In this article, we have compiled a brief history of aromatherapy to let you know how aromatherapy has evolved. we hope that by the end of this article you will understand its origins and how aromatherapy has developed over the centuries.

• The Beginning

Plants have always been used as a medicine since the beginning of mankind. A brief history of aromatherapy begins with primitive men who relied on their instincts to keep themselves alive.

Using the sense of smell and experiences man is able to conclude for himself that certain plants could help a sick person recover.

Animals too by instinct search for plants that could help cure their sickness.

• Early Civilisations

Andalus

Anciently, the Amazigh-Arabian people began to study the chemistry of the aromatic properties that resulted in a refined development of distillation.

This was first implemented in the extraction of rose oil and rose water, which were very popular in the Middle East at that time.

Various expeditions brought aromatic plants from one country to another.

Kings would barter and buy land, gold, slaves, and women with the oils that they had extracted even with their crude methods. Thus, oils were more valuable than gold.

Egypt

The Egyptians had invented the first basic distillation equipment to create herbal-infused oils. They use it for cosmetics, medicine, rituals, and the making of perfumes.

Many years later Hippocrates (Father of Medicines), circa 460-377 BC, was said to have studied and documented over 200 different herbs during his lifetime and promoted their use for medicinal purposes.

China

Joss stick umThe Chinese were also practicing some form of aromatics. The ancient Chinese uses mugwort leaves and calamus roots for hygiene purposes some 5000 years ago.

A famous medical text written by Shen Nung (#227), 2700 BC, contains the details of over 365 plants and their properties. Aromatics was and still is used together with massage, acupressure, and other ancient therapies.

The Chinese also pay respect to their Gods by burning woods and incense. This tradition is still in practice today.

India

Ayurveda which is a form of the traditional medical approach, combines dried and fresh herbs with an aromatic massage. It has been in practice for centuries in India.

France

Cave paintings that portray the first use of plants for healings and medicinal purposes had been founded in the caves of Lascaux in the Dordogne region of France.

Modern Societies

“René-Manrice Gattefossé”, a French chemist who was bom in Montchat near Lyon in 1881, gave birth to the word ‘Aromatherapy’. Now commonly used to describe the use of essential oils today.

Gattefossé had bum his hand while working in his laboratory, out of reflex, he dipped his hand into a vat of Lavender oil. He was fascinated by how quickly the burned hand healed without scaring.

This lead him to start investigating & studying the effects of other essential oils and went on to become one of the pioneers of Aromatherapy.

In 1937 Gattefossé published a book named * Aromathérapié: Les Huiles essentielles hormones végétales’. It was later translated into English as “Gattefossé’s Aromatherapy. This book is still in print today.

As a result of Gattefossé’s work, Dr. Jean Valet used aromatherapy oils to treat the injured soldiers during WWII. With success.

‘Madame Marguerite Maury, a biochemist, and cosmetologist elevated the use of aromatherapy to a higher level. She developed the methods of diluting and blending aromatherapy oils to be used for massage.

In 1964 Maury published a book by the name of Le Capital Jeunesse. This book was translated to English named ‘The Secret of Life and Youth.

Today Madame Marguerite Maury is often referred to as the Mother of Modern Aromatherapy Practice.

“Robert B. Tisserand“, an English Aromatherapist brought aromatherapy to the English-speaking populations by publishing the first book in English in 1977 named The Art of Aromatherapy.

Although the word ‘Aromatherapy’ was only first used in 1920, the benefits of plant-based therapy had been around since the beginning of mankind.

Aromatic plants were used for incense, medicine, and the production of perfumes for thousands of years.

• Conclusion :

When exposed to air at room temperature, they evaporate, also known as ethereal oils.

They represent the essence or active constituent of the plant, hence they are also known as essential oils.