Throughout history, all around the world, plant extracts, herbs
and oils have been used for their medicinal powers. As long
as 40,000 years ago it is thought that Native Australians used
natural remedies.
The ancient Egyptians used aromatic oils
for medicine and cosmetics, their dead Pharaohs being embalmed
in exotic oils. The Romans and Ancient Greeks loved to use
aromatic oils, particularly in their bath houses, where they
were used on the advice of the famous "Father of Modern
Medicine" Hippocrates (460BC), who advocated that "the
way to good health is to have an aromatic bath and scented
massage every day".
The "Perfumes of Arabia" were
first discovered by western man and brought back to Europe
by the Crusaders, where they became popular and fashionable
with the aristocracy.
During the Middle Ages the antiseptic properties
of Essential oils made them a useful aid to the doctors of
that time. It is said that some doctors carried these antiseptic
and aromatic oils in the handles of their walking sticks,
which they held to their noses whilst visiting patients. The
re-discovery of the properties of essential oils prompted
the beginning of scientific research during this era.
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are highly concentrated volatile aromatic substances
extracted from a single plant part. for example, the petals
of the rose and jasmine, the leaves of the rosemary bush,
the wood of the sandalwood, the rind of the lemon and orange.
These oils are often referred to as the hormones or life force
of the plant.
Essential oils are used in aromatherapy,
a term which was coined early last century at term which simply
means 'therapy using aromas', by a famous French chemist,
Dr. R.H. Gattafosse who was involved in considerable scientific
research in to the properties of essential oils.
How Essential Oils Work
Essential oils enter
the body and have their effect by two routes, the nose and
the skin.
How do you feel when you smell the sweet
scent of a garden? Do you open up your lungs and take a deep
breath? When you enter a hospital or sick room, does your
breathing become shallower? Does the whiff of a long-forgotten
scent bring back sensations and feelings from the past? The
sense of smell has profound effect, influencing us even when
we are not necessarily aware.
When inhaling the oils, tiny particles are
taken to the roof of the nose where the olfactory system is
located. Here the cilia (thin hairs) transmit information
to the olfactory bulb that is situated behind the eyes. Smell
signals are then decoded and sent on throughout the body.
It is now a scientifically-acknowledged
fact that toxic material can penetrate the skin and enter
the bloodstream. However, it is also a fact that essential
oils have this same ability. Particularly when blended with
a carrier oil. The essential oils have a tiny molecular structure,
which is minute enough to permeate the skin via the hair follicles
and pores. From there the molecules are carried through the
bloodstream via tiny carrying capillaries.
In this commercialized and polluted
world, essential oils offer a cost-effective way to use remedies
which have been in existence since ancient times through the
tools supplied to you from Mother Nature herself. Most importantly,
they allow you to be in control of the substances you put
into, and onto, your own body.
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