Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils, extracted from the flowers, fruits, leaves, stems and roots of flowers, shrubs and trees. The oils are usually obtained by steam distillation. Other techniques include expression (squeezing the oil from peel), maceration (immersing the plant in hot oil to release the essence) and enfleurage (pressing flowers between oiled glass plates).
Essential oils may be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Inhaled scents stimulate the olfactory centres in the nose and particular parts of the brain. Oils massaged into the skin pass into the bloodstream and can influence nervous system function, mental function and emotions.
Modern aromatherapy stems from the work of French chemist Réné Gattefossé in the 1930s and physician Jean Valnet and biochemist Marguerite Maury in the 1960s.
Practitioners that offer this therapy :