The word” Essence” comes from,” Quintessence,” meaning that of which the cosmos is made, according to Plato. During the Middle Ages “Essence” represented the various degrees of distillation that involved the technique of purifying an organic liquid compound by precipitating and collecting the hot vapors coming off the boiling liquid. It has always captured the imagination of man for the distillation, and the use of alcohol is known for thousands of years.
Let’s go further back in time and explore the history of Aroma Therapy.
The practice of aromatherapy is as old as history itself for people around the world improved their lives with the method of Plant healing.
In the early years of humanity, man discovered that plants did not only nourish the body but also had healing properties when ingested or applied to the skin. Today, these ancient remedies are still used and prescribed by practitioners.
Egyptians used resins and other essential oils to balsam their deceased loved ones. They also started the practice of using fragrant plant essences as perfumes. Archeologists have found alabaster vessels with perfectly preserved resins like Frankincense, myrrh, and galbanum during the excavations of their temples and tombs. These resins are known to have been used at some stage to preserve the bodies of their royalty in preparation for the afterlife. At festivals and celebrations, women carried perfumed cones on their heads which would melt under the heat, releasing their beautiful fragrance. They also developed the use of plant material for healing; We all know the story of Cleopatra, her beauty, and her seduction of men.
At the same time, a distillation of plant material also took place in Asia.
The Chinese began using aromatic oils in their healing practices around the same time as the Ancient Egyptians. The Chinese used aromatherapy oils primarily medicinally but also burned the oils as part of religious tribute rituals.
Essential oils were also a necessary element of the practice of Ayurveda. It is a natural healing system that combines spiritual and philosophical aspects practiced in daily life.
Ayurveda has been around for at least 5000 years. Ayurvedic literature from 2000 BC records Indian doctors administering oils of cinnamon, ginger, myrrh, coriander, spikenard and sandalwood to their patients.
The Vedas, India’s most sacred book, mentions over 700 different herbs and aromatics codifying the uses of perfumes and aromatics for a religious and therapeutic purpose.
After the decline of the Egyptian empire Europe became the heart of medicine, new methods were evolving into a more scientifically based system of healing. Much of the education that became part of Greek, Roman and Jewish culture came from the Egyptians.
Hippocrates, the Greek physician whose influence still informs the medical community, was considered the father of modern medicine. Among other things, he studied and documented the medicinal importance of over 300 plants, he reportedly advised that “The way to health was to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day.”
The Greeks profoundly influenced the Roman culture. They used aromatic materials and essential oils on a daily base. They build many Bathhouses and Thermae throughout the cities where they had massages and baths.
As the Roman Empire began to decline, Europe plunged into the dark ages. There is a hiatus in the use of Aromatherapy of approximately 1000 years because of the early Christian churches’ backlash against the Roman empires “extravagant use of EO. We can say that history is also the history of Fragrance and Perfumes.
Maurice Gattefosse reintroduced modern Aromatherapy after he had an accident at his laboratory. In 1910 he severely burned his hands and arms in an accidental lab explosion. He submerged his burns in a large container of lavender oil, reporting that “just one rinse with lavender essence stopped the gasification of the tissue. This experience led Gattefosse to investigate the medical uses of essential oils by treating soldiers in military hospitals during World War I. He came up with the term “aromatherapy” in 1920’s-1930’s.
Jean Valnet was a Parisian medical doctor and army surgeon. He started to use essential oils as antiseptics, treating war wounds during the Indochina war. After the war, he continued using essential oils in his practice in France. In 1964 he published “The Practice of Aromatherapy.” It is still common practice in France to get EO prescriptions from a Pharmacist.
In the 1980′s French MD, Daniel Pénoël along with French biochemist Pierre Franchomme investigated the medical properties of over 270 essential oils and put them in a catalog. They also co-authored a reference book listing the medicinal properties of those oils. That book was published in 1990. L’aroma therapies Exactement quickly became the primary reference book for other authors researching and writing of the medical benefits of essential oils.
Other Pioneers: Marcel Lafabre, Kurt Schnaubelt, and Gary Young from Young Living.
Andre and Wilma were introduced to Aromatherapy by the late Rea Dunphy some 20 years ago, and since then the use of EO is a regular staple in our household and our Spa business’. We consider her also a pioneer in Aromatherapy.