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Article Series: Aromatherapy
Teach Me Some
Aromatherapy Benefits
Aromatherapy
Historical Background
In brief, aromatherapy is the use of volatile
plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and
physical well-being. Although the term aromatherapy was not
used until the 20th Century, the foundations of aromatherapy
date back thousands of years. The use of essential oils in
particular date back nearly one thousand years.
The
Chinese may have been one of the first cultures to use
aromatic plants for well-being. Their practices involved burning
incense to help create harmony and balance. Later, the Egyptians
invented a rudimentary distillation machine that allowed for
the crude extraction of cedarwood oil. It is also thought by
some that Persia and India may have also invented crude distillation
machines, but very little is known.
Oils of cedarwood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and myrrh were
used by the Egyptians to embalm the dead. When a tomb was opened
in the early 20th century, traces of the herbs were discovered
with intact portions of the body. The scent, although faint,
was still apparent. Although the cedarwood the Egyptians used
was distilled by a crude distillation process, the other oils
the Egyptians used were most likely infused oils.
The
Egyptians also used infused oils and herbal preparations
for spiritual, medicinal, fragrant and cosmetic use. It is
thought that the Egyptians coined the term perfume, from the
Latin per fumum, which translates as through the smoke. Egyptian
men of the time used fragrance as readily as the women. An
interesting method that the men used to fragrance themselves
was to place a solid cone of perfume on their heads. It would
gradually melt and would cover them in fragrance.
The
Greeks learned a great deal from the Egyptians,
but Greek mythology apparently credits the gift and knowledge
of perfumes
to the gods. The Greeks also recognized the medicinal and aromatic
benefits of plants. Hippocrates, commonly called the "father
of medicine" practiced fumigations for both aromatic and
medicinal benefit. A Greek perfumer by the name of Megallus
created a perfume called megaleion. Megaleion included myrrh
in a fatty-oil base and served several purposes: (1) for its
aroma, (2) for its anti-inflammatory properties towards the
skin and (3) to heal wounds.
The
Roman Empire built upon the knowledge of the Egyptians
and Greeks. Discorides wrote a book called De Materia Medica
that described the properties of approximately 500 plants.
It is also reported that Discorides studied distillation. Distillation
during this period, however, focused on extracting aromatic
floral waters and not essential oils.
A major event for the distillation of essential oils came
with the invention of a coiled cooling pipe in the 11th century.
Persian by birth, Avicenna invented a coiled pipe which allowed
the plant vapor and steam to cool down more effectively than
previous distillers that used a straight cooling pipe. Avicenna's
contribution lead to more focus on essential oils and their
benefits.
Within the 12th century, an Abbess of Germany named Hildegard
grew and distilled lavender for its medicinal properties. Within
the 13th century, the pharmaceutical industry was born. This
event encourages great distillation of essential oils.
During the 14th century, the Black Death hit and killed millions
of people. Herbal preparations were used extensively to help
fight this terrible killer. It is believed that some perfumers
may have avoided the plague by their constant contact with
the natural aromatics.
As time progressed, these were more often used. During the
19th century, perfumery remained a prosperous industry. Women
would have their jeweler create a special bottle to hold their
treasured perfume. The 19th century also was important scientifically
as major constituents of essential oils became isolated.
During the 20th century, the knowledge of separating
the constituents of essential oils was used to create synthetic
chemicals and
drugs. It had been believed that by separating the major constituents
and then using the constituents alone or in synthetic form
would be beneficial therapeutically and economically. These
discoveries helped lead to "modern medicine" and
synthetic fragrances. This actually weakened the use of essential
oils for medicinal and aromatic benefit.
From the late 20th century and on into the 21st century, there
is a growing resurgence to utilize more natural products including
essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic and aromatic benefit.
The use of essential oils never ceased, but the scientific
revolution minimized the popularity and use of essential oils
in one's everyday life.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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