The Jury on Aromatherapy

*Press Sample

Have I already mentioned that I've been a little bit more stressed than usual lately? Sometimes I dislike stating that I'm 'stressed' because that word comes so easily and I fear misuse or overuse of it. Regardless, lately I've been a little more tense than usual with the moving and the purging and the job hunting etc that I've attempting different methods of relaxation. Add that onto the need to purge some of my bath products and that has meant a bit more baths than normal in the ABZ household.

I'm half skeptical about aromatherapy. I know that its nice to have nice smelling things but whether or not scents can actually, consistently and significantly improve your mood...well, I don't know. But I'm not above trying so I pulled out the L'Occitane Aromachologie Rebalancing Infusions for Bath* ($26CDN, 5x20g) and Rebalancing Exfoliating Shower Gel* ($26CDN, 250ml) specifically because they meant to restore balance and bring well-being to the mind and body. Granted these products are meant to rebalance the skin and not necessary my stress levels but I figured, same-same (but different). The Rebalancing range features Lemon from Italy and Juniper from France for their invigorating and purifying properties. Thyme and Eucalyptus are also used.

The Bath Infusions come in sealed sachets which are dangled from your tub faucet while it is filling. The salts and scents are infused into the water while the tub is filled but I did not find the scent long lasting in strength or longevity. I wished there was more product per sachet because I stayed in the tub for quite a long time (30 mins?) and would have wanted to keep smelling the scent, strongly, for the entire duration of the bath. 

The Rebalancing Shower Gel has little exfoliating beads that are very dispersed in the gel. The beads are of the very fine abrasive variety though they are very dispersed so you aren't exactly sanding your skin off. Because of these characteristics, the gel offers light exfoliation which can be sufficient when used with a shower gel pouf loofah thing. The scent lingers more here.

The PR information I received for this launch also included a study which measured their cardiac activity, prosody (vocal frequency and intensity) and skin temperature when volunteers used the Rebalancing line. The results suggest that the fragrance from the line more quickly reduced stressed as measured by these three parameters. I won't go into what my thoughts are on the study, but I found it interesting that it was provided to media.

If Rebalancing isn't your thing, the new range of L'Occitane Aromachologie also carries a Relaxing range which features Bergamot and Lavender, and a Revitalizing range which features Rosemary and Orange.

In general, I did enjoy the scent of these products. There was a medicinal quality to it which I found soothing.  I would have liked more longevity with the Bath Infusions and a bit more exfoliation from the Shower Gel but there is a body Scrub in the Revitalizing line that looks promising. These products haven't quite convinced me that Aromatherapy is the solution to all my stress but I do think that, again, having nice smelling things is nice and that these scents do sooth me to some degree and will still try aromatherapy products with interest.

If you take baths, do you use specific products for when you're stressed?