AROMATHERAPY GIFTS FROM TUGS

Aromatherapy Gifts

Please take a look at our quality range of Aromatherapy gifts available online from The Unusual Gift Shop which can be found using the menu to the right.

Origins of Aromatherapy

Forgotten and ignored for many years, aromatic essences are coming back into their own, for many researchers and for a large section of public opinion, as the stars of medicine.

Aromatic essences are volatile, oily, fragrant substances that can be obtained from plants in a variety of ways. Aromatherapy is the use of these essential oils for psychological and physical well-being. The medicinal use of aromatic essences has a long tradition, although the term aromatherapy was not used until the 20th century, the foundations of aromatherapy date back nearly one thousand years.

When one considers the history of aromatic essences, one may go back thousands of years to find distillation of plants being practiced in ancient Persian, Turkey and India.

The Romans had their knowledge of the process from the Greeks, who in turn had received it from Egypt. Each century has contributed its own plant recipes and prescriptions. The Egyptians embalmed their corpses with oils of cedarwood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and myrrh. Chaste Susanna took orange-flower baths in Babylon. The Greeks were familiar with perfumes, which they used for healing. The Romans grew aromatic herbs.

Aromatherapy - Later years

In the Middle ages, famous ladies had their own personal recipes. The Arabs discovered the distilling of plants in the Middle Ages. During the 16th Century many essential oils were introduced. During the 16th and 17th centuries, perfume started being considered an art form and the perfume industry in Provence was producing essences of lavender and aspic. It was a trade that flourished especially at Montpelier, Narbonne and Grasse. By the beginning of the 17th century most of the useful essences of Europe and the Near East had been discovered.

During the eighteenth century was created "Eau de Cologne". Throughout the 19th century, perfumery remained a prosperous industry and during the early part of the 20th century, a French chemist by the name of Gallefosse became focused on the aromatic use of essential oils. Gallefosse is credited with coining the term "aromatherapy" in 1928.

From the late 20th century and on into the 21st century, there is a growing resurgence to utilize more natural products and today's heightened awareness regarding the use of synthetics coupled with the increased availability of aromatherapy information has refuelled the use of essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic and aromatic benefit.

Aromatherapy - Today

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"If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience." - George Bernard Shaw