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Aromatherapy Research Paper

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The use of plants, aromas and natural ingredients for their healing and health-improving qualities dates back thousands of years. To fully appreciate what aromatherapy is today, we first need to return to its humble beginnings. Firstly, we’ll look at a general description of what aromatherapy is and then explore a little of its history. What is aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is the art of using plant-based essential oils to maintain or improve our mental, physical or spiritual wellbeing. The essential oils are obtained (often through the process of distillation) from different parts of the plant. For example, from its leaves, seeds, flowers or bark. (http://www.ifparoma.org/public/whatisaromatherapy.php). Examples of essential oils include lavender, …show more content…

The Greeks and Romans used essential oils for massage in their bath houses. (Hare, 2004 https://books.google.co.uk/books? id=tTsJocoSCasC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=Aromatherapy+Massage: +Essential+Oils+Explained+for+Health+and+Pleasure&source=bl&ots=zZz_of85kM&sig=Irjh 5_QVo50Au_tA6kG27q11wPs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AypfVebaHMjbUciwgMgK&ved=0CC8Q6AE wAg#v=onepage&q&f=false. This could be seen to be like the spa massages which are very popular in the modern day. It was the Romans who are credited with bringing perfumery over to the British Isles. However, that’s not to say that some form did not already exist here. Other early civilizations, such as the Japanese, Indians, Persians and Incas also exploited aromatics for various …show more content…

Valnet, like Gattefosse was methodical. He chose essential oils on the basis of active constituents and he related their functional groups with their potential therapeutic properties (Rhind, 2012 https://books.google.co.uk/books? id=aUHGyCqvSxgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essential+Oils: +A+Handbook+for+Aromatherapy+Practice&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dAg1VdyZB6Kd7gaQYGABQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Aromatherapy in the UK Widespread interest in the UK followed the publication of Robert Tisserand's 'The Art of Aromatherapy' in 1977. Tisserand also went on to found the 'International Journal of Aromatherapy', which accrued an evidence base and greater credibility for the profession. (Rhind, 2012 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aUHGyCqvSxgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essential+Oils: +A+Handbook+for+Aromatherapy+Practice&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dAg1VdyZB6Kd7gaQYGABQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

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