You may not know this but aromatherapy oils can do more than scent the air and your body. Many aromatherapy essential oils also have healing properties and have long been touted as cures for different ailments. The first essential oil was discovered a long, long time ago, yet it was not until the 1920’s that the aromatherapy term was applied. You may be interested in knowing how this term was brought about and how the researcher/scientist found this out the hard way.

During the 1920’s, a French chemist by the name of Rene Maurice Gattefosse was researching essential oils. He was trying to discover the properties of these oils and their use in healing. Quite by accident, Gattefosse burned his arm by catching it aflame. He quickly submerged his hand in a nearby vat of liquid, which just so happened to be lavender oil. What did he discover?

He discovered that the burn was soothed quickly and later realized that the healing time of the burn had been dramatically decreased. He began labeling this essential oil with the term “aromatherapy” due to its therapeutic qualities. As well, he wrote several aromatherapy books.

Sure, we may not have always used the term “aromatherapy” when using an essential oil, but that does not mean that their use has gone unnoticed over the last thousand years. Many of those same scents have been used for different purposes throughout history. Aromatherapy oils are just the name we have placed on them now. Take for example lavender as a healing agent, as Gattefosse proved when he submerged his arm in the liquid.

If you are going to use aromatherapy oils in your life, then you need to know that there are a few ways to use the oils. Aerial diffusion, direct inhalation, body applications and oral applications are the ways you can use an essential oil to help boost your mood, health and spirit. If one particular method does not seem to work as well for you, then you can always try a different combination of delivery methods to give you the results you wish.