Liz Seal Holistic Massage

With Liz Seal,

‘Has Aromatherapy been around long then?’ A friend asked me recently… well…

Aromatic medicine has been around for quite a while. Scented balms, resins, herbs and spices have been used for 1000s of years. There is evidence that the ancient Egyptians used aromatics as a link to their Gods, as well as for bathing and in treating illness. Moving forward in time to about 500 years BC, the Greeks had a medical school on Cos where Hippocrates (known as the ‘Father of Medicine’) studied the use of many aromatic herbs and their uses in healing. The Roman empire had influence in bringing herbal remedies to other parts of the modern world. The word ‘perfume’ comes from the Latin ‘per fumum’ referring to the burning of incense. By the first century AD, ‘De Materia Medica’ written by Dioscorides listed about 500 plants and their medicinal properties.

Through the Middle Ages, developments in a number of herbal remedies and scientific methods led to many of the remedies we recognise today.

The term Aromatherapy (Aroma meaning smell and therapy- to treat) was coined by a French cosmetic chemist in the 1920’s. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse was working away in his laboratory when he burned his arm badly. He plunged the injured arm into the nearest vat of cold liquid, which happened to be Lavender essential oil, the pain was quickly reduced, and his arm healed without scars. Further study led, eventually, to the publication of the first modern written work on the use of plant extracts (essential oils) in treating ill health.

Aromatherapy varies across the world. In France and Germany for example, Medical Aromatherapy can be practiced and includes higher doses, internal use and pharmacological study. Holistic aromatherapy relies on a gentler, more subtle approach to the use of essential oils. Research into the medicinal properties of the essential oils is an ongoing but slow process, however we are learning all the time. Maybe those Ancients knew more than we give them credit for?