AROMATHERAPY

noun Sometimes in the form aromatotherapy (Health and Fitness) A complementary therapy which makes use of essential oils and other plant extracts to promote a person's health, general well-being, or beauty. Etymology: Actually borrowed from French aromath÷rapie, although the formation of the English word is self-explanatory: therapy based on aromatic oils. History and Usage: Aromatherapy was promoted by the French chemist Ren÷-Maurice Gattefoss÷ in the thirties, but was not widely taken up in English-speaking countries until the seventies, when the search began for natural remedies to replace the increasingly intrusive techniques of traditional medicine. There was nothing new, of course, in the use of plant extracts for medicinal purposes; it was the therapeutic effect of inhaling the aromatic oils or massaging them into the skin that Gattefoss÷ claimed to have discovered anew. During the eighties, when alternative therapies proliferated and there was a premium on the use of natural ingredients, aromatherapy graduated from fringe status to a reasonably respected technique, especially for the relief of stress-related symptoms. A practitioner of aromatherapy is called an aromatherapist; the adjective used to describe an oil which has some use in aromatherapy is aromatherapeutic. Today in Britain most therapists and their clients use aromatherapy as a form of relaxation with some benefits to minor medical conditions. Here's Health June 1988, p. 89 For details of a qualified aromatherapist in your area contact the International Federation of Aromatherapists. Prima Aug. 1988, p. 74