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Information for this column provided in part
by Hasnain Walji, PhD from "The Healing Power of Aromatherapy" and Valerie Ann
Worwood from "The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy." When Dr.
Rene Gattefosse introduced the term "aromatherapy" in the early twentieth
century he was not describing an innovative method of treatment.
The word may have been new, but the
practice of aromatherapy has been a part of life since well before recorded history.
In fact, it has always been bound up with two of humankind's most basic needs--our
dependence on plants for food and medicine, and the expression of our spiritual
selves. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Arabs all incorporated
the use of essential oils into their lives, as did Europeans in the Middle Ages. This
practice started to fade, however, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as budding
chemists were starting to learn how to isolate the active principles within plants and to
manufacture them synthetically. The prevailing belief was that the other
constituents of plants were unnecessary and even impure and should be discarded.
Such was the faith in the "new medicine" that, by the nineteenth century, herbal
remedies and essential oils were regarded as belonging to the realms of superstition and
folk tradition, as little more than the "magic" of primitive peoples. Truths
have a way of reasserting themselves, however.
It was a chance incident that rekindled
interest in the healing powers of essential oils. Rene Gattefosse was a French chemist who
worked in his family's perfumery business. Although the essential oils were being
used exclusively for cosmetic purposes, his observations led him to appreciate their
antiseptic qualities. One day, while working in his laboratory, he burned his hand
severely in an explosion. Immediately he plunged his hand into some lavender essence
that happened to be nearby. To his amazement, the burn healed very quickly, without
infection or scarring. As a result, Gattefosse turned his scientific attention to
the medical properties of essential oils and their beneficial effects on skin
conditions. His research led him to write the book "Aromatherapies", which
was well received by other experts who went on to do their own research. Professor
Paolo Rovesti, Director of the Institute Derivati Vegatali in Milan, for example, was able
to show that depression and anxiety could be relieved by the inhalation of the oils from
certain plants.
Another French doctor can be credited
with consolidating the practice of aromatherapy for medical purposes. Dr. Jean
Valnet was an ex-army surgeon who, during WWII, used essential oils for treating wounded
soldiers. Up until that time, too, essential oils of clove, lemon, thyme, and
chamomile were used to fumigate hospital wards, as natural disinfectants, and to sterilize
surgical instruments. Valnet also found that he was able to cure long-term
psychiatric patients by administering essential oils internally, with, in some cases,
almost immediate results. The popular image of aromatherapy can be attributed to the
biochemist Marguerite Maury. It was she who linked the use of essential oils with
massage. She also must be credited with the concept of choosing and mixing
particular oils to suit the needs of individual clients, thereby introducing the holistic
approach to the therapy.
There are about three hundred essential
oils in general use today by professional practitioners, but the average household could
fulfill all its likely needs with about ten; Lavender, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Chamomile
(Roman or German), Eucalyptus, Geranium, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon, and Clove.
Each
single oil is used for many diverse purposes; physical and mental healthcare for men,
women and children, physical and mental healthcare for pets, beauty and hair care,
fragrant care for the home and garden, and some essential oils can even be used in
cooking! One of the most satisfactory aspects of using essential oils medicinally and
cosmetically is that they enter and leave the body with great efficiency, leaving no
toxins behind. The most effective way to use essential oils is not orally, as one
might think, but by external application or inhalation. The methods used include body
oils, compresses, cosmetic lotions, baths (including sitz, hand, and foot baths), hair
rinses, inhalation (by steam, direct from the bottle or from a tissue), perfumes, room
sprays, and a whole range of room methods. Although under supervision the essential oils
can be prescribed for oral ingestion, this is in fact their least effective mode of entry
because it involves their passing through the digestive system, where they come into
contact with digestive juices and other matter which affect their chemistry.
DO NOT EVER USE ESSENTIAL OILS
INTERNALLY unless it is under the advice of a qualified aroma therapist.
These oils are extremely volatile and concentrated and if taken internally could cause
severe damage, even death. Essential oils are extracted from certain varieties of trees,
shrubs, herbs, grasses, and flowers. The oil is extracted from the plant by a
variety of means, depending on the particular species. The most common method
is steam distillation, although other important methods are solvent extraction,
expression, enfleurage, and maceration. New methods are also being devised. It takes
a great deal of work to produce a tiny amount of essential oil. Sixty thousand rose
blossoms are required to produce one ounce of rose oil, whereas in the lavender plant the
essential oil is more abundant and 220 pounds will provide 7 pounds of oil.
The
price of each oils reflects these conditions, and because it takes eight million
hand-picked jasmine blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil, you can understand why that is
one of the most expensive oils on the market!
Essential oils are the high-grade fuel of plants, and by
taking them into our body we ingest the best of the goodness plants have to offer.
And the fact that they are so delightful to use and so flexible in their methods of use
makes them extremely pleasurable and easy to incorporate into our busy, modern
lifestyles. There are many different essential oils that are very helpful for
endometriosis and related health problems. If you are interested in using essential
oils therapeutically, please contact me (see addresses below) and I will be happy to help
you and/or answer any specific questions that you have.
Aromatherapy Do's and Don'ts
*DO keep oils away from your
eyes. If you should accidentally get oil in your eyes, wash them with plenty of
water.
*DO keep bottles out of reach of small
children. Use extra-diluted forms for babies and young children. Use oils for
children only under the supervision of a qualified health care professional.
*DO a patch-test before using essential
oils if you suffer from skin allergies, .
*DO consult your practitioner before
using essential oils if you are taking homeopathic remedies, .
*DO seek medical advice before using essential oils if
you suffer from epilepsy, .
*DON'T take the oils internally.
*DON'T apply neat (undiluted) essential
oils to your skin unless under supervision of a qualified health care professional.
*DON'T put essential oils on or near a
naked flame. They are flammable.
*DON'T use essential oils except under
the supervision of a qualified aroma therapist if you are pregnant,
.
DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING
ESSENTIAL OILS IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR NURSING
*(Oils indicated with an asterisk* should not be used by ANYONE for body or health
care.)
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