Learn what essential oils really are, how to judge quality and safety, and explore four oils in depth.
Most people meet essential oils through marketing — you know lavender is "calming" and peppermint is "energizing" because a label told you so. This class is much deeper than that. You'll learn what essential oils actually are (and what they're not), how to spot the real thing versus a convincing imitation, and how to read a bottle like an investigator instead of a shopper. Then we go deep on four oils — lavender, orange, peppermint, and frankincense — exploring their botany, their traditional healing uses, and how bodyworkers and energy practitioners actually reach for them in practice.
By the end, you'll smell a bottle you've had in your cabinet for years and understand it for the first time.
In this class, you'll:
Learn the real differences between essential oils, fragrance oils, absolutes, and conventional perfume
Get a practical framework for judging quality and sourcing — no "therapeutic grade" marketing myths
Understand core safety principles: dilution, photosensitivity, sensitization, and safety for children, pregnancy, and pets
Go in depth on four foundational oils — lavender, orange, peppermint, frankincense — through both a healing lens and a perfumery lens
Learn why Latin names, plant part, and chemotype change what's actually in the bottle
This class is for: anyone curious about essential oils, and especially useful for bodyworkers, massage therapists, and energy practitioners who want to bring aromatherapy into their practice with real understanding, not just intuition.
Class note: We will be smelling essential oils during this class. Please don't wear perfume or cologne.
About the instructor: Valentina Fomenko is a licensed massage therapist, NAHA-certified aromatherapist, and Reiki practitioner, and the founder of Terra Vitae, a Florida-based aromatherapy and bodywork practice. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science, and formulates every Terra Vitae product by hand.
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