Aromatherapy Through the Ages

The term aromatherapy is one that has only been used since the 20th century but the practice of it has been around since almost the beginning of mankind. The extraction and use of essential oils we know has been around at least one thousand years, with the Chinese being at the forefront of using plants and its oils for medical purposes. Even further back than this, the ancient Egyptians used extracted oils from aromatic plants to treat ailments and more significantly they also used oils like of cedar wood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and myrrh for embalming the dead.

The ancient Greeks also practiced aromatherapy where the fumigation of oils was carried out both for physical and spiritual healing. It should be noted however that during this period the process of distilling essential oils was limited more to the extraction of floral water and not the oils themselves. It was not until around 1200 AD that the distillation of essential oils was possible due to the invention of coiled cooling pipes.

Thus in the centuries that followed essential oils started to become more popular and more types of plants started to have their oils extracted through the distillation process which were then sold in apocathery shops during the middle ages with more and more oils introduced as their popularity increased.

More recently essential oils of plants have been studied more closely for their medicinal qualities so much so that some components have been isolated to create medicines. However it is the synthetic man made chemical medicines produced in latter century and their sometime harmful side effects that have in recent times propelled aromatherapy and the use of essential oils as a more natural and preferable alternative health substitute which has stood the test of time.

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What is aromatherapy?

The use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being.
A system of caring for the body with botanical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender (used to soothe cuts, bruises and insect bites), and peppermint. These essential oils can be added to a bath, massaged through the skin, inhaled directly, used with teas, or scented in a room. This therapy is intended to relieve pain, care for the skin, and alleviate tension and fatigue.
The use of fragrant, natural, botanical essential oils from plants, leaves, bark, roots, seeds, resins and flowers as a healing art. Aromatherapy refreshes and relaxes the skin while soothing the mind by helping to induce a sense of well-being. Each individual essence is used to produce a specific beneficial effect. Used in massage and facials.
The use of essential oils from aromatic plants to restore and enhance health and beauty as defined by the American Aromatherapy Association. Aromatherapy uses as its basic ingredients essential oils, which represent the highest herbal energy. Essential oils are highly concentrated, volatile extracts retrieved from aromatic herbs, flowers, seeds and trees; they contain hormone-like properties, vitamins, minerals and natural antiseptics.