Commerical Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is “treatment using scents”.  Aromatherapists use therapeutic oil extracts(essential oils) from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds.  There are approximately 150 essential oils, each having its own distinct therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties.  When inhaled, they work on the brain and nervous system through stimulation of the olfactory nerves.  As we breathe the scents, our brain releases chemicals that communicate with our nervous system to produce a calculated result such as relaxation, digestion, invigoration, or pain relief.

Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields of alternative medicine practiced in the United States.  Sales of aromatherapy products have increased significantly in recent years making commercial aromatherapy a billion dollar a year enterprise.

Aromatherapy has been practiced for at least 6000 years.  The ancient Egyptians utilized essential oils for such things as embalming the dead (Egyptians) nd in Medieval Europe they were used to fight the plague. In the 19th century, the fragrance of patchouli was used to scent fabrics manufactured in India for export to Europe.  In more recent times, aromatherapy oils have been used primarily by aromatherapists for their anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antiseptic value

Today, however, the use of aromatheraputic oils is becoming more mainstream.  The commercial uses for essential oils are as varied as they are unusual.  In Japan, for example, the scent of lavender and rosemary is pumped into the air cooling systems of patient waiting rooms to calm waiting patients.  Oils from lemon and eucalyptus are pumped into banking establishments in order to keep the staff awake and alert. Some hospitals in Oxford, England, have replaced chemical sedatives with essential oil blends.  Aromatherapy oils, with their air-purifying, anti-viral, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties, are being vaporized in hospitals and crowded public places to prevent airborne infections.  Lemongrass oil is being vaporized for use as a mosquito repellant.  Licorice is used as a foaming agent in beer as well as in fire extinguishers.  It is also used as a flavoring agent in many tobacco products.

Given the amount of money that is generated from the sale of aromatheraputic oils every year, and the benefits derived from their application, the field of aromatherapy appears to not only be embedded in contemporary American society, but poised for rapid expansion in the years to come.