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Rituparna Som profile imageRituparna Som

The Established speaks to experts in the field of aromatherapy to understand its pros and cons and how it is much more than just fragrance.

Can aromatherapy really have healing properties?

As skeptical as it sounds, the science behind the practice is inching towards a more definite answer

It sounds like magic. Can a whiff of a pleasant smell really change your mood? Can it change your health for the better? Is aromatherapy for real? It’s been used for centuries to treat human beings—body, mind and soul. As far as empirical evidence of its effects go, it wouldn’t be fair to say there isn’t any, perhaps because science is catching up with faith. Chronic pain, depression, anxiety, a few cognitive disorders, insomnia and stress-related disorders are all being treated with aromatherapy. As far as concrete evidence goes, a few psychiatric disorders are seeing improvement with aromatherapy, without the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs. 

“Smells can trigger the production of oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) and serotonin in the brain, calming you and making you feel happy.

“Smells can trigger the production of oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) and serotonin in the brain, calming you and making you feel happy." Photo: Pexels

We might not remember the memory with a smell, but our brain has stored the emotion that matches it. Photo: Pexels

We might not remember the memory with a smell, but our brain has stored the emotion that matches it. Photo: Pexels

More than just fragrance

When you smell something—pleasant or unpleasant—the molecules are carried to the limbic system, the part of our brain that deals with emotion and memory. This is why we have such emotional reactions to smells—we might not remember the memory with the smell, but our brain has stored the emotion that matches it. “Smells can trigger the production of oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) and serotonin in the brain, calming you and making you feel happy,” explains Dr Blossom Kochhar. So of course, we want to surround ourselves with all the triggers possible, possibly why even our floor cleaner can be lavender-scented. 

However, aromatherapy is obviously not quite as simple. While we’ve stocked up on lavender pillow mists and sandalwood diffusers, there is more to aromatherapy than just smelling great. Kochhar is India’s leading aromatherapist, having created a beauty empire around it. A couple of years ago her company launched a specific blend of essential oils, very aptly called Help Me!. The blends address sleep, headaches, foot aches, colds, pimples, immunity boosts and even Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS).

“Pure essential oils are extracted from the leaves, plants, herbs, spices and flowers, and they must be mixed with vegetable (carrier) oil (mineral oils block the molecules of the essential oils),” says Kochhar. The blends are premixed—all you need to do is dab [the instructions specify where] and feel better. Kocchar is practical about their effects. “You can use essential oils to feel better, but they’re not for treating clinical depression,” she specifies. However, new studies are emerging about the efficacy of aromatherapy in treating symptoms of depression, especially aromatherapy massages. There are also ongoing studies that look at the treatment of physical and mental health of the elderly with lavender, bergamot and marjoram essential oils with great results. 

A word of caution 

Aromatherapy is now treated as a catchall treatment, especially with younger generations self-diagnosing with a multitude of mental health problems. Granted most of them are legit, there is a danger in self-diagnosing and an even greater one in self-treating, especially when it’s restricted to an esoteric healing. ‘Natural’ may not always translate into ‘safe’. “Don’t use rosemary for someone who has any history of epileptic fits,” warns Kocchar. “Ylang ylang has euphoric effects—best not to overdose on that. And pregnant women need to be careful around essential oils,” she adds. It’s also easy to adulterate essential oils, and the synthetic versions are sophisticated enough to fool test-grade machines too. Look for certifications from global organisations such as the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and their GCMS (Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry) analysis among others. 

Success stories

Yet, you will hear stories of aromatherapy’s efficacy from the most hardened skeptics. Abdullah Ajmal, consulting perfumer, Ajmal Perfumes, says, “Aromatherapy has a lot to do with belief. I met a lady at one of our exhibitions who said she treats her intolerable migraines by burning oud near her ear. She says her migraine is then gone in 10 minutes. There are people who have found that there are smells that are therapeutic. For my partner in Kuwait, we make him a lavender concoction that he sprays on his bed every night and apparently it helps him sleep very well. I’ve used lavender and it doesn’t help me sleep any better.” 

“I think aromatherapy has a lot to do with the memory you associate with the smell.

“I think aromatherapy has a lot to do with the memory you associate with the smell." Photo: Pexels

The India connect

Oud has been said to calm nerves, just like lavender. Oud comes from agar trees, through an enzyme extracted from a particular fungus that affects the trees. Traditionally, it was used to make agarbatti (incense sticks), the burning of which symbolises a meditative state. Today, oud is an extremely expensive commodity (an average of ₹ 5-6 lakhs per kg) and the chances of your regular agarbatti having oud in it range from slim to none. But it does draw attention to our Indian tradition of aromatherapy, where scent equates with both shringar and health.

Attars, distillations of floral, spicy or herbal essences in a base like sandalwood oil, are a rich part of our cultural history. They’re similar to the essential oils of aromatherapy, although the latter are oils from a single-origin plant, flower or herb. “I think aromatherapy has a lot to do with the memory you associate with the smell,” says Varun Tandon, co-founder of Boond, a perfume house that is keeping alive the tradition of attar-making, a family business for the past 200 years. “Khus, for example, is automatically associated as a coolant. It’s perfect for Indian weather and I think the association calms you down. Similarly, with petrichor—and this is purely anecdotal; there is no science behind it—we’ve had feedback saying that pregnant mothers love it for its calming influence.”  

And of course, with Ayurveda, the key is balance. Our three doshas (vata, pita, kapha) need to find their opposite energies in the aroma to help maintain balance. “There are four types of energies that essential oils can be divided into,” explains Anand Srinivasan, lead, research and development, Kama Ayurveda. “These are hot, cool, wet and dry. So if you have a vata dosha, which is very cold and drying in nature, Ayurveda would recommend using essential oils that have the opposite effect.” There are neutral oils too, like lavender, that can work for all doshas.

But Ayurveda is also looking at how the oils are harvested and extracted, and even the time of the day it is applied or used on the body. Certain plants and flowers need to be harvested and picked at particular times of the year, even day or night—to make sure the essence is captured correctly. Kama Ayurveda adds essential oils to their products only if it adds to the efficacy (lavender and rosemary to their bestseller Bringadi hair oil, for example). “We are strict about sourcing and doing our own spectrometer testing too, since adulteration is very rampant nowadays, escaping tests too,” says Srinivasan. What you get follows the principles of Ayurveda to the T—it’s a mind-body-soul connection, asking you to enjoy life, and to bring back a balance when you overindulge.

Perhaps we can look at aromatherapy accordingly, a reminder to take stock of our body, mind and soul. A recent study compared the effects of lavender to Valium—granted the tests have just been done on mice, but one lives in eternal hope.

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Also Read: The modern Indian perfumes are nothing like the attars of yesteryear


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