Learn about Essential Oils

Botanically Rooted

1024 W. Gate City Blvd. www.botanicallyrooted.com

These are not your Facebook friend’s essential oils.

Botanically Rooted Co-Owner Kimberly Seymour is a clinical aromatherapist and works with clients to create custom skincare routines backed by science.

“It’s a place where you can come and get evidence-based, real information, and that’s hard to come by in the essential oil field,” she said.

The store includes a wide variety of essential oils and essential oil-based products that can be used to treat issues like pain, allergies, insomnia, hormonal issues and stress.

While the United States doesn’t have a grading system for essential oils, Seymour and her co-owners, Leslie Rice and Amber LaBorde, have their own standards.

“All of our oils are tested to ensure that the chemical components that have been judged to be efficacious are present in the oil and that the oil is what we say it is,” Rice said.

For example, tea tree oil from Australia has certain chemicals that help treat acne and other skin conditions, but tea tree oil from China does not.

Seymour said personal consultations are important to help clients find the right type of product. A person can walk in the store and ask for lavender, but there are 48 types of lavender, each with its own properties.

“I’m going to ask eight to 10 different questions,” Seymour said. “What kind of pain? How long have you had it? What medicines do you take for it? What are you trying to accomplish? And then we go from there.”

For those interested in learning more about essential oils, Botanically Rooted hosts classes both at their store and out in the community.

Seymour also teaches a monthly class at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital and speaks to UNC Healthcare residents twice a year.