I recently made a bruise cream for a friend of mine, a 42-year-old male who got a bruise on his abdomen out of nowhere. He does not know how it occurred. Admittedly, it was not a large bruise or one as severe as I have seen before, but it was still bothering him, specifically, he had a 'bruising' feeling that radiated outwards from the bruise area towards the lefts heading towards his hip bone. He saw me on Day 2 of the Bruise. I made up a simple yet very effective aromatic cream for him, which he used and was shocked at the results, considering he is a sceptic when it comes to aromatherapy. He told me that from now on, he won't second-guess coming to me. I am a big believer in choosing your bases based on their therapeutics rather than using anything as a means to 'carry' the essential oil. For this bruise cream, I used a mix of Calendula Cream, Arnica Cream, and Sea Buckthorn oil. Because there was a separation (even with well-mixed oil and creams), I added a solubiliser. Both Arnica and Calendula are well known to help with bruises. Arnica works by increasing local blood flow to help reabsorb leaked fluids (blood) under the skin, reducing pain, oedema, and helping to remove the discolouration of the skin faster. It reduces swelling and inflammation mainly due to its active component, helenalin. Arnica should only be applied to intact skin and never applied to mucous membranes, around or inside orifices, or around the eyes. Calendula works due to its anti-inflammatory properties, such as its flavonoids, carotenoids, and triterpene alcohols that lower inflammation and reduce swelling. One of its main active constituents is faradiol. Calendula promotes blood flow and oxygen to the treated area, stimulating new tissue growth. It encourages the repair of damaged skin, aiding in the rapid recovery from bruises, sprains, and strain-related trauma, and has Antioxidant Effects: It helps prevent oxidative stress to skin cells at the site of the injury. Sea buckthorn oil is a nutrient-dense botanical used to support skin repair and reduce inflammation, and speeds up the healing process of minor skin issues such as bruising. Rich in Omegas 3, 6, 7, and 9, plus vitamins E and K, it helps strengthen skin integrity and promote tissue regeneration. A small amount of this oil goes a long way, and keep in mind it can stain skin and clothes due to its high carotenoid content specificially zeaxanthin dipalmitate.

If people were to describe your signature Fragrance (what you almost constantly wear), what would it be? For me, I am always wearing something woodsy or woodsy-citrus or woodsy-spice. Typically, my 3 go-to oils that I use in a jojoba base as a body oil, in my aroma pendant, etc are Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum), Cedarwood Atlas (Cedrus atlantica), and a tiny bit of Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis). During the day, I like to lighten this up by adding a citrus, usually either mandarin, sweet orange, yuzu, or bergamot. At night, I either just wear this base 3 or add in a tiny bit of spice such as nutmeg, clove, cardamom, or black pepper. So what is your go-to fragrance? I am especially interested in Natural Fragrance formulations for Men.

Have you ever had a family member, friend, or client you're doing a consult for, say they hate or cannot stand the aroma of Lavender essential oil? I have, and personally, I find it funny because the blends that I make for them, often contain Lavender in them, are some of their most favourite formulations I have made. For example, I have this Diffuser Synergy I make for Insomnia. Nearly half of the bottle is Lavender essential oil, around 4mls. However, the addition of Petitgrain and Vetiver provides a heady depth, so that the Lavender is not the prominent fragrance, but the Petitgrain and Vetiver are. I ofc have four other essential oils in this formula, which I won't share here, simply because I am getting very good results and feedback from it, and it's one I am looking into selling as a pre-made synergy for a future online shop. I would love to know, do you have any tricks or a combo/pairing of essential oils that mask the aroma of an essential oil that a client or even yourself does not like?

Question. I know that we can make herbal healing creams, such as a Calendula cream, using calendula-infused sesame oil, Shea Butter, Distilled Water or Hydrosol, emulsifying wax, vitamin E, and a natural preservative. However, I have seen Calendula creams on the market that use Calendula Tincture, so that for every 1g of cream, you're getting the equivalent of 20mg of dried Calendula flower. How much Calendula tincture would you need to add to a very thick base cream to get a therapeutic dose of 20mg/g equivalent of dry calendula flower? Asking, as there are times when I need Calendula cream, but I am out of it as well as the infused oil, but I always have the tincture in stock.

I really wish when Aromatherapists and other CAM Practitioners write formulations on their websites, books, etc that they would stop using measurements such as spoons and cups and instead use mls (for liquids) and grams (for solids), as this makes formulations more accurate, scalable, and replicable.