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Dispelling Myths and Misinformation of Aromatherapy

by Naomi Ball  
10/31/2009 / Health

Aromatherapy seems to be a popular marketing word that refers to anything that smells like flowers or has a drop of some plant extract in it. Words like organic, all natural, and green are hot words and advertisers know it. However, all the marketing jargon, and unfortunately even articles and books on the subject, have a lot of misinformation in them that lead to incorrect expectations when it comes time to use aroma therapy. Some books about how to make your own cosmetics and candles leave out very important facts about fragrances, essential oils and other ingredients. If you are only interested in making your own cosmetics with your own choice of fragrance then these books are fine. However, therapeutic grade essential oils have wonderful healing properties that could replace several over the counter medications that might be in your medicine cabinet. And if you want to know more about the therapy of aroma and essential oils there are a few things that need clarified.

Aromatic plants have been used since the beginning of time. In cooking of course and for perfume and healing. Plant materiel was soaked in goose fat or olive oil where the chemical constituents of the plant would be absorbed by the fat or oil. The ancient Egyptians are well known for their use of aromatic oils. Aromatic plants were used widely through out the ages by all civilizations. But it wasn't until the Middle Ages that steam distillation was used to extract the oil of the plants.

When scientists learned how to isolate chemicals and use them to create drugs the medical community began to use drugs more and plant extracts less so the growers and distillers began to market their product more to the food and cosmetic industries with more concern for volume and fragrance than for the therapeutic quality of the oil. Now, in the last 20 years especially, more value has been placed on the therapeutic quality of essential oils so more growers are using organic methods and more distillers are not adding fragrance enhancers or volume extenders.

True aromatherapy is the use of essential oils for emotional and physical healing. The English aromatherapist use essential oils diluted in massage oil and will tell you never to use essential oils without diluting them in carrier or vegetable oil. The French prefer to ingest essential oils and the German simply inhale. In America, true to American nature, we use the methods of many cultures.

Fragrance oils and essential oils are not the same thing. The chemical make up of plant oils is very complex; a single plant oil can have over 300 chemical components. Scientific laboratories can create just about any kind of aroma, however even though they may smell like the same thing synthetic oils do not have any healing value. The same is true of many personal care products that claim to be therapeutic. Most mass-produced personal care products are made of synthetic ingredients with only a token amount of a natural herbal extract. They do not contain enough of the herbal extracts to do any good.

According to the Food and Drug Administration essential oils are not drugs, advertisers and aromatherapist cannot claim to treat, or cure any kind of medical condition with essential oils. Medical terms such as anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, or anti-infectious, cannot be used to describe essential oils. The FDA does give a list of essential oils that are Generally Regarded As Safe, and if you stick with that list you will find enough essential oils to meet your needs.

Essential oils are safe to use if you follow a few basic rules of safety, such as: use only a few drops at a time, no more that 5 or 6, don't get them in your eyes or nose, do a small skin test to see if you are allergic and don't go in the sun after applying citrus oils. On the other hand, properly prescribed and properly administered drugs kill hundreds of thousands of people before they are pulled off the shelf, even after studies costing hundreds of millions of dollars have been done.

Aromatherapy critics will tell you that there have not been enough scientific studies done to prove all the claims that aromatherapist make. There have been a lot of studies done on the chemical components of the plants used in aromatherapy and on the effects of plants, whether it is dried herb or essential oil, on diseases. There have also been plenty of clinical studies done around the world. One good resource for this kind of information is the American Botanical Council. It is true that a lot of unsubstantiated claims have been made. But, just because there is no scientific proof that a certain oil will heal a certain illness or infection does not mean that it is therefore untrue.

The trouble with making absolute claims of aromatherapy is also its biggest asset. Essential oils are very complex and they vary from batch to batch because of the amount of rain, sunshine and varying nutrients in the dirt. This variation is what makes them so effective against microorganisms. Also disease is complex and the variations in a person's mental, physical and even spiritual conditions all affect their health and their ability to fight disease. Doctors even have trouble with this too; they will try various drugs on a person to see which is the most effective.

One claim that is often made and is not true is that aromatherapy can heal the spirit. Aromatherapy is very effective in helping emotions. Emotions are basically chemical responses in the brain. All brain activity is chemical or neurological. However emotion and spirit is not the same. A person's spirit or soul is their religiousness, the part of themselves that needs and communicates with God. Spirituality cannot be explained scientifically, and its very existence is often denied by science. The spirit it is not a chemical or neurological brain activity, it is not physical. God is spirit and only God can bring about spiritual healing. Aromatherapy can elevate a person's emotions and help them get in the frame of mind to receive spiritual healing, which is why so many cultures use fragrances during religious ceremonies. However essential oils cannot heal the spirit, only God can.

The biggest advantage of using aromatherapy oil is that it is very safe. Given a few safe handling rules and a person can use a wide variety of oils with no harmful side effects. Have you noticed the drug commercials? If you listen to the possible side effects you will not want to buy the drug! Essential oils do not have harmful side effects. If a person has sensitive skin they may get a skin rash from some oils, which will of course go away after discontinuing the direct application of the oil. In such cases a person could still use the essential oil by inhaling it, or diffusing it in to the air. Or if a person has plant allergies they may have a reaction.

Therapeutic grade essential oils are very helpful in fighting infections and infectious disease. After all that was the function of the oil while it was still in the plant. Aromatherapy is very effective with emotional concerns, many of the oils are very uplifting and encourage positive emotions and at the same time help over come negative emotions. Therefore essential oils can be useful in helping with chronic degenerative diseases, they may not be able to directly heal chronic conditions but they are excellent supportive therapy.

Another advantage to using essential oils is that a single oil can have multiple uses. For example peppermint is useful improving alertness and concentration, it is recommended for upset stomach, runny or congested nose, and sore tired muscles. Does you decongestion do all that?

For more information read aromatherapy books that have more to do with health and wellness and less to do with beauty and cosmetics. Look in you local public library. On the other hand if you do not want to take the time to do the research you can consult a certified aromatherapist. At any rate with a little bit of clarification and edification you can experience for yourself the wonderful benefits of using therapeutic grade essential oils for so many, many things.

September 2013 Naomi Ball is a certified aromatherapist and author of "The Aromatherapy Advocate a Christian Handbook" and "The Aromatherapy Advocate Home Study Course", both written from a Christian point of view. www.aromatherapyforchristians.com

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