There is a long history of the use of aromatics for healing and medicine. Aromatic essences were offered as gifts by the Egyptians to their gods. They were used for embalming, medicine and cosmetology. There is also evidence that plants were macerated in wine to be used to make anaesthetic and servants were rewarded with gifts of aromatics.
The Ancient Greeks used aromatic preparations to care for the body and to cure illness. The Greeks catalogued their knowledge of healing properties of plants and passed on this knowledge to the Romans.
The Romans had access to many countries producing aromatic essences. Baths and spas were very popular in Roman culture as well as cleansing and massage with fragrant oils.
Around AD 900, Avicenna, an Arabian, is credited with the first distillation of essential oils.
Avicenna wrote several books on the healing properties of plants. The Crusaders learned about essences and aromatics from the Arabs. This knowledge especially included distillation and they brought this knowledge to their own countries between 10th and 12th centuries.
In the 19th century, a wealth of new scientific knowledge was discovered and essences were produced synthetically; however, they often contained mercury and lead. At this time, Opium and Cocaine were legal and the most popular choices for medication. There was consequently a decline of natural medicine and use of aromatic essences.
During the 20th century there was a resurgence in the use of aromatics and essential oils, especially in France. Rene Maurice Gattefosse was a French chemist who documented his accidental discovery of the healing properties of lavender. He is regarded by many as the father of aromatherapy and wrote the first book on the subject in 1937.
During the 1950’s, Dr Jean Valnet worked to establish aromatherapy as a science in France. Much of his research was based in the field of war with soldiers during World War 2. He has written many books including ‘The Practice of Aromatherapy’.
Robert Tisserand is a widely respected aromatherapist who is responsible for bringing the practice of aromatherapy to English speaking nations. His book, The Art of Aromatherapy, is one of the most well known texts on the subject.
Marguerite Maury, a biochemist, also working in the 1950’s, was the first person outside the medical world to study the penetrative power of oils through the skin. She based her work on that of Maurice Gattefosse and her own clinical experience and led the way in the use of essential oils in beauty therapy and health care. She developed the therapeutic treatment combining oils and massage that we recognise as Aromatherapy.
