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How many times have you walked into your favorite restaurant, or stepped onto a trail in the woods, inhaled deeply and announced how wonderful it smells? Good smells make us feel good. It's that simple. Or is it? With aromatherapy's burgeoning popularity has come an onslaught of products, rendering the word almost meaningless. Department and grocery stores market everything from synthetic room fresheners to dish soap as 'aromatherapy.' Can aromatherapeutic motor oil be far behind?
Yet aromatherapy enthusiasts (and I count myself among them) claim a host of benefits, including stress reduction, renewed energy and mental alertness, and relief from the common cold. Is it just a generic lemony fragrance that gives your psyche a lift and clears your sinuses, or are essential oils something special? The answer is that while the vanilla-scented candle might sell your house faster, or the Mimosa room spray may temporarily cover up that funky mildew odor in the bathroom, essential oils have unique benefits to offer their users that can't be pre-fabbed in a lab.
Aromatherapy is the use of pure plant essences, essential oils, to improve our health and emotional well-being. Essential oils are the distilled vital oils that animated the living plant, providing resistance to insects and disease, promoting growth and flowering - the true life essence of the plant. Essential oils are most often distilled with steam, but some are so delicate they can only be extracted with a fat or chemical solvent. New methods such as CO2 distillation are also being developed, which extract even more of the plant's essence and can be used on materials, Calendula petals for instance, too fragile for steam distillation.
Aromatherapists use massage, vaporization, baths and other topical applications to stimulate the pathways and response systems of the body, from our endocrine and immune systems, to our memory and even our sweat glands. The ways in which we respond to essential oils are as numerous and varied as our molecular structure. When we encounter essential oils we are engaging in an invisible but very real molecular interaction. Essential oil molecules are absorbed through the skin in body oils, creams and baths. Even when we simply breathe, the molecules actually fit little receptors in our brain like keys in a lock. True essential oils represent millions of years of nature's experimentation and evolution. They are the silent half of our profound and intimate relationship with the natural world.
Aromatherapy can be used successfully to relieve the symptoms of flus and colds, to calm and soothe someone who is stressed or panicky, to relieve sore muscles, to encourage alertness and mental focus, among many other benefits. Aromatherapy pioneers such as Kurt Schnaubelt and Jeanne Rose also claim that the correct essential oils promote wound healing, prevent and remedy bruises and contusions, and support the immune system. Studies have been done that confirm the antibacterial properties of Tea Tree and Lemon oils, to name just two. These are claims that synthetic fragrances, for all the momentary pleasure they may bring, cannot hope to make. For these reasons and more, they should not be considered an aromatherapy alternative, although the cheaper price and ready availability often make them seem attractive. Meanwhile, the evidence that true essential oils can have profound positive impacts on acute and chronic conditions, as well as support greater health overall, is mounting.
Aromatherapy's remarkable benefits should come as no surprise. For thousands of years wo/man has used plants to treat infections and wounds, affect moods, and create atmosphere. The modern pharmaceutical industry was also originally based on medicines derived from plants. Early on, this industry chose to focus on isolating the components of plants that seemed most effective taken alone in high concentration. True aromatherapy, on the other hand, is in the tradition of herbal medicine that teaches that the whole plant can provide more gentle encouragement or correction and cause fewer (or no) side effects.
Although aromatherapy is treated as serious medicine in other countries, such as France and India, in the U.S. practitioners are prohibited from making specific medical claims by federal food and drug law. Because there is such inconsistency in aromatherapy education and the quality of essential oils available this is not all bad. It serves as an invitation to the individual to take a more active role in their own well-being and to compile personal knowledge through experience. But it's this same lack of official recognition of aromatherapy's health benefits that allows any product with a smell to be marketed as aromatherapy.
True essential oils are closer to fine wines and coffees than to modern perfumes. Even the label, "authentic essential oil" or "100% natural" will not guarantee you the real thing. Three guidelines you can use in your search for authentic aromatherapy products are price, feel and smell. Unadulterated essential oils are not cheap, and some are very expensive. If you find a Rose or Sandalwood that seems like a steal, beware. Pure essential oils are never greasy (with the singular exception of Calophyllum); a drop on your finger or a piece of paper should not leave an oily residue. True essential oils will vary some between batches, location, and distillation process, but they will always have a full, nuanced aroma. If an oil smells sharp, flat, acrid, or gives you an immediate headache, it may be adulterated or synthetic.
The origin and production method of essential oils affect their final quality, and an outstanding essential oil company can provide you with this information on request. Ultimately, let your nose be your guide. If you are accustomed to synthetic perfumes, the first time you smell a genuine Lavender will be surprising, but if you spend some time sniffing and using authentic essential oils, you'll soon be an experienced advocate of true aromatherapy. Happy smells to you!
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