“Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures ”

– H. Jackson Brown

57

AROMATHERAPY

The objective of this chapter is to give you anunderstanding of the versatility and potency ofessential oils, the various ways you and your clientscan use them, and finally an overview of the oilsthat can assist in your role as the skincare therapist.

If you haven’t yet felt the compulsive need to learnadditional elements of holistic medicine thenprepare for aromatherapy to give you the ‘studybug’ – the subject becomes addictive and oncecaptivated you will find it difficult to stop, there isso much to learn!

Essential oils should never be used neat or takeninternally unless specified by a qualified physician.Do make an effort to find a qualified aromatherapistin your area as they will be able to advise, prescribeand blend oils for you and your clients.

Introduction

The literal interpretation of the word aromatherapy is‘therapy through aroma’. In other words, the impacta particular smell has on us – negative or positive.Which is why we can now see household goods suchas washing up liquid being marketed under thebanner of aromatherapy – it doesn’t mean it has anytherapeutic benefit, it just means it smells nice.

It is no longer seen as ‘folksy’ with professionalaromatherapy now available in spas, beauty salons,sports facilities and in some hairdressing products.Essential oils are now a conventional techniqueadopted in hospital maternity wards and naturalhealth centres.

The healing powers of essential oils have beenknown for centuries but it has been the last two

decades that have seen a remarkable renaissance inthe practice and interest of aromatherapy. It is nowone of the most popular complementary therapiesavailable and is becoming increasingly accepted byGPs and midwives working in hospitals to be usedalongside allopathic (or orthodox) medicine.

Although allopathic medicine is exciting in terms ofthe pace of success, and the scope of thepioneering work being done, many more peoplealso want to know about preventative medicinewhich is drug-free, simple & safe. As mentioned inprevious chapters, there is a tendency in modernmedicine for a person to be treated as a symptomor disease rather than as a complete individual. Incontrast, the use of essential oils by a qualified andpracticed aromatherapist recognises that there isseldom one characteristic of an illness and timemust be taken to discover these various parts.

As the world increases in speed, there is a need toslow down and notice the effect, both emotionallyand physically, that the demands of this high-octaneliving has upon us. Taking the time to reflect andrelax with an aromatherapy massage could providethe much needed solace a client needs.

My own philosophy has been about finding abalance between allopathic medicine and naturalremedies. Care needs to be taken not to see naturalremedies as a safe panacea: some natural remediesare highly dangerous. I would not want to see theprogress of scientific advances being halted but Ido want to provide information on essential oils,their versatile nature and how they can be used tobenefit both the therapist and client in the arena ofskincare.

56