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Aromatherapy as a Positive Life Influence

Aromatics have been prized for centuries for their therapeutic, spiritual and aesthetic benefits. Today one need not look far to find products offering the benefits of aromatherapy. In fact, it is often confusing to determine what products or essential oils are the most beneficial and effective.

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 Millions of Americans believe aromatherapy works – but for many doctors, it still doesn’t pass the smell test

Copy link Email X (Twitter) Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Print The history of using essential oils and their aromas to improve health and well-being dates back thousands of years. Like today, patients would inhale or topically apply these oils, which were typically extracted from plants – from leaves to flowers to roots to bark. But not until the 1930s was this form of therapy considered to have true potential in mainstream health care. That was when Rene Maurice Gattefossé, a French chemist who coined the word aromatherapie, wrote extensively about the properties of essential oils. Today, depending on whom you talk to, aromatherapy comprises anything from pleasant odors associated with personal hygiene and cleaning products to a serious therapy practiced by aromatherapists.

 Millions of Americans believe aromatherapy works – but for many doctors, it still doesn’t pass the smell test

The history of using essential oils and their aromas to improve health and well-being dates back thousands of years. Like today, patients would inhale or topically apply these oils, which were typically extracted from plants – from leaves to flowers to roots to bark. But not until the 1930s was this form of therapy considered to have true potential in mainstream health care. That was when Rene Maurice Gattefossé, a French chemist who coined the word aromatherapie, wrote extensively about the properties of essential oils. Today, depending on whom you talk to, aromatherapy comprises anything from pleasant odors associated with personal hygiene and cleaning products to a serious therapy practiced by aromatherapists.

Articles of Interest

The Sense of Scents

Ancient civilization including (but not limited to) Romans, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, and Egyptians, give us evidence of aromatherapy’s old and deep roots with humans. Aromas can be extracted by distillation, or infusion which is simply placing a flower or leaf in oil or alcohol.

9 Classic Aromatherapy Oils And How They Change Your Mood And Body

If the words “aromatherapy“ or “essential oils” evoke images of hippies dipped in fragrant oils surrounded by burning incense in the pursuit of inner peace and zen, then you’re not alone.

A Scent to Lull You to Sleep

Lavender aromatherapy is a "reasonable" option to try for people with mild insomnia, but it is most likely to work as part of an overall calming bedtime routine

Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

Faced with increasingly drug-resistant bacteria, scientists and farmers are now looking to plant extracts to keep people and animals healthy.

How aromatherapy can help kids breathe in some mental goodness

Although scientific research has mostly focused on adults, experts agree that adding aromatherapy to a child’s routine can have powerfully positive effects on kids’ bodies and moods.

In Competition for Your Nose

Lovely and sweet-smelling, yes; scientifically proven, no. Although fragrances are used in all sorts of feel-good ways — in hospital rooms for cancer patients, in Japanese office buildings to pep up workers — the efficacy is largely anecdotal. And let’s face it: even in the annals of so-called wellness practices, aromatherapy can sound a bit like a punch line. “It sounds sort of frou-frou,” Ms. Close admitted. “We should change the name of it, first off.”

Scents and Sensibility: A Journey Through the World of Smell With Sissel Tolaas

Why is smell the most primary and primitive, and yet the most underrated sense? Can an abstract smell molecule portray or convey a specific learned meaning by itself? Can one get rid of prejudices against certain smells, and how?

Study suggests that exposure to different smells could help improve memory

A new study shows being exposed to different smells could help improve learning and memory. It also suggests that when we age, our sense of smell declines along with memory.

The Power of Aromas

Change your prospective and try aromatherapy to eliminate poor eating habits. Let the power of aromas keep you healthy.

What’s the Deal With Essential Oils?

If you’ve read about essential oils recently and wondered to yourself, “Is this for real?” you’re not alone. Call it a by-product of the green-juice-drinking, crystal-collecting movement, but essential oils (we’re talking about the kind you smell rather than the topical treatments) have become the latest wellness treatment adopted by activated-charcoal drinkers evangelizing about “gut health.”

Why your Facebook feed is filled with women selling essential oils and press-on nails

I had to draw the line at sex toys. A Facebook invitation titled "Girls Night In!!" promised games, wine, and "an evening of fabulous fun" at a friend's house. I read on for the rest: Would I be interested in tips and tricks to improve my relationship? And what about the chance to learn about a brand new line of products — no pressure! — from an exciting company called Pure Romance? By then, I'd become accustomed to these kinds of parties, where friends who work for multilevel marketing companies try to sell me their wares. I'd watched cooking demos. I'd sniffed dozens of candles and essential oils.

Resources

Aromahead Blog

Aromahead Institute is changing the Aromatherapy educational paradigm through an inspired approach to online education and creating community through social media.

Aromatherapy Associates

Aromatherapy Associates have been the leading experts within aromatherapy for over 30 years. We’re now proud to be present in superb hotels, resorts and day spa’s throughout the world as well as highly respected retail outlets such as Liberty, Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges. Our experience has shown that essential oils are extremely effective at enhancing the state of our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Aromatherapy.com

Little is known about the history of aromatherapy, or where it originated specifically, but the Egyptians are credited with developing one of the first distillation machines to extract oils from certain plants -- cedarwood, clove, cinnamon, to name a few -- which were used to embalm the dead. The practice of using infused aromatic oils as a mood enhancer, however, is thought to have roots in China.

AromaWeb

AromaWeb is a frequently referenced informational Web site that supplies extensive content and coverage of essential oil usage and the field of holistic aromatherapy.

Alliance of International Aromatherapists

AIA aims to increase awareness of and expand access to aromatherapists, help its members build successful practices, expand the body of aromatherapy research, and serve as a resource for members, the media and the public.

Aromatherapy Registration Council

The Registration Council will enhance the credibility and visibility of aromatherapy to the public and other medical professionals. By demonstrating the aromatherapy industry’s commitment to safety standards and ethics, a greater degree of confidence in aromatherapy could be created in the value and safety of aromatherapy.

Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists

The CFA mission was established to foster continuing growth, quality and high standards of education and practice within the aromatherapy profession and provide on-going information about quality of aromatherapy products and services to the public.

Herb Research Foundation

 For over 30 years, the Herb Research Foundation has been helping to educate the world about herbs. We offer solid science and informed opinion, for free.

International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists

The International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists is one of the largest professional aromatherapy practitioner organisations in the world and is a strong, respected voice in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy

NAHA’s mission is to advance the knowledge of the medicinal use of aromatic plants and essential oils to its fullest extent and to support aromatherapy as a truly holistic professional art and science.