Cloves – interesting little things pic via articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Aw look at these cute little things! They are classified as “calyxes” and come from a larger pod from an evergreen tree hailing from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and probably India too and other tropical islands like Madagascar. Originally they were only found on the “spice islands” The Maluku Islands or Moluccas, and were traded worldwide in the 1600’s and 1700’s by the Dutch East India Company. They are basically part of the flower and when we get the clove it has been dried. This tree belongs in the same family as eucalyptus another scented tree along with guava and feijoa too!
By now you would have caught on to the fact that spices have a rich interesting history and clove is no exception. The Greeks and Romans used the clove bud as did ancient Chinese medicine where they were used as a warming tonic, and a stress relief treatment also great for high blood pressure. Records even show the use of cloves in 3BC in China where they were chewed to freshen the breath. In Ayurveda cloves are used for swelling, nausea and to help prevent colds.
We all love a good story and Wikipedia claims
“… the clove trade is also mentioned by Ibn Battuta and even famous One Thousand and One Nights characters such Sinbad the Sailor is known to have bought and sold cloves.”
Go Sinbad! Arrrrrrrrr the spice trade of the high seas!
So now we come to modern aromatherapy and the use of clove oil today. Even if you haven’t used it yourself, you may now of clove oil’s use in reducing dental pain. It has an analgesic effect and I often put some clove oil in a formula for a client if they are experiencing physical pain.
Clove buds on the tree pic via namastenutritionist.com
* It is great to reduce swelling and inflammation in arthritis and in muscles too.
* Vapourised to kill air-born germs to prevent the spread of viruses – due to its high content of eugenol which is a strong antiseptic. Eugenol is also found in cinnamon, allspice, bay, basic, rose, jasmine, and carnation plants and oils.
* As a warming tonic to the souls who is unhappy or depressed
* As a calming agent to the digestive system
Clove is one of those oils that you don’t want to overdo so be mindful when blending. Try these recipes –
sniffing bottle of oil
1. Open The Bottle and Take a Huge Whiff
Clove – relax, unwind, calm nausea, warmth
2. Nourishing Body Oil Blend
For a coat of your body use 3 teaspoons of carrier oil in a little dish and, add 7 – 8 drops of essential oil.
***** Always put the drops of essential oil into the bottle or dish first, then add the carrier oil. It gives the scents time to create a synergistic fusion.
For a 50ml bottle of oil add 25 drops and see my articles “Ratios for Blending Essential Oils – A Reminder of the Basics” and “Aromatherapy – It’s Easy as 1 2 3”
“Soothe Me”
A formula for helping pain and swelling from arthritis –
Clove 2 drops
Lavender 2 drops
Fennel 2 drops
Marjoram 2 drops
————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Chill”
A chill out blend –
Clove 2 drops
Frankincense 3 drops
Orange 2 drops
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Happy blending and remember to use your intention when you are creating your formulas. See my article about intention.
suzannerbanks 
Hi Suzanne, I recently bought a small bottle of Sunflower Essence and would love to add to jojoba or sweet almond oil to make a body moisturizer. Do you have any suggestions for other essential oil scents that would blend well with the sunflower to make the moisturizer more interesting than the sunflower by itself?
Hi Cymbaline thanks for your comment. I need to understand your “Sunflower Essence”. Sunflower is usually only a cold pressed oil NOT an essential oil so I am assuming this is a “fragrant oil” which is synthetic. If it is, I have no idea what it smells like so it’s hard to imagine. My top oils to use for a body oil would be lavender, geranium, bergamot, patchouli, ylang ylang, frankincense and others. Let me know how much you would like to make and I can give you a couple of suggestions with exact recipes. Also check out my article “Ratios for Blending Essential Oils – A Reminder of the Basics” for correct blending ratios. I love that you are willing to give it a go and aromatherapy oil blends are a great moisturiser for your body. Good luck!
Hi again, I had never heard of a sunflower essence either and would think it might be synthetic, but I ordered it from an all-natural perfume site, Providence Perfume Company. It has a green, slightly bitter/sour odor – reminds me of crushed dandelion stems. I thought of adding lavender, but didn’t want the blend to smell too medicinal. I will probably only make a couple of ounces of moisturizer at a time and will definitely re-read your ratio blending post. I love , and wear many perfumes, but have almost zero experience making anything on my own and really appreciate your taking the time to help me create something lovely!
Ok cool Ill send you some recipes. do I have access to your email? Maybe for privacy go to my website and fill in a contact form. That way ill have your address and can send some through.