We could simply define it as a "Therapeutic application of essential oils". But, does it reflect all viewpoints of aromatherapy today? Of course it does not. Some answers which will put some more light on a such great diversity of this part of herbal medicine we will endeavour to offer here. Disjointed and scattered, aromatherapy today is rather practice without theory, ship without helmsman, floating in the turbulent waters , trying to find it's way out. Unrecognized from the conventional medical establishment in majority of countries, except the France, aromatherapy , frightened from being penalized , often  escapes into the exaggeration of esotericism. In order to define what aromatherapy really is, we should start from it's very beginnings.

HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY

Although use of aromatic plants and essential oils is as old as humanity, the

true beginning of aromatherapy is

inextricably tied to the French chemist

Réné -Maurice Gattefossé who first coined the word "aromatherapy" to name the discipline of therapeutic applications of essential oils. In his original book : "Aromathérapie:Les Huiles essentielles hormones végétales" first published in 1937, Gattefossé desribed his unique approach to the medical therapy based on the pharmacological effects of essential oils, which he considered equally effective as the conventional pharmaceutical drugs.

Réné -Maurice Gattefossé was not first to use essential oils therapeutically, nor to write about it, but he was the only one who recognized the therapeutic applications of essential oils as a discipline in its own right. As a chemist Gattefossé was not a part of the natural therapy movement and he did not share the holistic"alternative"approach to aromatherapy so prevalent today. On the contrary, he was adhering to the

reductionist methodology, clearly dominant philosophical model of his time, when scientists were searching for "active ingredients" responsible for

physiological actions of essential oils. This reductionist approach is highly accepted today by the conventional medicine. However, Gattefossé was also fascinated by certain esoteric  subjects, and wrote about psychic strenght, Atlantis, and prehistoric methaphysics, and in that way many of his ideas, such as synergy, the psychological effects of fragrance,

and percutaneous administration, made a framework of aromatherapy today. In his remarkable book, Gattefossé classified essential oils according to its chemical composition, and as a foundation for its further study he wrote about use of aromatic plants and essential oils in antient, exotic and modern Pharmacopoeias of his time. Then he presented current comprehensive scientific works about properties of some essential oils constituents, its physical and chemical characteristics and  pharmacological effects, possible way of entering  body, and then toxicity and way of  elimination. 

It was not accidentally that Réné -Maurice Gattefossé  named a chapter five, the most important part

of his book, as"Aromathérapie". This chapter we could simply depict as a "Pharmacotherapy of essential oils". At the very beggining of this chapter he revealed the statement which will become fundamental for modern holistic aromatherapy,  half a century later. Gattefossé wrote :..."Mixtures of essential oils constituents have a grater effect than the same constituents working individually". .."Total power of mixtures of aromatic constituents is grater than the sum of the power of the individual parts". Continuing to wrote

about essential oils physical characteristics, Gattefossé  proposed  the most effective routes for introducing the essential oils into the body. In order to get fast and effective concentration of essential oils in systemic blood circulation, for treatment of pulmonary ailments he proposed :

inhalation, cutaneous absorption  and

rectal route. Gastric route by his opinion was least recommended and

 unless it is used for treatment of gastrointestinal ailments, it should be reserved only for nutrition. Cutaneous absorption was a quite new fact strongly advocated by Gattefossé , inspite the complete rejection of this route by some  contemporary doctors of his time. He went further and wrote that if we want to achieve a fast and full systemic apsorption, we should use a pure essential oils, and not essential oils in the ointment basis which should be reserved for the surface treatment of the skin ailments. Finally, he revealed the statement which still has not been explored  yet, neither scientifically , nor practically:"Finally, let us mention the rapid absorption by the skin of vitamins and hormones....when used with essential oils, these substances are surpisingly effective". Gattefossé

further wrote about action of essential oils on the respiratory and digestive tract, nervous system, and on the skin.

He quoted important observations from some contemporary French doctors, about healing with essential oils. These observations created essential connection between aromatherapy as a new discipline, and conventional medicine. How important this connection really is, we can perceive today, when we feel a total lack of it, or we found it so frail that somethimes it seems like communication between two opposite irreconcilable sides.  Gattefossé considered aromatherapy as an integral part of conventional medicine, and never thought about healing with essential oils as about kind of "alternative" healing. But despite the orientation toward pharmacological properties of "active ingredients", Gattefossé was also aware of the psychological and neurological effects of essential oils. By integrating these effects into his work, he foreshadowed the holistic aproach to aromatherapy that has become dominant today. His work atracted many French doctors of his time, and they started to use essentials oils following  Gattefossé's  research.