Aromatherapy is the utilization of essential oils to help the body heal itself.  Essential oils are the concentrated liquid containing aromatic compounds which are extracted from plants.  Hundreds of different essential oils exist, many of which have physiological and psychological impacts on the body.

            Aromatherapy was first coined in the 1920s by French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé, who devoted his life to researching the healing properties of essential oils after a lucky accident in his perfume laboratory.  In the accident, he lit his arm on fire and thrust it into the nearest cold liquid, which happened to be a vat of lavender essential oil.  Immediately he noticed surprising pain relief, and instead of requiring the extended healing process he had experienced during recovery from previous burns - which caused redness, heat, inflammation, blisters, and scarring - this burn healed remarkably quickly, with minimal discomfort and no scarring.

In many countries essential oils are included in the national pharmacopeia.  Essential oils work in different ways.  At the scent level they activate the limbic system and emotional centers of the brain.  When applied to the skin (commonly in form of a carrier oil such as grapeseed or canola with 1 – 10% of the solution one or more different essential oils) they activate thermal receptors, and kill microbes and fungi.

Some acupuncture treatments may involve using aromatherapy to enhance the effects of the treatment.  In addition, we offer a full line of aromatherapy products from Distant Shores Aromatherapy, including massage oils, candles, and lotions.