Aromatic Scholars

Baths have been employed for their health benefits since ancient times. The earliest writings regarding the therapeutic benefits of bathing are attributed to the Indian Vedas, which date from approximately 1500 BC. The Romans are best known for utilizing baths extensively for their health benefits, creating elaborate bathhouses for people to visit. Hippocrates, the famed Greek physician, employed ‘hydrotherapy’ with aromatic oils and deemed baths essential to good health. The history of medicinal baths is extensive, and it would appear that they are experiencing a renaissance in the modern world due to their benefits in relieving stress and supporting emotional and physical well-being.

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Watch About Baths with Jade

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Full-Body Baths

A full-body bath is the complete immersion of the body in a fluid or in a vaporous medium such as steam. The effects of a full-body bath will vary according to the temperature of the water and the duration of time the individual will be immersed. The average time for a full-body hot bath (90°-105° F / 32° C – 40° C) is twenty minutes or less.

In general, aromatherapy full-body baths are useful to:

• Reduce stress/anxiety
• Alleviate muscular aches, pains, and tension
• Soothe mental or physical fatigue
• Stimulate circulation
• Enhance lymph circulation
• Reduce pain and stiffness
• Improve tone and health of skin
• Aid detoxification
• PLUS the benefits of the essential oils, hydrosols, or salts used

Essential Oils in the Bath
Therapeutic dilution recommendation

The number of drops of essential oil to place into a bath will depend upon the essential oil(s) being utilized. On average, use 5 to 10 drops of essential oil in a full-body bath. However, there are some oils, such as jasmine, when 1 to 2 drops would be sufficient, and other oils, like lavender, when 10 to 15 drops would be fine. Avoid essential oils that are dermal irritants, dermal sensitizers, and mucus membrane irritants in baths. Examples of essential oils to AVOID in the bath include: cinnamon bark, citronella, lemongrass, thyme ct. thymol, oregano, and winter savory.

How to add essential oils into bath water

To avoid potential skin irritation, it is useful to combine essential oils with a dispersant prior to adding them to the bathwater.
Dispersants include:

1. A small amount of liquid castile soap: combine essential oils with 1 Tablespoon of liquid soap in a small bowl, gently stir together, then add to bath water.
2. A small amount of carrier oil with or without salt (caution: use of carrier oil can make the tub slippery!): combine essential oils with 1 Tablespoon of carrier oil in a small bowl, gently stir together, then add to bath water.
3. Solubilizer: combine essential oils with a solubilizer, then add to bath

Hydrosols in the Bath

Another great way to enjoy an aromatic bath is to use hydrosols. You can either use just hydrosols or add hydrosols + essential oils. For babies and young children, the use of hydrosols without essential oils is much preferred.

• For babies up to six months add 1 teaspoon of chosen hydrosol to an infant bathtub or 2 teaspoons for an adult tub filled to baby depth.
• For children up to twelve years of age, add 1 teaspoon of hydrosol per year of age, up to a maximum of 8 teaspoons.
• Adults can use from 30 to 250 milliliters (approximately 1 to 8 ounces per tub).

How to prepare a bath:

The water should be at the desired temperature, and the essential oils or hydrosols should be added to the bath once the individual is in the bath. Placing essential oils in the bath prior to immersion can lose some of the desired effects, as well as increase the chance of irritation to the mucus membranes of the vaginal/rectal area. Once in the bath, add the appropriate essential oil/synergy drops (that have been combined with a dispersant) and agitate the water to disperse the concentration throughout the bathwater. Essential oils are lipophilic and hydrophobic, so most often, the essential oils will quickly seek to be absorbed by the skin.

Safety Note: If an individual gets red blotches or irritation on the skin while bathing, this means that too much essential oil was added to the bath, a dispersant should have been used, or the client has experienced an idiosyncratic or allergic reaction. Should irritation occur, recommend a light cream or aloe vera gel without essential oils; the irritation should dissipate within an hour.

Simple Aromatic Bath Recipe: To support a good night’s sleep

• 5 drops Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
• 3 drops Frankincense (Boswellia sp.)
• 2 drops Tangerine/Mandarin (Citrus reticulata)
• 1 spoonful (Tbsp.) Sweet almond oil or other carrier oil

To make: Combine essential oils and carrier oil in a small glass beaker or bowl. Gently stir together with a glass or metal stirring rod. Add to bath water once you are in the bath. Take a few deep breaths to enjoy the initial aroma, relax and enjoy the bath. Safety note: the use of a carrier oil can make the bathtub a bit slippery; use caution getting out of the tub.

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Aromatic baths with Epsom salts or sea salts

Epsom and sea salt baths are highly effective in aiding and supporting the body in detoxing, physically and emotionally. Bathing salts with essential oils can also relieve anxiety, reduce the impact of stress on the body and mind, support a healthy night’s sleep, and uplift the spirits.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) aid the elimination of waste material from the skin and reduce muscular aches and pains by aiding the elimination of uric acid build-up. Magnesium is also absorbed by the skin, further reducing tension and inflammation in the body. Magnesium salt baths can relieve muscle cramps, relieve stiffness in joints, relieve or reduce back pain, and soothe achy, overworked legs and feet.

The use of salts in a bath can support and enhance the body’s immune response by stimulating lymph and blood circulation. Sea salt or Epsom salt baths can also be incredibly useful for energetic/emotional cleansing.

Essential Oil Dilution Rate for Aromatic Bathing Salts
When it comes to making bathing salts, I tend to recommend 5-15 drops of essential oils per cup of salt rather than thinking in terms of dilution rate. Total number of drops can vary depending on the essential oil or essential oils selected.

How to formulate bathing salts

This is for a 16oz jar of bathing salts.

My intention/goal: To create a relaxing, anxiety-reducing bathing salt
My focus: Emotions/Psyche
My approach: Aromatic palette (floral, spice, herbaceous, citrus)

1. Measure (and weigh, if desired) salt in 16oz jar  /  Sea salt: 1 ½ cups / 415g

2. Select 3-5 essential oils to work with based upon client consultation and goals of treatment or product. Core/Enhance/Harmonize

3. Using a small (10ml) glass beaker or bowl, place drops of each essential oil into beaker or bowl.
4. Measure (and weigh, if desired) 1 Tablespoon of Jojoba (approx. 12g) or other carrier oil.
5. Combine carrier oil into glass beaker/bowl with essential oils. Stir with metal or glass stirring rod until well combined.
6. Pour carrier oil + essential oil mix into salts. Stir ingredients until well combined.
7. Once combined, scoop the salts into a clean glass or PET plastic jar.
8. Label the jar with a name and list all ingredients.
9. The bathing salts are now ready for use.

How to use: Add ½ cup into the bath either just before getting into it or once in the bath.

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Foot and Hand Baths

A hand or foot bath means the complete or partial immersion of only the hands or feet in the water. Green comments that “the sole of the foot is one of the most important areas in the body, having direct connection with the nerve centers that control the circulation of the pelvic and abdominal viscera.” Foot and hand baths can be used as an aspect of reflexology or bodywork treatment or simply for self-care.

In general, aromatherapy foot and hand baths are useful for:

• Stress/Anxiety
• Poor circulation
• Low energy
• Foot or hand aches and pains
• Arthritis and rheumatism (subacute phase)
• Nail and toe fungal infections
• Comfort therapy

How to make a Foot/Hand Bath:

Fill basin with water at the desired temperature and add in chosen essential oils and/or hydrosols. A dispersant such as carrier oil or liquid castile soap may be used but is not necessary in a hand or foot bath. Place feet or hands in the basin. Let feet or hands soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of Epsom or sea salts for enhanced benefits.

Therapeutic dilution recommendation:

• 5 to 10 drops of essential oil in a basin of warm/hot water
• 1 to 3 tablespoons of chosen hydrosol
• Can use 1 Tbsp. carrier oil or unscented liquid soap

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Worksheets

Salve Formulation Worksheet – US Letter

Salve Formulation Worksheet – A4 paper

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SALVES

In general, aromatherapy salves are useful for:

• Dermal inflammation
• Bug bites
• Scar therapy: reduces inflammation and improves scar appearance
• Musculoskeletal aches and pains
• Skin issues: particularly dry, cracked skin conditions
• Wound healing (after initial tissue healing has occurred)
• Stress/Anxiety/Emotional conditions
• Dry, itchy skin conditions

Contraindications for Salves: Avoid the use of oils and salves on poison ivy rashes, weepy eczema, pimples, boils, fresh sunburn, and fungal and bacterial skin infections. Instead, use herbal compresses, soaks, baths or poultices, which are examples of water-based applications. Also note that if oils or salves are used as a sexual lubricant they can degrade and break most condoms. (Juliet Blankespoor)

Essential Oil Dilution Rate for Salves

For salve formulations, I recommend a 2.5-5% dilution. If working with children between 2-5 years of age, dilution could be 1-2%.

Shelf life:

A salve will be good for approximately 12 months or more. I recommend trying to use it within 6 months to receive its vitality.

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How to formulate a salve

This is for approximately 52-59 grams of salve (inclusive of essential oils).
Approximately: 3% EO, 85% carrier oils, and just under 12% beeswax

This formulation makes: 2 – ½ glass jars + 1 – ½ ounce tin OR 4 – ½ ounce tins + 1 – ¼ ounce tin

My intention/goal: To create a bug bite salve
My focus: Physical
My approach: System affinities/Therapeutic actions

1. Select 3-5 essential oils to work with based upon client consultation and goals of treatment or product. Core/Enhance/Harmonize

2. Select carrier oil or oils (includes herbal oils)

3. Beeswax measurement: ¼ ounce (7.09gm)

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Steps to make salve:

1. Measure and weigh carrier oils in a glass beaker.
2. Weigh essential oils together in a small glass beaker (5ml). Be sure to TARE between each essential oil.
3. Weigh beeswax using small bowl.
4. Fill bottom pot of double boiler with 1/4 of water. Place top pan on. Place double boiler onto medium heat and heat water to just below boiling.
5. Add in wax and let slightly melt before adding in carrier oils.
6. Add in carrier oils and stir ingredients together until well combined.
7. Once the wax and carrier oils are melted, remove from heat. This would be the time to add in heat-sensitive carrier oils (e.g. Rosehip seed oil, and other polyunsaturated carrier oils).
8. Add in essential oils. Using a metal or glass stirring rod, stir essential oils quickly into salve mixture.
9. Pour salve into jars or tins.
   *If, while pouring, the salve begins to harden, again, simply place the pot back onto the hot pot (can turn heat back on if needed).
10. Place cap on jars or tins.
11. Allow to salve to harden.
12. Check salves to make sure you like the texture and that the aroma is of desired strength based upon the goals of the salve.
13. Create labels for your salves and be sure to include the full list of ingredients. If using tins, you can put ingredients on the bottom and the name of the product on the top.
14. Once salves are labeled, they are ready to use!

 

NOTE: Test the consistency of a salve, before blending in the essential oils, by placing a spoonful of the salve in the refrigerator. Allow the salve to harden. If the salve comes out to hard or thick, you can melt the mixture down again and add more oil. If the salve is too fluid or thin, you can melt it down and mix in some more beeswax. Experiment with different herbal oils or infusions and notice how and when the consistency differs. By working with herbal oils, you are able to increase the potential therapeutic benefits of the salve.

 

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Sample Recipes

All Heal Salve Recipe

3% dilution of essential oils

• ½ ounce (7.08gm) beeswax (shaved or cut into small pieces)
• 1 Tbsp. Plantain herbal oil
• 1 Tbsp. Chickweed herbal oil
• 1 Tbsp. Comfrey leaf or root herbal oil
• 1 Tbsp. Calendula herbal oil
• 12 drops Helichrysum essential oil or Cape chamomile essential oil
• 15 drops Frankincense or Roman chamomile essential oil
• 30 drops Lavender essential oil

Botanical Perfume Salve Recipe

3% dilution of essential oils

• ½ ounce weight (7.08gm) beeswax (shaved or cut into small pieces)
• 4 Tbsp. jojoba or argan carrier oil
• 15 drops Ylang ylang essential oil
• 27 drops Mandarin essential oil
• 15 drops Patchouli essential oil

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Watch: How to make a salve with Jade Shutes

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Watch Introduction to Creams and Lotions with Jade Shutes

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Face Creams (and lotions!)

Working with a client suffering from dry skin? Are you experiencing dry skin? Dry skin is actually quite common. Skin can become drier during the autumn and winter months due to a reduction in humidity as well as in windy cold climates. Skin also becomes drier as we age due to changes in the skin and hormones. Other contributing factors to dry skin include lack of water and healthy fats in the diet. Make sure to cultivate a healthy diet that includes healthy fats and ensure you have a good water intake throughout the day.

When it comes to the benefits of aromatherapy for dry skin, creams and lotions are the best methods of application. Creams and lotions offer both oil and water, in an emulsion, to soften and soothe skin while supporting its ability to retain moisture.

What’s the difference between a cream and a lotion?

Creams tend to be thicker than lotions and are commonly used on the face or on localized dry spots on the body, such as the feet, knees, or elbows. Lotions, on the other hand, tend to be thinner in texture and can be applied to the whole body, although they are rarely used for the facial skin.

The easiest way to incorporate essential oils into creams and lotions is to start with a cream or lotion on the market that you like and that works for your skin.

The choice between a facial oil or cream would depend on the condition of the client’s skin and the goals of the treatment. If a client had dry (lacking oil) and dehydrated (lacking water) skin, then a cream would be appropriate. If, on the other hand, a client had dry skin (lacking oil) but was well hydrated, then a facial oil would be appropriate, if desired. The facial skin tends to be more sensitive than the rest of the body, so essential oils may need more consideration and observation regarding client sensitivities.

In general, aromatherapy creams have the following benefits:

• Enhance wound healing
• Influence and slow aging of skin
• Scar reduction and improve appearance
• Support and enhance immune cells of the skin
• Balance sebum production
• Increase local circulation
• Improve tone of skin
• Encourage hydration of the skin, when used in conjunction with hydrosol/water or cream.
• Soften and soothe the skin
• Address emotional issues

Use a premade unscented face cream or lotion base
First, you will want to find an unscented face cream or body lotion, depending on what you are making. Many aromatherapy and herbal companies are now offering unscented bases for aromatherapists. Or use your favorite unscented cream or lotion from a local health food store or coop.

Facial cream/lotion dilution rates:

For teenagers & adults:

• Sensitive skin: 0.5 to 1 percent dilution
• Normal, healthy skin: 1 to 2 percent dilution

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Supplies to make cream or lotion

• Unscented cream or lotion
• For creams: 1 or 2-ounce glass or PET plastic jar
• For lotions: 4 or 8-ounce glass or PET plastic bottle with lotion pump or flip top.
• Essential oil(s)
• Glass Bowl
• Stainless steel spoon
• Silicone spatula

NOTE: Some creams available on the market will allow you to add hydrosols and herbal oils. Be sure to check with the company as to how much of an extra ingredient you can add to keep the preservative system intact.

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How to formulate your cream or lotion:

1. Select 3–5 essential oils
2. Measure (and weigh, if desired) cream or lotion.
3. Measure drops and weigh each essential oil using a small beaker
4. Stir the essential oil(s) into the cream or lotion using a stainless-steel spoon. Stir until well combined.
5. Scoop the cream or lotion into a clean container.
6. Name the product, create a label, and place a label on the jar. Be sure to list all the ingredients.

 

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Nourishing facial cream

This is for a 2 oz. jar of cream. 1% dilution of essential oils. A 2oz jar of cream holds approximately 50ml of cream. Total number of drops: 12-18 drops

My intention/goal: To formulate a facial cream to reduce inflammation, support cellular regeneration, and reduce stress
My focus: Holistic (physical, emotional)
My approach: System affinities and Therapeutic actions

1. Select 3-5 essential oils to work with based on the client consultation and goals of treatment or product. Core/Enhance/Harmonize

2. Place drops of each essential oil into a small glass beaker to combine the essential oils together.
3. Place unscented cream into a glass bowl.
4. Pour essential oil synergy into the cream. Stir until well combined.
5. Scoop cream into a glass jar.
6. You may need to clean the sides of the jar. Use a paper towel with a bit of rubbing alcohol or sanitizing alcohol.
7. Place lid on jar. Label with ingredients.

How to use the cream: After cleansing the face, spritz with a hydrosol (e.g., lavender or rose), then apply the cream over hydrosol to lock in moisture.

Shelf life: Most unscented creams and lotions commonly available in health food stores will have some type of preservative system. We recommend using cream or lotion within 6–12 months to enjoy its vitality even if it is preserved. If using an unpreserved cream or lotion, the shelf life tends to be 1–3 months, depending on how it is stored and used (no wet or dirty fingers dipping into the jar, please!).

 

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Nourishing aromatic lotion

This is for an 8 oz. PET or Glass bottle with lotion pump. 1% dilution of essential oils. An 8 oz bottle of lotion holds approximately 240ml of lotion. Total number of drops: 48-72 drops

My intention/goal: To formulate a body lotion that smells good and supports skin health
My focus: Holistic (physical, emotional)
My approach: Aromatic palette / Affinity with skin

Select 3-5 essential oils to work with based upon client consultation and goals of treatment or product. Core/Enhance/Harmonize

Steps to make:

1. Place drops of each essential oil into a small glass beaker to combine the essential oils together.
2. Place unscented lotion into a glass bowl.
3. Pour essential oil synergy into the lotion. Stir until well combined.
4. Pour lotion into bottle.
5. Place lotion pump on bottle. Label with ingredients.

How to use the lotion: After showering and while skin is still slightly damp, apply the lotion to the body.

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Make your own cream

Rosemary Gladstar’s Famous Cream Recipe

This is a great cream to begin with just to have an experience with cream making. It can be a bit temperamental depending on climate, altitude, and humidity. But overall, it tends to come out perfect every time!

Why Rosemary Gladstars recipe works:
I think it is important to recognize the elements (or should I say, element?) that make this cream recipe work so well. As you can see from the ingredients, there is no emulsifier. The only substance in the formulation that is slightly capable of emulsifying this cream is the ingredients in the actual aloe vera gel working along with the beeswax (although, remember, beeswax is not an emulsifier but a thickener). If one were to replace the gel with juice, the formulation would not come out so well. Aloe vera gel typically contains: Aloe vera juice, Carrageenan (thickening agent), Citric acid (pH stabilizer), and Potassium sorbate (mold inhibitor). I believe that the carrageenan along with the beeswax and just the spectacular balance of ingredients is what contributes to this recipe being so amazing!

Please remember though that each creme batch may come out slightly different depending on the ingredients used, the humidity level, the temperature ingredients are exposed to, etc. We have provided you with percentages to each ingredient so you won’t have to make such a large batch each time. Rosemary’s recipe makes quite a bit of cream!

Natural Cream Recipe

Oil Phase (Part I)

• 3/4 cup carrier oil (e.g., apricot kernel, sweet almond)
• 1/3 cup coconut (her recipe also says you can use cocoa butter, but for the first time, let’s use coconut)
• ½ oz beeswax

Water Phase (Part II)

• 2/3 cup distilled water and/or hydrosol/s of choice
• 1/3 cup aloe vera gel

Cool Down Phase

1% dilution essential oil/s
There is a lot of flexibility and room for creative input in this recipe. What is essential to its success is proportions and temperature.

To Make Cream:

1. Measure (and weigh) all ingredients in a separate glass measuring cups and/or beakers.
2. Place aloe vera gel and hydrosols into the container for the blender. (If using a bowl and handheld mixer, pour gel/hydrosol into the bowl you will be using.)
3. Allow the aloe vera gel and hydrosols to come to room temperature.
4. Over medium heat, place beeswax into the double boiler and allow it to almost melt.
5. Add the herbal/carrier oils and coconut oil to the beeswax. Stir with a glass stirring rod or metal spatula. Be sure to stir several times to blend the oil/coconut/beeswax evenly together.
6. Once all is melted and well combined, remove from heat. Wipe the bottom of the pan to remove all water/moisture. Place the pot on the counter and allow it to harden to room temperature.
7. When both the oil phase and the water phase are at room temperature, it is time to combine them!
8. If using a Vitamix, turn it on to low and have it at the lowest setting. Keep the lid on until you are ready to add the oil phase in. (just in case the water splashes up).
9. Remove the lid of the blender while the setting is still on low, and add in the oil phase (which should have a soft salve/balm texture). Use a spatula to remove any remaining oil phase from the pot.
10. When most of the oil mixture has been added to the water mixture, LISTEN to the blender and WATCH the cream. You may need to use the spatula (when the blender is off) to stir the cream in order to blend a bit more. When the blender coughs and chokes, and the cream looks semi-thick and white (depending on what oils you use), like buttercream frosting, turn the blender off. DO NOT OVERBEAT! You should have a beautiful rich cream. It will thicken a bit as it sets up.
11. Pour into cream or lotion jars and store in a cool place.
12. Be sure to label it!

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Watch How to Make a Cream

Part I

Part II

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Recipe in Video

Makes 12-13 2 oz. jars

Oil Phase

• A little over a ¼ cup (83.27g) Baobab carrier oil
• ¼ cup (50.13g) Hemp seed oil
• A little under ¼ cup (40.63g) Rosehip seed oil
• 1/3 cup (58.3g) Coconut oil
• 14.24g Beeswax
• ¼ tsp. Rosemary CO2 Extract (antioxidant)

Water Phase

• 1/3 cup (75.88g) Neroli hydrosol
• 1/3 cup (74.95g) Distilled water
• 1/3 cup (71.49g) Aloe vera gel

To make: Follow instructions above.

 

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Interested in making your own cream?
I am sharing one of my favorite cream recipes here. Enjoy making!

Download Frankincense Rose Cream Recipe: US Letter
Download Frankincense Rose Cream Recipe: A4 paper

Download Preservatives And Antioxidants: US Letter
Download Preservatives And Antioxidants: A4 paper

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The Aromatic Scholars program requires you to complete an 8-10 page paper on a topic of your choice. You can choose to write about anything from a single essential oil to treating a specific health condition with essential oils to the history of aromatic baths.

I recommend finding a topic you feel passionate about or one you currently know little about but would like to learn more about.

Here are a few examples of research papers:

Dropbox folder with Papers

Other papers:

OLFACTORY TRAINING USING ESSENTIAL OIL FOR SUDDEN LOSS OF SMELL

Personal Approach in Aromatherapy

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Mentorship Sessions

Our mentorship program has arrived!
We will be meeting every FIRST TUESDAY of the month for one hour. See dates and times below.

To Join Zoom Meeting, click here!

These zoom sessions will be a time for you to ask questions related to course studies and receive support for your case studies.

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2026 Dates

Time is in Eastern Time (US)

• January 6: CANCELLED
• February 3: 10am Recording Link! Passcode: 6+s^Jb1T

• March 3: 6pm  Recording Link! Passcode:0FN*y*sw

 

• April 7: 10am
• May 5: 6pm
• June No Session due to travel and 60th Birthday
• July Summer Holidays
• August Summer Holidays
• September 1: 10am
• October 6: 6pm
• November 3: 10am
• December 1: 6pm

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2025 Dates

February 4th, 10am EDT Recording
Passcode: mMcY88^4

March 4th, 6pm EST Recording
Passcode: 0YU369u*

April 8th, 10am EDT Recording
Passcode: Hv4242&E

May 6th, 6pm EDT Recording
Passcode: %9j#H8n^

June 3th No session due to Travel
July – Vacation

September 2nd, 6pm EDT Recording
Passcode: 3sq3E%hT

October 7th, CANCELLED

November 4th, 6pm EST Recording
Passcode: !atS&.0g

December 2nd, 10am EST

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2024 Dates

August 6th 10am EDT Recording
Passcode: ^jGz%V9n

September 10th 6pm EDT Recording
Passcode: 3Ct*hye=

October 8th No Recording

November 12th 6pm EDT Recording
Passcode: cN=d4%&c

December 3rd 10am EST Recording
Passcode: 4s6*Hm=K

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2024

February 6th Recording
Passcode: p39mZe+=

March 5th Recording
Passcode: $y&NN2D^

April 2nd Recording
Passcode: 9YKpZ91+

May 7th No Recording

June 4th Recording Link
Passcode: 92ZiNyw^

July 9th Recording Link
Passcode: $+dMGsF3

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2023

January 3rd Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

March 7th Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

April 4th: Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

May 2nd: Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

June 6th: Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

July 11th: Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

September 5th: Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

October 3rd: Recording
Passcode: ^Fz7ZGz&

November 7th: Recording
Passcode:  S!%VC5Gg

December 5th: Recording
Passcode:  8zbL&03Q

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2022

November 1st: Meeting Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

December 6th: Meeting Recording
Passcode: Clarysage77!

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As a part of the Aromatic Scholars program, you are given access to our signature Anatomy and Physiology course.

We recommend that you begin the Anatomy and Physiology course as soon as you are able. You will be given specific lessons to cover throughout Module Six: Healthcare and Self care.

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Textbooks

The following textbooks are available for purchase for the Aromatic Scholars course! These are full-color, soft-cover bound books. They include all the material from the online course; however, the books do not have the quizzes in them. They are not required for purchase but are lovely to have as a part of your studies for reading and reference.

NOTE: The Aromatics and Mental Health book contains information from both the Aromas and the Mind course and Aromatics and Mental Health course.

 

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Aromatics and the Skin $32.00

 

 

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Aromatics and Mental Health

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Aromatic Chemistry $39

Discount code: CHEM40

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Anatomy and Physiology with Pathophysiology $52.50

Discount code: Student30AP

 

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Cultivating our relationship with essential oils

Each essential oil monograph provides the following:

Botanical Information

The first part of the plant monograph informs us about the plant’s classification and nomenclature, including the plant’s common name or names; the currently accepted scientific name and any previous scientific names; the plant’s botanical family; and the conservation status of the plant species.

For example:

Common name: Sweet Marjoram
Scientific name: Origanum majorana L.
Botanical family: Lamiaceae
Conservation status: Not yet assessed by IUCN Red List

• Common names have been given to the plant by the local culture, community, or country and tend to have a long history of use within the culture.

The herbal, aromatic, and scientific worlds identify the plants using their scientific names, also known as binomial nomenclature. Scientific names clearly distinguish one species from another based upon unambiguous criteria.

• The scientific name is composed of the genus, e.g., Origanum, which is always capitalized and the species name, e.g., majorana. Following the complete scientific name, which is always italicized, is either a letter, such as “L. or an abbreviated name, such as “J. Presl.” These non-italicized initials stand for the botanist who first described the plant.

For example, L. refers to the botanist Carl Linnaeus (or Carolus Linnæus) (1707–1778); andJ.Presl refers to the botanist Jan Svatopluk Presl (1791–1849).

*Find names of botanists by their initials here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_botanists_by_author_abbreviation_(P)

Although we include the botanists on our monographs for accuracy, when writing articles or papers, it is unnecessary to do so.

The scientific names are more precise than common names, which can be ambiguous. The same common name can apply to different plants, and the same plant can have several common names; however, each plant has one currently accepted scientific name. As scientific names are updated from time to time, it is important to keep updated on the changes.For example, recently rosemary, previously named Rosmarinus officinalis, was recategorized as a sage and the scientific name was updated to Salvia rosmarinus. Hence, Salvia rosmarinus is the currently accepted scientific name for rosemary. To learn more above Rosemary and its new classification, go here.

To learn more about Scientific names, please download:

The Scientific Names of Plants

It is valuable to know a plant’s former scientific names, called “synonyms,” which are often listed after the current scientific name, preceded by the abbreviation “syn.” This knowledge is beneficial when researching an essential oil because information may be listed under both the former and currently accepted names. For example, the scientific name for rosemary may appear as Salvia rosmarinus syn. Rosmarinus officinalis.

• Botanical family describes a group of plant genera (plural of genus),which have more distinguishing characteristics in common.

*All scientific names on these monographs have been verified by using the Germplasm Resources Information Network (https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/search); the United States Department of Agriculture (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/), and Kew Gardens Plants of the World (http://powo.science.kew.org).

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Conservation status

The conservation status informs us to what degree a plant is likely to become extinct in the wild. The medicinal use of plants is responsible for the depletion and even extinction of wild plants. Information on conservation status is taken from the IUCN Red List, which defines extinction risk using criteria such as areas of occupancy, population numbers, reproductive rate and success, current and projected threats to the species and its habitat, and so on.

Conservation status ranges from Least Concern, which means the plant is not threatened, all the way to Extinct, meaning it has disappeared completely. In between these extremes are Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, and Extinct in the Wild. This information should guide which plants (essential oils) you use and how you source them.

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EXTRACTION INFORMATION

• Country of origin reflects the country where the essential oil is either cultivated or harvested in the wild for the express purpose of distilling and yielding an essential oil. The plant may or may not be indigenous to that country. The country of origin can considerably affect the chemical composition of the resulting essential oil.

Rosemary chemotypes from different countries
ct. a-pinene ct. 1,8 cineole ct camphor
Iran, Spain, France, Italy, and Romania Algeria, Austria, and Morocco Cuba, India

The country of origin can also affect the perceived quality of the oil produced. For instance, most aromatherapists believe Bulgarian rose (Rosa damascena) to be far superior to Turkish rose of the same species, and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) from the high altitudes of France to produce an essential oil that is superior to the Tasmanian, Croatian, or American essential oil from the same species. Although it is true, the final decision of quality is often in the nose of the one who is doing the smelling!

• Part of plant used describes the part of the plant distilled to obtain the essential oil. Note: The term “flowering tops” means that the flowers and top leaves are distilled.

• Extraction method is the most common method of extraction for that particular plant

• Essential oil yield: Oil yields are usually calculated one of two ways. The first, v/w, means the yield of essential oil in volume of essential oil (milliliters) per weight, mass (often per 100 grams), of the plant material. Thus, the yield is dependent upon the amount of plant matter processed. For instance, if the geranium yield is 0.3- to 2%,. it means geranium essential oil distillation yields approximately 0.3 to 2 ml of essential oil per 100 grams of plant material by weight.

In the second, less-common method, the yield is given in w/w terms which means the yield of essential oil in weight (grams) per 100 grams of plant material.

The essential oil yield, as well as the chemical composition of an essential oil, is influenced by environmental factors such as moisture, temperature, light intensity, soil type, salinity of soil, nutrition, damage from insects and other animals, and the amount of sunlight the plant receives. Genetics can also play a role.

• Color of oil describes the color range of the individual essential oil

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AROMATIC CHEMISTRY

Essential oils may contain over 200 unique chemical components, many of which may appear at less than 1%. Each essential oil has chemical components that some believe influence its therapeutic activity and behavior. This section lists the major components.

NOTE: The chemical composition of any individual essential oil can vary greatly depending on the country of origin, environment, harvest time, etc. As aromatherapists, we can generalize some of the therapeutic activity of an essential oil by knowing the chemical family or families of the most preponderant components present in that essential oil. We can also obtain further insight into the therapeutic activity of an essential oil due to the presence of specific components.

For instance, an essential oil rich in esters is generally calming to the nervous system, whereas an essential oil rich in phenols will be highly effective as an antimicrobial agent. We could be even more specific by stating something like: The active components of Lavandula angustifolia essential oil are linalool (a monoterpene alcohol) and linalyl acetate (an ester). These components contribute to the sedative and anti-inflammatory activity of Lavandula angustifolia essential oil.

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SAFETY INFORMATION

This section lists the current safety data for the essential oil.

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THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS

This section details the possible therapeutic activities of the essential oil. The actions listed are those that have either empirical evidence or that can be supported by structured research. Please note that some of the research references are placed in this section. This research is usually based upon in vitro or animal studies unless otherwise noted. The core actions for which the essential oil is most used and known for within aromatherapy practice are highlighted in bold text.

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SYSTEM AFFINITIES

An essential oil often displays a certain affinity for a specific body system, organ, or function, also known as a tropism. In this section, we list the core systems of the body for which the essential oil has an affinity.

 

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BLENDING INFORMATION

• Aroma description: The general description of the aroma of the individual essential oil
• Blending factor: Blending factor is a mathematical tool designed to support the formulation of balanced blends and synergies based on the intensity or potency of the essential oil’s aroma. Each essential oil receives a rating of 1-10, where 1 is the highest intensity and 10 is the lowest intensity.
• Notes: The note theory comes to us from the perfume industry. Base notes evaporate more slowly than top notes. Base notes are used as fixatives while top notes represent the first aroma smelled. Mid notes are used to balance the blend in perfumery.
• Blends well with: A range of essential oils or CO2 extracts to consider when blending with specific essential oil.
• Substitutions: Possible substitutions that provide similar therapeutic activity or similar aromas.

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CORE INDICATIONS

This section lists the most common contemporary and traditional uses of the essential oil. Like the Therapeutic actions section, these indications can be supported by either strong empirical experience or clinical practice, clinical research, or other relevant research.

The core indications are listed first for systems of the body and then for emotion/psyche applications. They are not in any particular order of importance or effectiveness.

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CODES

In the Core Indications section after each system there are one or more codes such as C+++, O++, or D+. These codes indicate administration route (e.g., C – cutaneous) and whether that method is “highly recommended,” “recommended,” or “supportive.” The chart below outlines the codes used throughout the monographs on essential oils.

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RESEARCH

The use of scientific research to support various properties of essential oils is in vogue in today’s aromatherapy community, yet the provided evidence rarely distinguishes whether the study was on humans, animals, or in vitro. The Aromatic Studies monographs clearly identify Human studies, Animal studies, and In vitro studies. When possible, the reference section will provide a hyperlink to access research available online.

Clinical research

Clinical research is medical research that involves people and which falls into one of two categories, observational or clinical trials. Observational studies observe people in their natural environment, either through direct observation or through surveys and other non-invasive means. Clinical trials, on the other hand, test the effects of a particular intervention.

Animal Studies

Animal studies test the essential oil on a non-human animal.

In Vitro Studies

In vitro, meaning “in the glass,” studies test the essential oil in some form of lab equipment, such as a petri dish or test tubes.

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Old Friends and a New Ecology: The Dermal Microbiome and its Role in Holistic Health

There’s a mighty and unseen force at work. It influences our emotions, controls our physical health, and tweaks our decision-making. It rules the well-being of our communities, the natural world, and the entire planet.

Sounds like magic. I’m talking about microbes.

Microscopic organisms are powerful and omnipresent. There’s something like one trillion species of microbe living in Earth’s biosphere; you can find as many as 100,000 organisms — to evoke William Blake, a world — on a single grain of sand. And there’s a lot going on in that world. We’ve finally got the technology to peek in and really appreciate what they’re up to.

I hate to break it to the germaphobes among us, but humans play host to trillions of bugs that thrive in our guts, mouths, airways, generative systems, and skin. These organisms form complex communities that profoundly influence our physiology, mental health, and more. They even extend beyond our physical bodies — people emit their own personal microbial “cloud” that acts on the surrounding environment. Mobile phones sport the same microbiome signatures as their owners.

This is where it gets weird. Humans aren’t just colonized by microbes, in some ways we’re more them than we are ourselves. Here’s what I mean: The genome contains about 20,000 genes. And the genome of our resident microbiota? Researchers estimate that the gut microbiome alone surpasses 3.3 million genes. The National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project, the largest known body-wide metagenomic profile of human microbiota to date, confirms millions more on top of that.

Incredibly, these microbial genes are functional, and indeed physiologically essential for humans. They modulate the immune system, support nutrient absorption, protect against pathogens, maintain barriers to the outside environment, and detoxify substances foreign to the body known as xenobiotics.

Microorganisms are a meaningful part of us. We’re not just “I,” we’re “we” — multispecies beings. Researchers are beginning to understand humans as holobionts — “multicellular eukaryotes and the inseparable colonies of persistent symbionts which together form a critically important unit of anatomy, physiology, immunology, growth, and evolution.” A human is not so much an individual, but an ecological community. Importantly, this network of microbial relationships is not limited to the bodies of individual humans alone. Soil, plants, animals, and the ambient environment all have their own microbial communities that interact and influence everything on Earth.

This emerging understanding of microbes is revolutionary. It’s as big as Darwin’s theory of natural selection or Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease. It forces us to reckon with everything we think we know about ourselves and our microbial inhabitants. There’s a serious stigma to overcome — the fear and distrust of bugs that has us scrambling for the hand sanitizer, the antibiotics, the bleach. Ever since Pasteur discovered that germs could make people sick we’ve seen microbes as The Enemy and done our damndest to wipe them out.

The good news: rates of infectious diseases like cholera and smallpox are down. The bad news? We’re witnessing the rise of “superbugs” and an explosion of chronic inflammatory disorders — cardiovascular disease and stroke, diabetes, autoimmunity, allergies, anxiety, depression, and more. Chronic inflammatory disorders are now the most significant cause of death in the world, ranked by the World Health Organization as the greatest threat to human health. Turns out anthropogenic disturbances in the microbial world are major contributors to the eruption of inflammatory diseases in industrialized nations. Not to mention crumbling soil health, and dwindling bees.

Microbes play a critical role in personal, public, and planetary health. Things go seriously wrong when their normal ecosystems are disturbed. The word we use for this is dysbiosis. Literally defined, dysbiosis means “difficult living,” or “life in distress.” It typically describes an imbalance characterized by loss of beneficial microorganisms, expansion of potentially harmful microbes, and/or the loss of overall microbial diversity. The term, in its formal sense, is unnervingly accurate. Dysbiosis triggered by loss of biodiversity, climate change, and rapid urbanization has massive ramifications, distressing life at all scales, from the organismal to the global.

So how do we get back to balance?

Let’s take a look at what’s normal, where we’ve gone wrong, and how to put things right.

In this article we’ll zoom in on the microbial flora and fauna of the skin, known as the dermal microbiome. We’ll explore how these communities are established, how they influence skin health, and the health of the human being as a whole. We’ll unearth the ways commensals are harmed by urbanization and the westernized lifestyle, and how these changes cause illness and disease. Finally, we’ll consider ways of promoting healthy dermal microbiomes — everything from interventions in personal hygiene practices, increased exposure to green spaces, and the use of essential oils — to global ecological reform.

What is the Microbiome?

A biome is a naturally-occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a habitat. Traditionally we think of biomes on the macro scale; we imagine frosty tundra with its hardy grasses, or tropical jungle festooned with ferns and vines. But thanks to technological advances, we’re shrinking the scale to discover elaborate communities in miniature. We find them flourishing in the most unlikely of places — the acid vat of the human stomach, for example, or the motley landscapes of the skin.

Human skin is the happy home of trillions of bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and small arthropods (mites). We’re in a long-term committed symbiotic relationship with these critters: they need us, and — apparently — we need them too.

It’s a sweet story, really. The history of Homo sapiens is a tale of our coevolution. For hundreds of thousands of years, commensals have made their homes in the ecological niches of our bodies. Internationally acclaimed physician-scientist and holobiont theorist Susan Prescott sheds some light on this mutually beneficial relationship with a brief lesson in etymology:

The Latin roots of the term “commensal” (com, together; mensa, table) underscore the fact that we eat at the same table, as a family and without injury. Commensal is thus defined elegantly in a 19th century dictionary: term used in regard to an animal living like the messmate of another, that is, sharing the food of his host without being parasitic upon him.

Prescott calls the benefits conferred on human hosts by their microbiota “ecosystem services.” These include:

• The “education” of the immune system
• Protection against pathogens
• Maintenance of barriers to the external environment (namely cutaneous structures and intestinal mucosa)
• Nutrient extraction
• Vitamin production
• Biotransformation of dietary phytochemicals
• Lipid metabolism
• Provision of short chain fatty acids and other potentially bioactive metabolites
• The metabolism of xenobiotics

This brings us to the “old friends,” or “hygiene” hypothesis; the idea that, since we co-evolved with microbes, our health and well-being relies upon our exposure to them and their immunomodulating influences. Modern westernized societies, however, spend most of their time indoors, or in the “grey space” of urban environments. We bathe constantly, ingest and lather ourselves in antimicrobial products, and avoid interacting with plants, animals, and soil in ways that our ancestors did. Consequently, our immune systems are way out of whack.

The Skin and its Microorganisms

As we learn more about the organisms that inhabit our tissues, our understanding of the structure and function of the skin itself evolves. Diverse microbial populations have been discovered colonizing not just the surface of the skin, but all layers. Researchers identified over 19 bacterial phyla and 1000 bacterial species in even the most superficial layers of the skin. Bacteria inhabit a superficial compartment and an inner compartment in the outermost layer of the skin, and are also detectable in the dermis and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Following injury, a “neo-microbiome” is seeded from deeper compartments.

These findings “shattered the historical paradigm” that imagined skin as an impenetrable barrier to bacterial invasion. The same one that viewed microbial colonization as a threat to human health. Instead, our microbiome protects, nourishes, and educates us.

A key feature of the human dermal microbiome is site-specific colonization — particular microbial communities tend to reside in distinct epidermal topographical niches. These niches are determined by moisture content, anatomical location, and the prevalence of sebaceous (oil) glands. Moist and dry sites in human skin, researchers explain, are “as ecologically dissimilar as rain forests are to deserts.”

Body sites loaded with sebaceous glands, like the back and external auditory canal, tend to host the greatest bacterial load, whereas “dry” sites like the buttock and inner forearm exhibit the highest microbial diversity and variability.

In addition to the differences found across body sites, microbial signatures vary with changes in the local microenvironment, between individuals, and with health, behavior, and environmental contacts. There are also age-related differences: Lactobacilli dominate in neonatal skin, while propionibacteria are more abundant in adults.

We tend to focus on the bacterial component of the microbiome, but fungi and viruses are significant as well. Each organismal group has its own name — the fungal component of the microbiome is known as the mycobiome. Fungi distribute themselves across the body by anatomical location (head, torso, arms, legs, and feet), independent of moisture content or sebaceous profile. The viral complement — the virome — is mostly made up of human papillomavirus (HPV) and bacteria-infecting viruses called bacteriophages.

Origin of the Dermal Microbiome

Like all ecosystems, the composition of the dermal microbiota is determined by two simultaneous ecological processes — exposure to microbes based on a pool of available species, and selection of specific microbial species by the skin environment. Other factors known to influence the dermal microbiome include skin moisture, temperature, pH, exposure to ultraviolet light, ventilation, co-occupancy, humidity, and air quality. The pool of potential microbes to colonize the skin is provided by sources like other people (particularly our gestational parents), pets, air, water, and inanimate surfaces.

In other words, everything we touch, breathe, bathe in, eat, and drink transforms our microbial ecosystems over the course of our lives. What happens to us at birth and shortly thereafter, however, uniquely defines our microbial composition.

The makeup of a neonate’s dermal ecosystem is influenced by perinatal factors such as the mode of delivery (vaginal vs. caesarean), antibiotic exposure, gestational age (preterm vs. term), breast vs. formula feeding, introduction of solid foods, and the type of foods introduced. Microbial colonization of infant skin is also modulated by the vernix caseosa, a protective antimicrobial biofilm that covers the fetus during the final trimester of pregnancy. This covering favors the colonization by commensal organisms over pathogens. The microbiota of the gestational parent is affected by their own nutrition, levels of psychological stress, and medications, especially antibiotics and biocides, which are passed on to their offspring.

Parents can confer a healthy microbiome to their newborns during delivery… or an imbalanced one. Dysbiosis is therefore a mechanism by which transgenerational epigenetic disease states are passed from parent to progeny. Put simply, unhealthy microbiota might doom children to a pre-disease state that manifests later in life.

The perinatal period is a critical developmental window during which surface ecosystems and immune pathways are established. Practices that disrupt microbial colonization of a newborn’s skin and mucosa therefore become significant… and troubling. “Routine” post-delivery bathing of infants, for example, likely affects patterns of colonization and skin barrier function, as does the use of antibiotics, soaps, and disinfectants, and delivery by Cesarean section.

Intrinsic factors like genetics, age, and sex; and environmental factors like climate, industrialization, access to green spaces and exposure to pets also shape the dermal microbiome. Pets transmit soil microorganisms via hair shedding, dander, saliva, and faecal particulates; and are a major source of household microbes. Pet ownership has an important effect on the human microbiome: dog owners share microbial signatures with their canine companions, as well as other household members. The biodiversity of household dust samples depend on whether families have pets and children who attend daycare.

The microbiome is deeply sensitive to our environments. By analyzing an individual’s microbiome, one can accurately predict whether the person lives in an urban or rural region within the same metropolitan area.

Skin colonisation patterns evolve in complexity over the first years of life and remain variable until early adulthood. Relative to the gut microbiome, commensals of the skin exhibit greater variability over time, and display significant differences between individuals. The variability of the skin microbiome suggests it’s more readily affected by the environment than the gut is. It’s influenced by sporting activities like roller derby, Antarctic expeditions, and even space travel by astronauts.

We Are the Microbiome

From a biological perspective, we can no longer think of ourselves as separate from the organisms that live on and in us. The word for this new way of thinking, holobiont, was coined by evolutionary theorist Lynn Margulis in 1991, a riff off the term symbiont. The prefix holo means “whole;” biont “organism,” as opposed to sym, which means “together” or “with.” The concept of the holobiont embraces the ubiquitous nature of host-associated microbes, and their crucial role in host biology, ecology, and evolution.

Perhaps a more endearing epithet for our new human-as-holobiont self-concept is “macrobe.” (Yes, I wholly expect “what’s up, my macrobe” to take off as THE new hip salute). As researchers Bordenstein and Theis write in their article “Host Biology in Light of the Microbiome: Ten Principles of Holobionts and Hologenomes,” macrobes such as ourselves “are not and have never been autonomous individuals, but rather are organized biological units, i.e., holobionts, composed of hundreds to thousands of individual organisms.” Host-associated microbes, the authors explain, “have an overwhelmingly evident influence on the physiology, anatomy, behavior, reproduction, and fitness of holobionts. The holobiont and hologenome concepts therefore raise the discussion of individuality and organismality.”

Simply put, we are not merely living in symbiosis with microbes, we are them.

In order to examine the biological self, and, by extension, the emotional, and perhaps even the spiritual self, we must look through the lens — the mirror — of the holobiont.

The Dermal Microbiome and Skin Health

Skin is the fundamental interface between the body and its environment; the primary site of convergence between inside and out. Microbes living on and in the skin play key roles in host defence and tissue repair. But the skin is also a primary target for infections. “The skin,” authors of “The Influence of Skin Microorganisms on Cutaneous Immunity” write, “is therefore charged with the formidable task of protecting the host from microbial invasion while maintaining a peaceful coexistence with its resident microbiota.”

 

Skin barrier function is essential to human health. Under normal conditions, the stratum corneum (outermost layer of the epidermis), maintains an ideal level of skin hydration, supports the innate antioxidant system, produces microbe-regulating peptides, activates host innate immune responses, and serves as a line of defense against external threats such as ultraviolet radiation, environmental toxins, allergens, and pathogens. Disturbances of the microbiome of the stratum corneum can result in skin barrier dysfunction and transepidermal water loss, which are implicated in allergic diseases (eczema and food allergies), psoriasis, rosacea, acne vulgaris, and skin aging.

Importantly, the distinction between which organisms are considered harmless or pathogenic lies not simply in the inherent properties of the microbe, but in the health of the skin ecosystem as a whole. Diversity is key. A mixed bag of microbes is more important in the development of a healthy immune system than which specific species of microbes are present. The majority of microbiota colonizing the skin are harmless or beneficial, and essential for host defence. Despite the popular belief that certain microbes are inherently dangerous, pathogenicity only occurs when the balance of the ecosystem is disturbed; when diversity drops. In a word — dysbiosis.

It’s a little tricky to draw direct causal links between a dominant microbe type and a disease state. Each person has a “virtually unique” microbiota, and humans exhibit an extraordinary degree of variability in skin microbial composition. One thing we do know for sure though, is that people living in urban spaces exhibit a distinct loss of biodiversity and stability of the microbiome. And people with skin ailments have even less microbial biodiversity than their lifestyle peers. Acne, for example, is pretty much a western affliction, absent on the skin of people in rural Papua New Guinea and Paraguay. As Wallen-Russell laments in his article “The Role of Every-Day Cosmetics in Altering the Skin Microbiome: A Study Using Biodiversity,” “This is further evidence that an environmental factor in the Western world is causing a catastrophic ecosystem collapse on the skin.”

Dysbiosis and loss of dermal biodiversity have been linked to numerous skin diseases including acne, eczema, dermatitis, rosacea, Malassezia folliculitis, inflammation, psoriasis, allergies, sunburn, athlete’s foot, ringworm, wound healing, diabetic skin, leishmaniasis, blepharitis and conjunctivitis, and skin cancer.

A functional microbiome prevents these diseases and keeps skin healthy by regulating microbial communities, modulating the host immune system, and maintaining skin barrier function.

Microbes have a few techniques for keeping tabs on each other. They can manufacture their own antibacterial peptides known as bacteriocins to keep things in balance, and they’re also able to act on the microbe-regulation apparatus of the host. One way microbes accomplish this by influencing the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in epidermal cells known as keratinocytes. AMPs control bacterial entry into the dermis, and can destroy bacteria, enveloped viruses, fungi, and cancerous cells.

Skin microbes can act without ever penetrating the epidermis. Even from the outermost layer of the skin, microbes activate the production of inflammatory cytokines, inhibit cytokine production, and enhance expression of tight junction proteins. They modulate the innate immune system by activating receptors on dermal immune cells and keratinocytes.

Skin commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis, for example, exerts anti-inflammatory actions that inhibit colonisation by potential pathogens and promote skin barrier function. S. epidermidis has been found to modulate local T cells by “tuning” the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1. Microbial metabolites are likely recognized by antigen-presenting cells in the epidermis, and may diffuse into the dermis via sweat ducts and sebaceous glands, thus contributing to the cross-talk between commensals, potential pathogens, and the skin immune system.

Allergies at Large

There’s been a rise in allergies in the last 75 years, and that rate has recently exploded. Some call it a “skin allergy epidemic.” We know that environmental factors likely contribute — synthetic additives in cosmetics, use of steroids and antibiotics, and an increase in modern “hygiene.” And we’re starting to understand the mechanism: damage to commensals impairs skin function. If dermal microbiota are perturbed, then healthy immune regulation goes out the window. Chronic inflammation creeps in, epidermal integrity fails, and disease strikes.

The word ‘allergy’ derives from the Greek allos (other) and ergon (reaction), and refers to an immunological hypersensitivity to benign antigens. Most allergic diseases are mediated via allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), and characterized by allergic sensitization and hypersensitivity reactions upon re-exposure. In their article “Beyond Hygiene: Commensal Microbiota and Allergic Diseases” Hong et al. propose that an imbalance of T helper 1 and 2 cells, caused by a lack of exposure to microorganisms, is responsible for the rise in allergic disease in the developed world.

Environmental factors that drive dysbiosis, such as C-section, westernized diet (high fat, low fiber), antibiotic use, and time spent indoors are all associated with the high incidence of allergic diseases. Metagenomic analyses in human and animal studies clearly link allergic diseases to dysbiosis.

Atopic Dermatitis

Let’s take a closer look at one specific skin condition — atopic dermatitis (AD). AD is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects between 10 and 20% of the general population. It’s characterized by disturbances in epidermal barrier function accompanied by hyperactive immune responses. In 95% of cases AD initially manifests within the first five years of life — the same developmental window during which the microbiome is established. A quarter of kids hit with AD continue to experience it into adulthood.

AD is a risk factor for colonization with methicillin-resistant S. aureus — MRSA, and is accompanied by other inflammatory pathologies. 30% of preschool age kids with AD also suffer from food allergies (eggs, cow’s milk, peanuts), while those with moderate-to-severe AD have a 50% risk of developing asthma, and 75% risk of developing hay fever.

There’s a relationship between disordered skin microbiome and disease progression. AD flares are associated with a substantial loss of biodiversity, accompanied by an increase in Staphylococcus aureus on lesional skin. 90% of patients with AD exhibit S. Aureus colonization, 50% of which produce toxins. These toxins contribute to inflammation and skin barrier dysfunction by activating host inflammasomes — complexes that detect pathogens and activate pro-inflammatory cytokines.

In AD, S. Aureus is not the only microorganism out of balance — S. epidermidis gets out of hand too. Once they gain dominance, these two microbes produce antibacterial compounds (including AMPs and bacteriocins) that inhibit the growth of normal commensal organisms, exacerbating the imbalance.

Even though these two species proliferate at lesional sites during flares, colonization by these microbes doesn’t cause the development of AD. Likewise, elimination of S. aureus alone fails to improve the condition. So what does healing from AD look like? A successful AD treatment is accompanied by increases in biodiversity as previously-inhibited commensal taxa repopulate the skin.

Our best bet for preventing the development of AD lies in the first three years of life. Normal delivery as opposed to C-section is protective, and antibiotics should be avoided in the perinatal period. Future therapies are on the horizon: microbiome “transplants” from healthy donors are under investigation to regulate growth of S. aureus, enhance skin barrier function, and activate innate immune function.

The Dermal Microbiome and Holistic Health

The dermal microbiome is important not just for skin health, but for the health of the whole body. Resident microorganisms “train” the developing immune system, protect against pathogens, and metabolize xenobiotics. They also play major roles in nutrition and metabolism.

Skin microbiota can influence whole-body states. They do so by acting on keratinocytes, epidermal cells capable of manufacturing hormones, neurotransmitters, and cytokines in response to changing environmental stimuli. These chemical signals are known to influence physiology, emotions, and behavior.

Metagenomic and comparative human studies reveal that reduced biodiversity and compositional alterations of gut and skin microbiota are linked to chronic inflammatory diseases. These include diabetes, obesity, depression and anxiety, atopic sensitization (asthma, pollen, food allergies), autoimmune disease (multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes), and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis). There’s strong evidence that the risk for many of these diseases are programmed in early life, and arise from inadequate development of immunoregulatory circuits.

The quality of our microbiome affects the function of essentially all organ systems — development and regulation of the immune system, metabolic and endocrine pathways, brain function, and epigenetic modification of the genome.

Cross-Talk: How Microbes School the Immune System and Shape the Brain

Studies with germ-free and specific-pathogen-free animals demonstrate that microbial composition can affect immune behavior and systemic inflammation. Not only do microbes reduce inflammation by modulating cytokine production locally and systemically, they also activate the antioxidant apparatus of the body. A healthy microbiome can elevate levels of glutathione, the body’s primary endogenous antioxidant, which reduces systemic oxidative stress, which alleviates inflammation. Human studies have shown that the microbiome is capable of reducing systemic C-reactive protein, a blood test marker for inflammation in the body.

Microbes, even when heat-killed, still act on the innate immunity and regulate growth, gene expression in the brain, and glucose-insulin metabolism. Heat-killed microbes applied to the skin intradermally induced strong anti-inflammatory and regulatory responses. This treatment protected against systemic allergic sensitization, and even lung inflammation.

In addition to reducing inflammation, microbes have been found to exert brain-specific effects such as modulating the availability of neurotransmitters like GABA in the brain.

Early microbiome researchers found that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression was lower in the hippocampus and the cortex of germ-free animals as compared to conventionally-raised animals. BDNF plays a major role in neural plasticity.

This concept plays out in practice: Functional brain imaging studies found that eating fermented foods modulates brain activation in such a way as to promote emotional regulation. Incredibly, cross-sectional research reveals that core personality traits like conscientiousness are associated with microbiome signatures.

Heat-inactivated microbes administered under the skin of animals were also found to influence serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system and calm conditioned fear responses. In animal stress models this treatment improved stress coping and prevented dysbiosis. Microbial therapies may be the next frontier for treating stress-related conditions like PTSD.

Stress and the Microbiome

Psychological stress, even short-term social stress, throws off the microbiome. Perceptions of psychological stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety are all linked to dysbiosis. Patients with major depressive disorder and other mental disorders exhibit altered intestinal microbial profiles compared with healthy controls. Early life antibiotic exposures and repeated antibiotic use in adolescents and adults is associated with subsequent depression.

Researchers have observed enhanced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity among germ-free animals following acute stress. Involvement of the HPA axis, also known as the “central stress response system,” indicates that the microbiome likely plays a role in programming the stress response. Multiple research groups using germ-free and specific pathogen-free animal models have confirmed that early-life microbial colonization activates signaling mechanisms that forge the neuronal circuits involved in motor control and anxiety behavior.

Some studies suggest that stress-induced increases in the neuropeptide substance P is a mechanistic link between psychological stress and changes in dermal microbiota. Indeed, increased substance P is associated with eczema, acne, and skin barrier dysfunction.

Physical stress, as well as psychological stress, can perturb the microbiome by way of HPA axis activation. Dryness and barrier disruption can stress the skin, along with mechanical strain, temperature changes, and chemical stimuli. Skin responds to stressors by manufacturing and metabolizing steroid hormones — glucocorticoids (including the classic stress hormone cortisol), peptide neurohormones, and neurotransmitters. Some of these are disseminated via sweat and sebum. These substances can influence whole-body physiology, and also act on local cutaneous microbes, modulating their adhesion, growth, and virulence.

It goes both ways: dysbiosis triggers and amplifies experiences of stress, while stress aggravates dysbiosis.

The Microbiome at Risk

Our anti-microbe stance has cracked open an unforeseen and distinctly messy can of worms. The changes associated with modern life — grey space saturation, air pollution, dietary changes, antibiotic and antimicrobial medicine, exposure to xenobiotics — have massive impacts on the composition of the human microbiome… and not for the better.

The disappearance of neighborhood trees increases the risk of non-communicable diseases over time, and loss of exposure to microbial diversity may be the reason. Consider the example of the 100 million trees in the northern United States destroyed by invasive beetle Agrilus planipennis, the emerald ash borer. The death of these trees was associated with increased incidences of cardiovascular disease and lower respiratory tract infections.

Biodiversity is essential for health. The diversity of the ecosystem a person inhabits, as well as their nature-relatedness, or degree of connectedness with the natural world, influences the quality of their microbiome, and thus, their health. Mental health in particular is improved by spending time in green spaces. Scenic aesthetics and the opportunity for physical activity may play a role, but the most likely mechanism is exposure to diverse organisms. Tree bark, leaves, and soil are all rich reservoirs of microorganisms, which are readily dispersed into the air. Time in nature reunites us with our old friends, and shifts us back towards balance.

Missing Microbes

In 1969 microbiologist Rene Dubos addressed the World Health Organization on the topic of Human Ecology. He remarked, “It is to be hoped that a time will come when human ecology will be able to pay greater attention to the positive and beneficial effects of the environment than to its pathogenic effects.” Almost 50 years ago, he was already aware of, and troubled by, what was missing in modern urbanized environments. Indeed, Dubos predicted that loss of contact with diverse microbial populations early in life would elicit dire long-term consequences for human immune function. Remarkably, Dubos’ prognosis arose a full two decades prior to the development of the hygiene hypothesis.

A glance at the fecal samples of adults living in isolation from western influences reveals a surprising insight: about 50% of the metagenomic reads are considered “microbial dark matter;” in other words, these microorganisms are vibrantly diverse and heretofore unknown. The microbiomes of westernized adults, in comparison, are woefully bland. Westernization, regrettably, leads to a spectacular underrepresentation of microbial populations, if not actual extinction. Microbes are missing.

Modern life, with its attendant “gray space,” is a major threat to our old friends. Grey space is a pretty intuitive concept, defined by Susan Prescott as “an area with disproportionately higher industrial and commercial activity, major transportation routes, bars, liquor stores, convenience stores, fast-food outlets, and tobacco vendors.” These spaces are rife with noise stress, light pollution, billboards and sidewalk signage, and targeted screen media delivery. More grey space usually means less access to green spaces, and the biodiversity they offer.

Westernized lifestyles and environments are eroding the human microbiome. The cumulative exposures in our lifetimes to antimicrobial substances, and the loss of biodiversity in our lived environments, are linked to the higher burden of non-communicable diseases in urbanized spaces, particularly in populations of socioeconomically disadvantaged people. This phenomenon is known as dysbiotic drift.

Dysbiotic drift theory looks at the whole arena of factors that contribute to dysbiosis: psychological stress, the westernized diet with its missing nutrients, added chemicals, and inflammation-triggering advanced glycation end-products (AGES), disordered sleep habits and disruptions to the circadian rhythm, alcohol and tobacco use, phthalate and environmental chemical exposure, and higher rates of antibiotic prescription. These factors are not randomly distributed across the human population; they disproportionately affect the urban poor.

Nature-Relatedness and the Need for Green Spaces

The biodiversity of the human microbiome is, to a considerable extent, a function of the macrobiome — the ecological health and biodiversity of the lived environment — and human interaction with it.

Our individual microbiomes are shaped by the plants, soils, pets, water, food, and air we come in contact with. Access to green space, and the biodiversity of vegetation surrounding one’s home, have been linked to the diversity of specific bacteria on human skin, as well as a reduction in the tendency towards allergic responses to common allergens. Traditional dwellings built with untreated timber, dung, mud, and thatch, for example, contained strains from the natural environment similar to those with which humans co-evolved; our old friends.

One study found that children in Finland and Estonia who enjoyed closer contact with forests and agricultural land had a significantly reduced risk of allergic sensitization. Early exposure to “green” environments was particularly protective. Microbes in the soil of forests are different than those of city parks. Airborne bacterial communities from parks are different than those of parking lots. Air in “green” environments was found to have a 10-fold higher microbial content than non-vegetated areas.

Even the air that people breathe, whether it’s “green” or “grey,” has a microbial signature, one that interacts with our own personal microbial “cloud.”

The microbiome is the great connector between the health of individuals, human populations at large, and the entire earth. We finally have a mechanism to prove that everything is, in fact, connected. What if we thought of building a healthier relationship with nature as a therapeutic intervention to the crisis of the inflammatory non-communicable diseases of modern life?

Susan Prescott wonders, “If green space and contact with natural environments is a health asset, do all citizens have equitable access to nature and opportunity to develop a psychological connection to the Earth’s natural systems?”

I think we all know the answer to that.

Personal Care Products: Phenoxyethanol, A Case Study

Many of the factors that drive dysbiosis are out of our hands as individuals. But we do have agency over the products that we put on our own bodies. Let’s shift gears to consider the effect of these on the dermal microbiome.

Even when we’re not intentionally scrubbing microorganisms off our skin, we may still be doing them harm. Consider the example of phenoxyethanol, a chemical used to replace problematic parabens. It’s an ingredient in the preservatives Optiphen and GFphen PCG. Cosmeticsinfo.com, whose motto is “The science and safety behind your favorite products,” explains that:

Phenoxyethanol is an oily, slightly sticky liquid with a faint rose-like scent. It is used as a preservative in a wide variety of both leave-on and rinse-off cosmetics and personal care products, including skin care, eye makeup, fragrances, blushers, foundations, lipstick, bath soaps, and detergents, among others. Phenoxyethanol has been reviewed by experts worldwide who have concluded it is safe as used in these products.

The site also explains the perceived need for such products in the cosmetics industry:

Phenoxyethanol has been used safely since the 1950s as a preservative in cosmetics and personal care products. It is highly effective in preventing the growth of fungi, bacteria, and yeast that could cause products to spoil, just like food. The use of preservatives enhances products’ shelf life and safety.

Phenoxyethanol occurs naturally in green tea, but for commercial use it is synthetically manufactured.

A cursory google search reveals that phenoxyethanol-containing substances are gleefully marketed by purveyors of “natural” and “handmade” products.

Gracefruit.com — “The natural choice for soapmaking and skincare ingredients” — describes their product GFphen PCG as “A widely popular choice of preservative, suitable for a multitude of different cosmetic formulations.” According to them it’s a “globally-approved, paraben-free, and formaldehyde-free liquid preservative system,” the ingredients of which “provide optimized protection against microbial growth while imparting exceptional feel to the finished product.” Similarly, Brambleberry.com, vendors of “handcraft provisions,” describe Optiphen as “a must-have for people who sell handmade bath and body products.”

Sounds great, so what’s the issue?

We need to start taking into account the ways that personal care products affect the microbiota of our skin. A 2015 study published in the Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea found that phenoxyethanol, along with parabens and 1,2-hexanediol (common cosmetic ingredients), inhibited the growth of skin commensals. Specifically, this study found that application of phenoxyethanol to the face shifted the microbiome signatures of test subjects.

The authors of the study point out that atopic dermatitis and skin sensitization are often associated with perturbation of the existing microbiome. This is evidenced by the emergence of novel microbial signatures, as is the case with exposure to synthetic preservatives like phenoxyethanol. A disturbance in the balance of resident microbiota may interfere with its capacity to prevent infection by pathogens, and to regulate cutaneous immune function. These changes may contribute to allergic responses.

This study is an interesting starting place, but certainly more research is required to confirm that phenoxyethanol perturbs the dermal microbiome in such a way as to cause disease.

For all the “natural” websites that recommend phenoxyethanol, there are just as many decrying it as dangerous. They tend to cite reports of phenoxyethanol causing contact dermatitis, immediate hypersensitivity, and sensitization when used in conjunction with other preservatives. These reports, however, are extremely rare.

According to the European Commission on Health and Food Safety, phenoxyethanol is “safe” when used in cosmetics at a concentration of 1% or less. The report also notes, though, that using several phenoxyethanol-containing products might bump a consumer over the recommended limits. In other words, it’s all about the dose. Consider, though, that these conclusions were drawn based on animal studies, the longest of which was two years. Unlike short-term animal studies, human exposure to these products occurs cumulatively over the course of a lifetime.

Based on the available research, I’d say the jury is still out on whether or not phenoxyethanol is “dangerous” at the recommended concentrations. But we do know that it perturbs the dermal microbiome, and that’s a problem.

The bottom line is that preservatives like phenoxyethanol function by inhibiting microbial growth. Any mass-produced water-based product will require preservatives to prevent spoilage, but these preservatives likely contribute to dysbiosis on and in the human body. Ultimately our concept of what is “safe” will need to adapt to our new understanding of the dermal microbiome… It might be time to start looking for alternatives to antimicrobial preservatives.

A quick skim through the ingredients list on my “natural” toothpaste and I found phenoxyethanol listed. Same story with my “ethical body care” coconut reishi deodorant (“safe, clean, effective”). Take a look at your own arsenal of body care products. What have you been putting on your body, and how might it be affecting your old friends?

Essential Oils

Essential oils are notoriously antimicrobial. Does that make them a threat to the microbiome?

It might be tempting to think that, due to their widely touted antimicrobial properties, essential oils are anti-microbiome. But before we jump to any conclusions, repeat after me: what happens in a petri dish is not what happens in the human body. Essential oils may wipe out individual strains of microbes in the lab, but have completely different effects when applied topically to human skin. We are wildly complex beings composed of communities of organisms. Keep in mind that a substance that exerts antimicrobial effects in vitro may deliver microbiome-balancing benefits in vivo.

To know for sure, we’d need clinical trials, or a history of successful usage. Research on the dermal microbiome is still in its infancy, so there aren’t yet studies investigating the effect of specific essential oils on skin microbiota. Based on the existing research, though, we can make some educated guesses.

Here’s a brief review of our current knowledge:

• Aromatherapy with essential oils can reduce psychological stress, which is a major driver of dysbiosis.
• Some essential oils taken internally promote systemic health and intestinal health via activity on the gut microbiome., Importantly, essential oils have been found to knock out pathogenic microbes in the small intestine while while sparing beneficial commensals in the colon. Natural antimicrobials like essential oils, unlike synthetic antimicrobials, are selective, and favor a healthy microbial composition for the human gut.
• Some topically-applied essential oils have been used to successfully treat skin diseases associated with dysbiosis, including inflammatory conditions like dermatitis, acne, and eczema, chronic wounds, and treatment-resistant infections.
• Essential oils may have natural preservative effects, and may be used as an alternative to synthetic preservatives like phenoxyethanol in personal care products.

We can expect more specific answers in the coming years as research on the dermal microbiome, and scientific interest in the clinical application of essential oils, takes off.

Towards a New Ecology

When it comes to the human microbiome, we’ve come a long way. But we still have a lot to learn, and a lot we need to change. Kong and Segre illustrate this point elegantly in their article “Skin Microbiome: Looking Back to Move Forward” published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. They write, “Our current society paradoxically strives to colonize our guts with probiotic yogurts, but sterilize our skin with hand sanitizers.” They remark upon the need to apply live cultures directly to the skin, and to identify emollients and other microbial products that promote the growth of dermal commensals and renew skin barrier function.

We can use this strategy in agriculture, too. Research suggests that reintroducing beneficial microbes augments soil health, enhances the growth of nutrient-dense plants, detoxifies environmental pollutants, and safeguards against colony collapse disorder in bees by offsetting the immunotoxicity of pesticides.

But how can we address the inflammatory disease epidemic caused by dysbiosis without addressing the global structures that drive dysbiotic drift in the first place? We need to look carefully at our diminishing relationship with nature, loss of green space and biodiversity, grey space saturation, environmental pollutants, antimicrobial personal care products, urban lifestyle, and glaring economic inequality. Ultimately, we’ll need public health and policy initiatives on a global scale to shift these root causes of dysbiosis.

The science of the microbiome is illuminating new understandings of ourselves and the world we live in. Microbes are essential for our health and well-being. For the health and well-being of generations to come. For the health and well-being of all life on Earth. The hippies were right… everything is connected.

Just think: your microbial cloud is dancing with the microbial cloud of everyone you meet.

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