Aromatherapy



The word may have been new, but the practice of aromatherapy has been a part of life since well before recorded history. In fact, it has always been bound up with two of humankind's most basic needs--our dependence on plants for food and medicine, and the expression of our spiritual selves. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Arabs all incorporated the use of essential oils into their lives, as did Europeans in the Middle Ages. This practice started to fade, however, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as budding chemists were starting to learn how to isolate the active principles within plants and to manufacture them synthetically. The prevailing belief was that the other constituents of plants were unnecessary and even impure and should be discarded. Such was the faith in the "new medicine" that, by the nineteenth century, herbal remedies and essential oils were regarded as belonging to the realms of superstition and folk tradition, as little more than the "magic" of primitive peoples. Truths have a way of reasserting themselves, however.

It was a chance incident that rekindled interest in the healing powers of essential oils. Rene Gattefosse was a French chemist who worked in his family's perfumery business. Although the essential oils were being used exclusively for cosmetic purposes, his observations led him to appreciate their antiseptic qualities. One day, while working in his laboratory, he burned his hand severely in an explosion. Immediately he plunged his hand into some lavender essence that happened to be nearby. To his amazement, the burn healed very quickly, without infection or scarring. As a result, Gattefosse turned his scientific attention to the medical properties of essential oils and their beneficial effects on skin conditions. His research led him to write the book "Aromatherapies", which was well received by other experts who went on to do their own research. Professor Paolo Rovesti, Director of the Institute Derivati Vegatali in Milan, for example, was able to show that depression and anxiety could be relieved by the inhalation of the oils from certain plants.

Another French doctor can be credited with consolidating the practice of aromatherapy for medical purposes.  Dr. Jean Valnet was an ex-army surgeon who, during WWII, used essential oils for treating wounded soldiers. Up until that time, too, essential oils of clove, lemon, thyme, and chamomile were used to fumigate hospital wards, as natural disinfectants, and to sterilize surgical instruments.  Dr. Valnet also found that he was able to cure long-term psychiatric patients by administering essential oils internally, with, in some cases, almost immediate results. The popular image of aromatherapy can be attributed to the biochemist Marguerite Maury.  It was she who linked the use of essential oils with massage. She also must be credited with the concept of choosing and mixing particular oils to suit the needs of individual clients, thereby introducing the holistic approach to the therapy.

There are about three hundred essential oils in general use today by professional practitioners, but the average household could fulfill all its likely needs with about ten; Lavender, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Chamomile (Roman or German), Eucalyptus, Geranium, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon, and Clove. Each single oil is used for many diverse purposes; physical and mental healthcare for men, women and children, physical and mental healthcare for pets, beauty and hair care, fragrant care for the home and garden, and some essential oils can even be used in cooking! One of the most satisfactory aspects of using essential oils medicinally and cosmetically is that they enter and leave the body with great efficiency, leaving no toxins behind. The most effective way to use essential oils is not orally, as one might think, but by external application or inhalation. The methods used include body oils, compresses, cosmetic lotions, baths (including sitz, hand, and foot baths), hair rinses, inhalation (by steam, direct from the bottle or from a tissue), perfumes, room sprays, and a whole range of room methods. Although under supervision the essential oils can be prescribed for oral ingestion, this is in fact their least effective mode of entry because it involves their passing through the digestive system, where they come into contact with digestive juices and other matter, which affect their chemistry.

DO NOT EVER USE ESSENTIAL OILS INTERNALLY unless it is under the advice of a qualified aromatherapist. These oils are extremely volatile and concentrated and if taken internally could cause severe damage, even death. Essential oils are extracted from certain varieties of trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and flowers. The oil is extracted from the plant by a variety of means, depending on the particular species. The most common method is steam distillation, although other important methods are solvent extraction, expression, effleurage, and maceration. New methods are also being devised. It takes a great deal of work to produce a tiny amount of essential oil. Sixty thousand rose blossoms are required to produce one ounce of rose oil, whereas in the lavender plant the essential oil is more abundant and 220 pounds will provide 7 pounds of oil. The price of each oils reflects these conditions, and because it takes eight million hand-picked jasmine blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil, you can understand why that is one of the most expensive oils on the market!
Essential oils are the high-grade fuel of plants, and by taking them into our body we ingest the best of the goodness plants have to offer. The fact that they are so delightful to use and so flexible in their methods of use makes them extremely pleasurable and easy to incorporate into our busy, modern lifestyles.

Aromatherapy Do's and Don'ts

DO keep oils away from your eyes. If you should accidentally get oil in your eyes, wash them with plenty of milk, NOT  water, as milk will keep the oils from penetrating into the tissues.  Soy and Almond milk also work well for this purpose.

DO keep bottles out of reach of small children. Use extra-diluted forms for babies and young children. Use oils for children only under the supervision of a qualified health care professional.
DO a patch-test before using essential oils if you suffer from skin allergies.

DO consult your practitioner before using essential oils if you are taking homeopathic remedies.

DO seek medical advice before using essential oils if you suffer from epilepsy.

DON'T take the oils internally.

DON'T apply neat (undiluted) essential oils to your skin unless under supervision of a qualified health care professional.

DON'T put essential oils on or near a naked flame.  They are flammable.

DON'T use essential oils except under the supervision of a qualified aromatherapist if you are pregnant.
 
To view aromatherapy products, go to the Aromatherapy, Lavender Essential Oil, Plant Therapy, Aromatherapy Diffuser, Essential Oils page.

DISCLAIMER:  These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are for educational purposes only.  These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.


Carol Koenigsknecht, Medical Consumer Writer
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO