The History of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy may have only discovered popularity, but the correct term should be rediscovery. Aromatherapy came into existence at the same time as aromatic medicine.

In ancient times, aromatherapy was used with mysticism, religion, and magic. The ancient Egyptians, for example, used incense from aromatic woods, spices, and herbs to honor the gods. As the smoke rose up in the air, the Egyptians believed that their wishes and prayers were carried along with it. Likewise, mummification existed for the Egyptians in their quest for immortal life. In order to preserve their dead through the mummification process, they utilized cinnamon, cedar wood, juniper berry, spikenard, myrrh, frankincense, and galbanum.

During those days, the Egyptians get their supplies of herbs and spice from merchants of the Arab world. Egyptians were also well-known for using scents at every opportunity. Women usually put on scented cones on their heads at festivals and celebrations. During the heat, the cones would melt and release their fragrance. Egyptians were also quite fond of anointing their bodies with oils to prevent the drying of their skin from too much sun.

Between the 18^th and 25^th century, there was marked refinement of aromatics use among the Egyptians. From just being simple incense, aromatics had made its way into cosmetics, medicine, and perfumery. Before the downfall of the Egyptian Empire around 300 BC, other cultures borrowed from their knowledge and practice of aromatic medicine.

The father of medicine, Hippocrates, was well-known for using baths, physiotherapies, massage with infusions, and the internal use of herbs in order to treat different illnesses. He was able to research and document about 200 various herbs. Hippocrates was the very first to think of the foundation of aromatherapy, which is holism.

The reign of Alexander the Great in Egypt made aromatics, perfumes, and herbs popular in Greece. Theophrastus of Athens wrote "The History of Plants," which stated the basic philosophy that plants and scents can affect emotions. Today, Theophrastus is known as the founder of botany.

The most remarkable contributions to aromatics and medicine came from the Persians, particularly from one of Persia's greatest physicians, Al-Razi. He wrote a total of 237 books and articles on several branches in science and half of them were about medicine. The most well-known and influential of all Islamic physicians, however, was Ibn Sina. Ibn Sina's contribution to medicine was the 14 volumes of "Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb" or "The Canon of Medicine." The volumes contained almost everything about medical knowledge.

Moving on to the medieval age, the most influential herbalists of that time was Nicholas Culpeper. He created the concept of astrological herbalism. He made detailed observations about the use of oils and herbs with astrology. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist was the one who coined the term aromatherapie. Another French physician, Jean Valnet used the essential oils of clove, lemon, thyme, and chamomile to treat battle wounds and gangrene. Finally, the first book on aromatherapy called "The Art of Aromatherapy" was written by Englishman Robert Tisserand. He took his inspiration from both Gattefosse and Valnet.