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AROMATHERAPY

A Brief History of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy began with the ancient Egyptians, 4000 years ago. They discovered a method of extracting the oils of plants and used the oils for to alleviate dry skin, medicines, develop personal cosmetics and perfumes. Men and women used a cone of perfume on their heads, which would cover themselves in fragrance as the cone melted.

Although the Greeks learned a great deal from the Egyptians, Greek mythology apparently credits the gift of perfumes to their gods. Ancient Greeks also recognized the medicinal and aromatherapy benefits of plants. Hippocrates, commonly called the "father of medicine" practiced aromatherapy for both aromatic and medicinal benefit. A Greek perfumer by the name of Megallus created "Megaleion" - a perfume which included myrrh in an oil base which held a few main purposes, including it's wonderful aroma, anti-inflammatory properties towards the skin, and healing wounds.

A major event for the distillation of essential oils came with the invention of a coiled cooling pipe in the 11th century. The coiled pipe allowed the plant vapor and steam to cool down more effectively than previous distillers who used a straight cooling pipe.

The Black Death, also known as "The Plague", hit and killed millions of people throughout Europe. Herbal medicines and essential oils were used to help cure the disease. Many believe that perfumers may have avoided The Plague because of their continued use of natural aromatics and essential oils.

Eventually, many more plants were distilled to create essential oils including frankincense, juniper, rose, sage and rosemary. A great of books were written in the later part of the 15th century regarding herbs and their healing properties. Paracelcus, an alchemist, and medical doctor is given credit for coming up with the "essence". His life's work was crucial to changing the nature of alchemy for the manner in which he used plants for medicine.

The 16th century brought us the arrival of the apothecary, where one could purchase essential oils for their own personal use. As popularity of the apothecary grew, so did the variety of new essential oils. Creating perfumes became an art form in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The perfume industry was highly prosperous in the 19th century. Women would commission jewelers to create special bottles to hold their coveted perfumes. The 19th century also saw the isolation of the constituents of essential oils, making them more effective for medicinal purposes.

The knowledge of separating constituents contained in essential oils was used to create synthetic chemicals, and the pharmaceutical era is born. It had been believed that by using the constituents in synthetic form would be more beneficial medically and more cost effective to produce in the later part of the 19th century. The medical community then frowned upon the use of essential oils by the general population as a means to get everyone to use their synthetic medicines and fragrances.

During the earlier part of the 20th century, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse is known for becoming the father of modern aromatherapy. Gattefosse became interested in the use of essential oils after an accident in his family's perfumery. He burned his hand very badly, and dunked his hand into the nearest container of liquid he could find, which happened to be a vat of lavender essential oil. Not only was his swelling decreased, but the burn healed completed and left no scar! Gattefosse is credited with inventing the term aromatherapy in 1928 in an article he wrote which supports the use of using essential oils in their whole form. In 1937, Gattefosse published Aromatherapie: Les Huiles essentielles hormones vegetales. It was later translated into English and named Gattefosse's Aromatherapy. It is still widely available and considered a reference manual among many aromatherapists today.

Major aromatherapists of the 20th century include Jean Valnet, Madam Marguerite Maury, and Robert B. Tisserand. Jean Valnet is most remembered for his work using essential oils of chamomile, clove, lemon and thyme to treat injured soldiers and alleviate gangrene during the WW2, and for his book, The Practice of Aromatherapy (which was translated and written in English in 1980). Madam Marguerite Maury is remembered as a biochemist practiced use of aromatherapy for cosmetic purposes. Robert B. Tisserand is an English aromatherapist who is recognized for being the first individual to bring the education of aromatherapy to English speaking nations. He has written books and many articles including his highly respected "The Art of Aromatherapy", which was the first aromatherapy book published in English, in 1977.

In the 21st Century, there is a growing resurgence to utilize more natural products including essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic and aromatic purposes. The use of essential oils never stopped completely, but the scientific revolution of the 19th century minimized the popularity and use of essential oils by the mass population. Today's heightened awareness regarding the use of synthetics coupled with the increased availability of aromatherapy information has given credibility to the use of essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic, fragrant and spiritual use.