Why buy an aromatherapy bracelet?
As someone who suffers from anxiety, I am always looking out for any products to add into my daily routine to help. I have friends who are hugely into essential oils, and I have seen a lot of people talking about how some of them can be helpful for anxiety. Going down that rabbit hole led me to learning about wearable jewellery that you can put essential oils on to carry around with you. It seems I might be a bit late to this party because I found a LOT of bracelets, rings and necklaces for essential oils on the web!
A thought on anxiety
Anxiety is such a powerful feeling, it can feel like an overwhelming wave of worry, tension, and restlessness...making it difficult to focus or find peace. When I feel anxious I have many tools I now use to help me through those moments like deep breathing exercises, prayer and physical exercise like walking. If you decide to try aromatherapy jewellery or other tools to help with your anxiety, I hope they give you peace and help calm the anxiousness!
What did I Buy?
The struggle for me was finding something that I felt comfortable wearing day to day. I came across the Boostology website and liked the look of their products. I decided to buy the Green Tigers Eye aromatherapy bracelet as it was advertised as being unisex and had sizing for men.
Price (at time of review): £29 (approx $40 USD)
What is in the box?
I really liked the packaging and presentation of the box it came in, it felt like it had been thought out and not just thrown together. In the box was the bracelet, a card and a sample sized bottle of Higher Ground essential oil. Along with the box were a couple of chocolates, and a nice note.
The bracelet has 5 lava rock beads for the oils to be applied to, with green tiger eyes beads/gold accents for the rest of the beads. It is on stretchy elastic string, and doesn't feel too tight on my wrist, although my wrist has a circumference of 17cm so it may feel tighter and constricting for other wearers. But for me it feels comfortable and rolls on/off my wrist quickly for showering etc.
I really liked the packaging and presentation of the box it came in, it felt like it had been thought out and not just thrown together
The Higher Ground oil blend from Rock and Soul is a mix of Frankincense, Rosewood and Cedar. The smell is strong, refreshing and the Cedar was the strongest smell of the 3 and I liked it a lot. I have to research a lot more to discover which oils might be more helpful for anxiety, but in general I liked the smell and decided to use it straight away on the bracelet.
Testing in day to day life
I put about 2 drops on each lava rock bead, the instructions say to wait 2 mins and then put the bracelet on. I waited 10 minutes and the oils didn't seem to have soaked in at all that I could see, which did mean that when I put the bracelet on some of the oil got on my skin as I rolled it onto my wrist. I must not be very sensitive to essential oils, as it didn't cause any irritation to my skin but if you are prone to issues from essential oils getting into contact directly with your skin you will probably want to put less oil on the beads or wait to make sure they soak in more before putting the bracelet on.
I wore the bracelet for 24 hours after putting the oils on, and I noticed the smell was strongest for about the first 7-8 hours and then getting weaker from that point. After 24 hours I could barely smell the oils and needed to refresh. But it smelt very strong for those first 8 hours so it should be perfect for a day at work or being out and about without needing to take extra oils with you.
Did it help with anxiety?
I have worn the bracelet in a few different situations where anxiety was starting to kick in, and it was definitely helpful to redirect my mind by smelling the essential oils. I like having it right there to be able to smell as I go around running errands and working.
I wore the bracelet for 24 hours after putting the oils on, and I noticed the smell was strongest for about the first 7-8 hours and then getting weaker from that point
About 8 months after I had a stroke, when PTSD was at it's worst, a coping mechanism my therapist had shared with me that I used a lot was wearing a rubber band and flicking it on my wrist when I was in triggering situations. This feels a lot like a variation on that, by drawing my attention and focus back and away from what is making me anxious, so I am finding it useful and helpful so far.
Will I keep using the bracelet?
I definitely will be using the Boostology bracelet for now, it has shown me that the aromatherapy jewellery/wearable oils idea is something that will be helpful for me for anxiety. However I am not sure about the beads design, and would prefer something similar but made of leather or metal. So I am looking at other options and not just bracelets but other kinds of jewellery I'm seeing online. I will also look at creating my own.
But these thoughts are more about my own personal preference than about the bracelet itself, and so if you are considering buying a bracelet for essential oils I would recommend and rate the Boostology bracelets.
