A history of aromatherapy use

Essential oils have been used in folk medicine throughout history. The earliest recorded mention of the techniques and methods used to produce essential oils is believed to be that of Ibn al-Baitar (1188–1248), an Al-Andalusian (Muslim Spain) physician, pharmacist and chemist. Rather than refer to essential oils themselves, modern works typically discuss specific chemical compounds which the essential oils are composed of, such as referring to methyl salicylate rather than “oil of wintergreen”. Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine that uses essential oils and other aromatic compounds. Oils are volatilized, diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage, diffused in the air by a nebulizer, heated over a candle flame, or burned as incense. Medical applications proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer and often are based solely on historical accounts of use of essential oils for these purposes