HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY

The Egyptians are known to have used plant resins and essences in embalming. Archaeologists in tombs dating back 3000 B.C found jars of Frankincense and Styrax. Some of the prescriptions and formulae were inscribed onto stone tables.

The Nile Valley was known as the “Cradle of Medicine”, then other cultures, especially the ancient Greeks gained this knowledge from travelling to this area and taking the information home. Hippocrates was a Greek and was involved in the use of plants in medicine, he also wrote on the subject.

The Romans conquered lands and took plants and the oils of these lands. Oils were used in the public baths both in the water and in massage.

China and India both have a long history of using plants and herbs and their extracts for medical purposes.

Distillation is the most common method of extraction, whereby the plant is boiled or steamed until the oil vaporises. This was developed by the Persian physician Ali Ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and brought to Europe by returning Crusaders in the Middle Ages.

A French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse coined the term aromatherapy in the 1920s. He burnt his hand and plunged it into a vat of lavender oil to cool it down, he found out that the lavender oil helped his burns to heal and left no scars. During the First World War he used oils on soldier’s wounds, which healed quicker.

Other French scientists including Dr Jean Valnet continued this research on physical burns and wounds; he also used oils during the Second World War owing to their antiseptic qualities.

Marguerite Maury an Austrian biochemist was responsible for bringing aromatherapy to Britain. She had discovered that when she used oils in massage the skin absorbed the oils. In the 1940s she brought her ideas for massage treatments using essential oils to this country and with the help of several people she set up aromatherapy practices. Although aromatherapy was first established for beauty then it developed as a clinical (medical) therapy by Robert Tisserand.

Aromatherapy is a truly holistic therapy, as it aims to treat the whole person by taking account of not only their physical state but also their emotions, which can have an effect on general well being.

It works on the principle that the most effective way to promote health and prevent illness is to strengthen the body’s immune system; in so doing, it helps to restore the harmony between mind and body.

Oils can be used by way of burning in oil burners, by putting a few drops in the bath tub or by use during massage, diluted with what is known as a base oil.  If used improperly, the oils can be highly toxic, some more so than others, so it is indispensable to use them with caution.