Perhaps you have come across a beautifully fragrant product before; maybe a candle, soap, or other bath/body product had you muttering to yourself, “wow, that smells really good!”, but with no idea of what exact component provided its captivating and pleasant emotion evoking aroma. The answer is that it probably contained pure essential oils and/or absolute concentrates. A review of the label disclosing the ingredients would reveal this.
Because there are so many undesirable components in commercial fragrance items, it is indeed wise to always check the list of ingredients. An ingredient titled as fragrance with no explanation means it contains synthetic fragrance.
Chances are that you have been exposed to a product containing pure essential oil without even realizing it; unless you are diligent about reading product labels you would not know for sure. Department of Psychology, provides some background on early aromatherapy. “The French chemist Dr. René-Maurice Gattefossé is considered the “father” of modern day aromatherapy. Gattefosse was the first to use the term “aromatherapy” in 1928. The French physician Dr. Jean Valnet was very impressed with Gattefossés findings and began using essential oils to treat war injuries during World War II. Marguerite Maury, an Austrian bio-chemist, studied the rejuvenating powers and cosmetic uses of essential oils. These three people reintroduced aromatherapy in the twentieth century. Today, more than a thousand doctors in France use aromatherapy in their practice.”
Aromatherapy is certainly nothing new. The most recent information on aromatherapy are studies and closely controlled clinical trials documenting the benefits of essential oil use that are initiated on an increasingly regular basis which has, to some degree, increased awareness. This is a step in the modern direction of understanding more about what our ancestors had already been practicing.