Definition:
(courtesy of health plus web)
Aromatherapy is comprised of two words, Aroma-meaning fragrance or
smell and Therapy-meaning treatment. Aromatherapy was utilized by
the earliest civilizations and is believed to be at least 6000 years
old. Most people also believe that its origins began in Egypt. A medical
papyri considered to date back to approximately 1555 B.C. contains
treatments for all kinds of ailments and the methods of application
are similar to the ones used in Aromatherapy and herbal medicine today.
The Egyptians used a method called infusion to remove the oils from
aromatic plants and incense was probably one of the first methods
of using aromatics. Frankincense was burned at sunrise as an offering
to the sun god, Ra and myrrh was offered to the moon. The Egyptians
were experts at embalming using aromatics to help preserve flesh.
The Egyptians used to be massaged with fragrant oils after bathing.
The Greeks continued the use of aromatic oils and used them medicinally
and cosmetically. A Greek physician, Pedacius Dioscorides, wrote a
book about herbal medicine and for at least 1200 years as the Western
world's standard medical reference. Many of the remedies he mentions
are still in use today in Aromatherapy.
It also appears that the ancient Chinese civilizations were using
some kind of aromatics at the same time as the Egyptians. Shen Nung's
Herbal book is the oldest surviving medical book in China and dates
back to approximately 2700 B.C. and contains information on over 300
plants. The Chinese used aromatic herbs and burned aromatic woods
and incense to show respect to God.
However,
it wasn't until the 19th century that scientists in Europe and Great
Britain began researching the effects of essential oils on bacteria
in humans. A French chemist named Rene Maurice
Gattefosse began his research into the healing powers of essential
oils accidentally after burning his hand in his lab and soaking
it in lavender oil and impressed
by how quickly the burn healed. In 1937, he published a book about
the anti-microbial effects of the oils and termed it Aromatherapy.
He continued from there to start a business producing oils for use
in fragrances and cosmetics. At approximately the same time, there
was a Frenchman named Albert
Couvreur who published a book on the medicinal uses of essential
oils.
A French medical doctor, Jean Valnet, discovered Gattefosse's research
and started experimenting with essential oils. Around that time,
Margaret Maury, a French biochemist developed a unique procedure
of applying these oils to the skin with massage. Micheline Arcier
studied and worked with Maury and Valnet and their collaborative
methods created a form of Aromatherapy now used all over the world.
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