Essential oils are extracts from trees, herbs, flowers, seeds, roots, and peels to create a fragrance with beneficial properties for health benefits. A body lotion, body cream, or ointment is one of the most popular ways to apply essential oils to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy.
There are specific fragrances and essential oil blends that are calming for people who experience difficulty sleeping through the night.
While diffusers and sprays are beneficial for improving your home’s environment, aromatherapy lotion offers a soothing sensation for your skin, with the additional advantage of helping you enjoy a good night’s rest.
There are significant benefits to using lotions and oils for aromatherapy, including the following:
- Stress relief, relaxation, and reducing anxiety
- Improving sleep quality
- Promoting a balanced mood
- Increasing the quality of life for individuals who suffer from chronic pain, nausea, and depression
- Relief from dry skin and skin irritation
Many natural ingredients in aromatherapy lotions include coconut oil, vitamin A, olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, and other natural oils that support healthy skin care routines.
There are various types of creams and ointments, including aromatherapy hand lotion, body cream, and aromatherapy massage lotions, that provide body care and complementary therapy.
How to Select a Quality Aromatherapy Lotion
When you shop for a quality body wash or lotion for your skin, it’s crucial to review the ingredients to ensure the product contains pure essential oils.
Ideally, these lotions should not be blended with parabens or other chemicals or additives that can adversely affect your skin or health.
- Choose a body lotion that includes an essential oil beneficial for sleep and relaxation, such as lavender, chamomile, cedarwood, rose, lemon, and bergamot.
- Ensure the body treatment cream or massage oil includes only natural ingredients
- Inquire with one of your local spa’s professional massage associates during your next visit to find out which products are recommended for your skin type and aromatherapy benefits.
The Effects of Aromatherapy Lotions and Creams
Whether you add a few drops of jojoba oil into your bath, along with Epsom bath salts, or apply a lotion before bed, there are noticeable benefits to using aromatic creams and body treatments:
- The effects of each aromatherapy fragrance or essential oil blend activate smell receptors in your nose, which has a soothing effect on your nervous system.
- Essential oils in these lotions and creams can activate sensors in the brain that have a positive impact on your emotions. This benefit may include increasing the production of serotonin, which can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Applying essential oils to your skin, as a topical cream, can help your skin respond positively, which can soothe joints, muscles, and other parts of your body.
The Best Aromatherapy Lotions for Quality Sleep
Aromatherapy lotions and ointments offer great benefits besides improving sleep, including treating dry skin, rashes, joint and muscle pain, and other conditions.
These lotions and creams are often long-lasting, as they absorb through your skin, providing several properties that include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, improved skin health, and pain relief, which also aid in easing you into a sound sleep.
Which aromatherapy lotions are the best for soothing your body and mind before sleep? The following products are ideal to use after a bath or meditation and while you enjoy the relaxing sounds of birds or background music that sets a calming atmosphere and sense of peace before bed.
The Best Aromatherapy Lotion for Dry Skin
Bath & Body Works offers a gentle but effective moisturizing body lotion that provides stress relief while lifting your mood with the robust scents of spearmint and eucalyptus essential oils.
This formula is blended with vitamin E, shea butter, and other natural ingredients that moisturize your skin while providing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
It’s a nutrient-rich skin cream that absorbs quickly and works well as a massage lotion. There are several great benefits to using the Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy stress relief cream:
- It’s cruelty-free and does not include any artificial dyes or chemicals
- It’s non-greasy and absorbs fast into the skin
- The lotion lasts long, so you can apply it after a bath or before bed for the best results
If you have sensitive skin or find the scent of spearmint or eucalyptus strong, this may not be the best option for individuals new to using aromatherapy oils and creams.
The Best Durable Aromatherapy Body Lotion
Aveda’s Stress-Fix body lotion offers a wonderful blend of lavender and clary sage essential oils, which reduces stress while hydrating your skin with natural ingredients, including shea butter and sunflower seed oil. It’s a relaxing massage lotion that gives your skin a silky sensation with the following benefits:
- It’s vegan and cruelty-free
- The cream is not greasy or oily and absorbs well into the skin without any residue
- The aroma is pleasant and not too strong, which is ideal for first-time use or individuals with sensitive skin
Aveda offers excellent body lotions and creams, though the products tend to be more expensive than other brands.
The Best All-Natural, Chemical-Free Aromatherapy Lotion
Nfuse Magnesium body lotion offers the best natural medicinal properties and aromatherapy as a skin treatment. This lotion includes lavender essential oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, and magnesium chloride, which offers a deep moisturizing effect and relaxation, which is ideal for application before sleep.
- This lotion has a gel-like consistency that’s easy to apply to the skin and absorbs quickly
- It leaves your skin soft, moisturized, comforting, and pleasantly scented, with lavender as the essential oil ingredient, which helps relieve stress
- The formula is free of mineral oils, parabens, petrolatum, sulfates, silicone, phthalate, and other chemicals
- The only fragrance is natural, as there are no artificial scents added
- It’s vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty-free
- The lotion is lightweight and doesn’t feel thick or heavy when applied
The Best Stress-Relief Aromatherapy Lotion
Thymes Eucalyptus body lotion provides stress relief while hydrating dry skin with shea butter and aloe vera. Thymes offers a great selection of body lotions and hand creams, which offer a variety of soothing essential oils and aromas, including jojoba oil, rose, eucalyptus oil, and lavender.
- This lotion offers excellent moisturizing results
- Offers a variety of fragrances and blends that are gentle but effective as aromatherapy
- Cruelty-free, and without petrolatum or parabens
The Best Aromatherapy Lotion for Deep Sleep
Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep body lotion offers a great blend of vanilla and lavender essential oils that work well together to reduce stress and as an effective sleep aid.
It’s a calming lotion that’s ideal to use just before bed, which can help you ease into a deeper sleep or reduce the likelihood of interruptions during the night.
- This lotion is easy to apply, with a creamy texture, for excellent hydration
- Moisturizing ingredients include glycerin and soybean oil
- Vanilla is a great scent that blends well with lavender and other essential oils for an enjoyable, relaxing fragrance
What Are the Best Essential Oils for Therapeutic Aromatherapy Oils and Lotions?
The most common and effective essential oils for aromatherapy lotions that promote quality sleep are lavender, bergamot, clary sage, chamomile, sweet almond oil, eucalyptus, ylang-ylang, and spearmint.
Lavender is one of the most popular scents, and it’s often added to bubble baths, body wash, and skin care products. Lavender, chamomile, and rose are mild and easy to apply on your skin, with a gentle scent that’s pleasant and long-lasting.
Chamomile is an effective treatment for insomnia and can be used as dried flowers in tea or as a potent extract in an essential oil ointment or lotion. Bergamot is a potent scent available as a juice or essential oil that can be inhaled with a diffuser or added to a lotion.
Bergamot is often blended with chamomile, lavender, and ylang-ylang for soothing results. Eucalyptus and spearmint are excellent essential oils that improve sleep and relieve congestion and sinus issues.
Final Thoughts
Aromatherapy oils and lotions offer an effective way to enhance relaxation while improving your ability to sleep well and throughout the night.
There are many types of aromatherapy lotions, including all-natural products that are ideal for every skin type and overall skin and body care.
When you choose a quality skin lotion with aromatherapy features, it’s a great alternative to using diffusers, sprays, candles, and incense while giving your skin the benefit of natural, medicinal ingredients and essential hydration.
Aromatherapy oils and lotions are ideal for use at any time of the day to reduce stress and anxiety while providing positive effects for your mind and body before you fall asleep.
