Towards the end of the 19th Century, as a French chemist, Professor Rene Gattefosse, accidentally discovered the healing power of lavender essence, when he plunged his hand into a bowl of lavender oil after receiving a bad burn.

The burn healed quickly, without forming a blister or leaving a scar. He then began many years of research into the healing properties of essential oils. His knowledge increased further when he treated soldiers wounded during the 1914 – 1918 war and in 1928 he gave his treatment the name “Aromatherapie”.

His work was later extended by Dr. Jean Valnet, a French physician, who used essential oils to treat cancers, tuberculosis, diabetes and other serious illnesses. He claimed many successes.

Marguerite Maury followed him, a French biochemist and beautician, who further developed massage techniques and skin-care treatments using essential oils. She continued to further develop and work in the field of aromatherapy until she died in 1968 at the age of 73.

Interest in aromatherapy has continued to grow and today, rightly, it has a massive following.