The Complete Essential Oils Sourcebook: A Practical Approach to the Use of Essential Oils for Health and Well-Being. Julia Lawless
Alma-Tadema, 1836–1912.
Cosmetic aromatherapy
The use of essential oils for skin and beauty care is an ancient and specialized aspect of aromatherapy. There are records that show that many primitive cultures used natural aromatics as a means of adornment and as a way of enhancing their beauty. Indeed, many indigenous peoples still do so today. However, the earliest and richest associations concerning the cosmetic use of aromatic materials are to be found in the practices of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, some 5000 years ago. Aromatic herbs, gums and oils were incorporated into carefully formulated cosmetic ointments and other beauty preparations, as well as being employed in the embalming process. Seen in this light, the Ancient Egyptians were the original precursors of modern beauty therapists, especially those who use aromatic oils as part of their cosmetic treatments.
Psycho-aromatherapy and perfumery
The term psycho-aromatherapy is used to describe the use of the pyschotherapeutic benefits of essential oils, effected mainly by inhalation but also by other methods of application. In the practice of psycho-aromatherapy the ways in which botanically derived aromas can influence moods and emotions and help to induce certain states of mind are studied. This can be by bringing about a state of relaxation or through their energizing and stimulating effects. This contrasts with aromachology, in which both natural and artificial scents are studied for their therapeutic value, but principally for purely commercial purposes in the perfume industry. Nevertheless, psycho-aromatherapy does have a great deal in common with the art of perfumery, especially since all perfumes were originally made using natural aromatics, and since they both focus on the psychological effects of scent and require a high degree of olfactory discrimination and knowledge.
Aromatherapy massage
There are many benefits to be derived from combining massage with the use of essential oils. It is the main method adopted by professional aromatherapists working in the field of alternative health care. Aromatherapy massage has been largely influenced by the French pioneer, Marguerite Maury, whose research work was directly aimed at utilizing the healing and revitalizing properties of aromatics, especially through application to the skin. This approach is notably beneficial for the treatment of stress-related disorders and requires a substantial degree of training, both in acquiring massage techniques and in understanding the many and varied properties of the essential oils that may be used.
Medical aromatherapy
Medical aromatherapy includes the systematic use of essential oils in the treatment of clinically diagnosed medical conditions. It adopts a wide range of methods, including oral prescription. It should only be practiced by suitably trained medical doctors or by clinical therapists, who, like qualified medical herbalists, have undergone a training period of at least four years. This is the approach of the 20th-century founder of aromatherapy, René-Maurice Gattefossé, and his scientific and medical successors.
THE PRACTICE OF AROMATHERAPY benefits from being placed within the context of holistic health care as a whole. Whereas the emphasis in modern allopathic or orthodox medicine is to target a given complaint with a specific remedy, from a holistic point of view, the best form of treatment is always a multifaceted one. The air we breathe, our nutrition, exercise, relaxation, and, above all, our emotional or mental disposition, are all essential factors which need to be taken into account.
Holistic health care is more concerned with cultivating an understanding of healthy living and of preventive techniques than with providing symptomatic relief. In any case of “disease,” it is vital to assess the overall health of the person, both physically and mentally, and then to try and ease the problem at its source, while at the same time building up the body’s natural immunity. It is preferable to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place.
Preventive medicine is not given enough value or emphasis in Western society today. It is all too easy to let health slide, then reach for a bottle of pills when something goes wrong. Yet most people are prepared to service their car regularly, rather than wait for the inevitable breakdown to occur. Why do we not seem to take the same precautions to nurture both our bodies and minds as in the East? There, many patients traditionally receive acupuncture treatment at each change of season to ensure that the body and mind remain in optimum health for the following quarter. It is also still traditional for Chinese people of all ages to gather outside in the mornings to practice tai chi, an ancient martial art form which combines gentle exercise with moving meditation to promote good health and longevity.
From the perspective of holistic health care, a wholesome diet, fresh air and sufficient exercise, together with a sense of emotional security, intellectual satisfaction, and some form of daily spiritual or psychological nourishment are all factors that can help to preserve a sense of well-being. Herbal tonics and natural aromatics have also held a traditional place in the preventive medicinal practices of many cultures, both ancient and modern. It is certainly true that people who are exposed to the beneficial effects of essential oils on a daily basis tend to have a greater resistance to disease in general.
“Consciously or unconsciously, every being is capable of healing himself or others …”
INAYAT KHAN
Tai chi exercises provide a way of keeping fit both mentally and physically.
“People who use essential oils all the time, as part of their daily bathing, skincare and household routines … have a high level of resistance to illness, ‘catching’ fewer colds … than average and recovering quickly if they do.”1
Essential oils exert a psychological lift (called their “cephalic effects”) and help to promote a positive mental state, while, on a more physiological level, they stimulate the immune system and exhibit all types of preventive and curative properties. In the words of the French medical aromatherapist, Dr. Daniel Penoël:
“Aromatic medicine is a preventive healing focusing on the evolutionary side of all living beings in the Biosphere, be it in the animal or the vegetable kingdom.”2
The pressures of Western society place many stresses and strains upon the individual. If these are not recognized, they can lead to more serious health problems. Aromatherapy, with its holistic approach to health and well-being, can be used to intervene and prevent long-term problems occurring.
APART FROM AROMATHERAPY and medical herbalism, there are many other types of alternative treatment that can be used in holistic medicine to complement and enhance one another. A condition such as osteoarthritis, for example, benefits from a multifaceted approach that would include specific herbal remedies, dietary changes, gentle exercise, aromatic baths, and massage treatments, as well as osteopathy, and possibly even pyschotherapeutic advice. On the other hand, it is possible to treat a condition such as a boil or bruise more simply at home with a combination of dietary nutrients and local aromatic applications. This book refers to the related treatments wherever possible.
In the section on aromatic remedies (here), each complaint is defined and a number of different methods of treating the problem are suggested, both with the use of essential oils in a variety of ways and with supportive techniques. “We are what we eat” is perhaps overused as a slogan, yet its truth remains. In holistic health care, and in the field of preventive medicine in particular, diet, together with a positive mental attitude is very influential in maintaining well-being. Details of the specific vitamins that