|
The practice of Aromatherapy is reputed to be at least 6,000 years old. The consensus of opinion is that Aromatherapy began in Egypt. A papyrus (ancient Egyptian manuscript), dating back to around 1555BC, details remedies for various types of illnesses. The methods described for curing these ailments bear a striking resemblance to today's Aromatherapy.
It is clear that the Egyptians used a process to extract oils from aromatic plants for use in medicinal remedies. Incense appears to be one of the earliest ways of using these aromatic extracts. There are records of Frankincense being burnt at sunrise as an offering to the sun god. The Egyptians also used aromatic portions during the procedure of embalming. It was also common practice for Egyptians to be massaged with fragrant oils after bathing.
The Greeks continued with the use of aromatic extracts and developed their applications for medicinal purposes. Pedacius Dioscorides, a Greek physician, compiled a reference book of herbal medicines called "De Materia Medica". This book was used in the Western world for at least 1,200 years. In fact, some of the remedies suggested by Dioscorides are still in use today, in Aromatherapy.
The Romans based their medical knowledge on the Greeks, but went on to improve the composition of aromatic extracts. They started to import new aromatic ingredients from Arabia and East India.
Because of the rapidly expanding trade routes, Arabia and the Far East soon adopted the practice of using aromatic extracts for varying applications.
It was an Arab physician called Avicenna, who lived from AD980 to AD1037 who first used a process resembling modern methods of distillation. The Arabs were also the first to distil alcohol. They were therefore, able to produce lighter perfumes that were not heavy oil based.
There is much evidence to suggest that ancient Chinese civilisations, at the same time as the Egyptians, were also using aromatic extracts for medical purposes. In fact, the oldest surviving medical book in China, (dated around 2,700BC and written by Shen Nung, contains cures involving over three hundred different aromatic herbs.
Records exist which also suggest that traditional Indian medicine, known as Ayurveda, has practised a form of Aromatherapy for over 3,000 years.
When the Conquistadores invaded South America, they discovered that the Aztecs used many aromatic herbs and oils as medicinal remedies. The North American Indians also used aromatic plant extracts to cure ailments.
It was not until the nineteenth century that Europe started to explore the benefits of using essential oils as health remedies. Later in the twentieth century, a French chemist, named René Maurice Gattefosse, researched the effects of using lavender oil for healing skin damaged by burns. He was impressed with the results and went on to coin the word Aromatherapy. He later set up a business producing oils for use in cosmetics. At about the same time another Frenchman, Albert Couvreur, published a book on the applications of essential oils in medicine.
From theses French studies, Aromatherapy as we know it today, evolved and became extremely popular.
| 
