Definition and Meaning of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the science of using essential herbal oils to treat illnesses (following Hörner & Pohl 2002). The term comes from the French “aromathérapie“, coined by the French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé who published the first book titled “Aromatherapy“ in 1937.

The word “aromatherapy” is known to many, but few people know what it really means. This is due to the fact that cosmetics and other kinds of products are often commercialized as “aromatherapy” or “with essential oils” even though no therapeutical effect can be expected from them. Click [here] to discover everything about the therapeutical use of essential oils.

 
Aromatherapy is no alternative medicine. In reality, it has helped “our physicians to rediscover the lost origins of their own science*”. In this sense, for Prof. Dietrich Wabner (TU, Munich) aromatherapy is an essential part of the so-called classic western medicine. Therefore it is no wonder that in Europe more and more doctors, natural medicine practitioners and pharmacists use this kind of therapy in their daily work.

* Quotations from Prof. Dr. Dr. Dietrich Wabner’s introduction to Eliane Zimmermann’s book Aromatherapie für Pflege u. Heilberufe (1998)