about ways of preventing illness in the first place, and to be able to use simple, safe, and drug-free home remedies for ordinary, everyday ailments. There is also a growing feeling that in modern medicine we are treated as a collection of parts, some of which may have problems, rather than as a whole organism, and least of all as a person. In contrast, complementary medicine, of which aromatherapy forms a part, offers a way of being treated holistically—as a whole being in whom there are many aspects of a disease or illness and for whom individually tailored treatment is required.
In our search for ways of keeping fit and healthy without needing to use synthetic drugs, aromatherapy oils offer the advantage of their complete naturalness and their general safety and simplicity of use. They offer ways of preventing illness and treating ourselves at home, and in the hands of professional practitioners they can be used as part of a multifaceted holistic treatment.
In fact, of course, things are never quite as simple as they seem. Aromatherapy is complex in many ways. Firstly, it means different things to different people, and secondly the oils used, although simple in that each is the pure, natural product of a single plant, are complex and potent substances that need to be used with care, knowledge and experience.
The oils can be used simply for their fragrance and its effects on mood and emotion, but in professional practice their physiological effect is central. This is generally obtained through the oils being used in massage treatment, but some practitioners (with full medical qualifications) also use essential oils clinically in the tradition of the French pioneer, René-Maurice Gattefossé, in minutely prescribed oral doses and through inhalation.
“Volatile essences have healed people since the dawn of time.”
RENÉ-MAURICE GATTEFOSSÉ
The word “aromatherapy” literally means therapy through aroma or scent, without specifying the source of the scent. But aromatherapy in practice uses only essential oils, and no other form of scent. Its richness is that it has so many aspects, which are complementary to each other, and which may also overlap, but which are nevertheless distinct. In professional medical practice, it is the substances or oils themselves and their bio-chemical effects that are central, while in many home uses of essential oils it is the aroma that counts and the pleasure of the scent is the main reason for using the oils. Between these two extremes are cosmetic aromatherapy and massage, where the scent and the beneficial physiological effect of essential oils go hand in hand, and simple medical aromatherapy, which uses the oils’ many curative effects. Aromatherapy must be unique in having so many facets, and in offering such a wealth of pleasurable, practical, and therapeutic uses.
THE THERAPEUTIC USE of essential oils covers a very wide spectrum. This is part of their charm and uniqueness. At their simplest, oils can be worn as natural perfumes, made into aromatic bath preparations or used in many ways as home remedies. They can also be combined with both home and professional massage to provide a very effective treatment for stress-relief. At the other end of the scale, specific botanical essences can be used by clinically trained therapists or doctors for the treatment of serious medical conditions.
Rose petals are a traditional ingredient in potpourri.
The ways in which aromatherapy can be practiced can be separated into five areas of specialization. Although it is impossible to draw hard and fast lines between these various aspects, classifications of this kind are helpful, at least in the short term, for the process of clarification and understanding. These different areas are: simple aromatherapy for home use, cosmetic aromatherapy, perfumery and the psychotherapeutic use of oils for the effects of their odors on the mind, massage using essential oils, and medical and clinical aromatherapy, where essential oils are used to treat medical complaints.
Simple aromatherapy
A basic approach uses aromatic oils in a wide range of methods, including vaporization, aromatic bathing, local massage, cosmetic creams, and steam inhalation, for first-aid purposes and in the treatment of common complaints. This approach is in the ancient tradition of herbal “simples”—home remedies or household secrets, originally passed on from generation to generation. It can be adapted by nurses and other professionals and used as an adjunct to medical treatment. As a type of preventive medicine, it can help to ward off infectious illness and promote general health and well-being.
“The Roses of Heliogabalus” by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1836–1912.
Cosmetic aromatherapy
The use of essential oils for skin and beauty care is an ancient and specialized aspect of aromatherapy. There are records that show that many primitive cultures used natural aromatics as a means of adornment and as a way of enhancing their beauty. Indeed, many indigenous peoples still do so today. However, the earliest and richest associations concerning the cosmetic use of aromatic materials are to be found in the practices of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, some 5000 years ago. Aromatic herbs, gums and oils were incorporated into carefully formulated cosmetic ointments and other beauty preparations, as well as being employed in the embalming process. Seen in this light, the Ancient Egyptians were the original precursors of modern beauty therapists, especially those who use aromatic oils as part of their cosmetic treatments.
Psycho-aromatherapy and perfumery
The term psycho-aromatherapy is used to describe the use of the pyschotherapeutic benefits of essential oils, effected mainly by inhalation but also by other methods of application. In the practice of psycho-aromatherapy the ways in which botanically derived aromas can influence moods and emotions and help to induce certain states of mind are studied. This can be by bringing about a state of relaxation or through their energizing and stimulating effects. This contrasts with aromachology, in which both natural and artificial scents are studied for their therapeutic value, but principally for purely commercial purposes in the perfume industry. Nevertheless, psycho-aromatherapy does have a great deal in common with the art of perfumery, especially since all perfumes were originally made using natural aromatics, and since they both focus on the psychological effects of scent and require a high degree of olfactory discrimination and knowledge.
Aromatherapy massage
There are many benefits to be derived from combining massage with the use of essential oils. It is the main method adopted by professional aromatherapists working in the field of alternative health care. Aromatherapy massage has been largely influenced by the French pioneer, Marguerite Maury, whose research work was directly aimed at utilizing the healing and revitalizing properties of aromatics, especially through application to the skin. This approach is notably beneficial for the treatment of stress-related disorders and requires a substantial degree of training, both in acquiring massage techniques and in understanding the many and varied properties of the essential oils that may be used.
Medical aromatherapy
Medical aromatherapy includes the systematic use of essential oils in the treatment of clinically diagnosed medical conditions. It adopts a wide range of methods, including oral prescription. It should only be practiced by suitably trained medical doctors or by clinical therapists, who, like qualified medical
