The use of aromatic compounds from plants
What is aromatherapy? It generally designates the use of the aromatic compounds of plants, most of the time in the form of essential oils (very often obtained by distillation), with a view to preventing and relieving certain disorders as well as well-being and of appeasement. It is distinguished from phytotherapy by the fact that the latter discipline exploits the various active principles of all plants: stems, leaves, flowers. The aromatic use of plants is very old – the Egyptians already used it in 4 BC. JC for the embalming of the dead – even if the first studies on the precise definition of aromatherapy and its effects only date back to the end of the 000th century.
Aromatherapy: lexical definition and uses
The term aromatherapy was coined by perfumer René-Maurice Gattefossé. He was the first to discover the power of essential oils by plunging his hand injured by an explosion in his laboratory into a basin filled with essential oil of lavender. He was immediately relieved!
Treatment with essential oils
The definition of aromatherapy cannot be approached without mentioning that of essential oils.
Different modes of administration
In aromatherapy, essential oils can be used:
– orally,
– through the skin,
– by diffusion or vaporization in the ambient atmosphere
It is advisable to consult the precautions for use, certain essential oils are not at all appropriate for infants, children and pregnant women.
From Avicenna to Franchomme
If the Persian philosopher, doctor and scientist Avicenna was the first to extract a pure essential oil in the 10th century, it was the French researcher Pierre Franchomme who highlighted, in the mid-1970s, the notion of chemotype of an essential oil. , essential to understand what aromatherapy is.
Definition of aromatherapy by the concept of chemotype
The chemotype of an essential oil is in a way its fingerprint, its major or distinctive biochemical component. It allows nowadays a targeted, precise and effective practice of aromatherapy.
Precautions for use
Warning: in aromatherapy, essential oils can be harmful if misused.
Others are still aggressive for the epidermis. This is why all the essential oils selected by the Insphy laboratory for the manufacture of its various products (oils, gels, massage creams) are subject to rigorous selections and controls.