Aromatherapy – what the term means, and what it doesn't

The word goes back to the French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé, who coined it in a book title in 1937. Since then it has had a remarkable career – and lost all precision along the way. “Aromatherapy” today covers everything from a scented candle in the living room to a medically supervised application in hospital.

That vagueness is why we wrote this page. Search for aromatherapy and you'll find two kinds of text: those making extraordinary promises, and those so vague that nothing has actually been said. We're attempting a third way – explaining what the term means, what is established, what isn't, and what we actually sell here.

Three legal categories worth keeping apart

In Germany it isn't the contents of a bottle that determine how it's classified, but its intended purpose – that is, what the seller claims about it. The same lavender oil can fall into three entirely different categories:

Medicinal product. As soon as a product is presented as treating or alleviating a disease, it legally becomes a medicinal product and requires authorisation. Authorised medicines based on essential oils do exist – they're sold in pharmacies, carry a pharmaceutical registration number and come with a patient information leaflet.

Cosmetic product. Anything intended for cleansing, care or influencing body odour falls under cosmetics regulation. That requires a responsible person, a safety report and notification via the European CPNP portal.

Fragrance or raw material. An oil offered for scenting rooms or as an ingredient for your own blending is neither. It is subject to the CLP Regulation on labelling, but not to medicines or cosmetics law.

Our oils fall into the third category. They are fragrances and cosmetic raw materials – not medicines, not finished cosmetics. We make no statements about what they do in the body, because we neither may nor could substantiate them.

How scent actually arrives

What can be stated factually is the physiology – and that is remarkable enough.

Odour molecules meet the olfactory mucosa in the upper nasal cavity, an area of a few square centimetres holding several million sensory cells. From there the signal travels via the olfactory bulb directly into the limbic system.

That's the anatomical peculiarity: smell is the only sense that bypasses the thalamus. Sight, hearing, touch – all pass through that relay station before reaching the cerebrum and conscious processing. Smell takes the shortcut and reaches the brain regions responsible for emotion and memory without a detour.

That's why you recognise the smell of a childhood house instantly without being able to describe it. Why a scent can trigger a memory before you know what it reminds you of. And why what many people understand by aromatherapy works: the linking of a particular scent with a particular situation.

What does not follow: that a scent influences a disease. The path into the limbic system is well established. Everything beyond that is researched to varying degrees depending on the field, and we aren't the right people to assess it.

What a scent can realistically do

It can set a signal. Use the same scent every evening at bedtime for eight weeks and you build an association – no different from music you connect with a particular summer. The scent itself does nothing; the link arises through repetition.

In practice: consistency beats variety. One oil used over weeks for the same occasion carries further than ten oils in rotation. For a shop that's an inconvenient argument, but it's true.

And it can change an atmosphere. A room smells different, and that changes how you perceive it – trivial, and still the actual reason people buy scented oils.

The three usual routes of application

Through the air. The most common route: ultrasonic diffuser, oil burner or scent stone. The advantage is the low concentration. More under Room Fragrance & Diffusers.

On skin, diluted. Essential oils never belong on skin undiluted. The usual range is 1 to 3 percent in a carrier oil, so three to nine drops in 10 ml. Exact ratios are under Skincare & Massage.

In a ritual. Not a method but a frame: the Sunday bath, the twenty minutes before bed, the sauna infusion. Suitable oils under Wellness & Wellbeing and Sauna Infusions.

Safety – the points that actually matter

Natural doesn't mean harmless. Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts, and a few rules are worth knowing:

• Never undiluted on skin. And never in the eyes. If it happens: remove with a carrier oil, not water – essential oils aren't water-soluble.
• Not neat in bathwater. They float as a film on the surface and meet the skin undiluted. Emulsify first in a tablespoon of carrier oil, cream or honey.
• Citrus oils and sun. Cold-pressed citrus oils contain furocoumarins and are phototoxic. Avoid direct sun for twelve hours after applying.
• Out of reach of children. Essential oils are highly flammable and must not be swallowed.
• Pets. Cats metabolise certain terpenes less well than humans. When diffusing, leave the door open so the animal can leave the room. When in doubt, ask your vet.
• Pregnancy, small children, chronic conditions. Restrictions apply here that we can't set out in general terms. Please clarify with a doctor beforehand.

If you want to start

The most common beginner's mistake is too much choice. Ten small bottles mean ten oils, eight of which are still half full two years later and no longer smell good.

Three or four oils you actually use up make more sense – from different scent families, so you notice which direction suits you:

A citrus oil for daytime, such as orange or bergamot. A herbal oil for clear moments, such as eucalyptus or peppermint. A wood oil for the evening, such as cedarwood or Swiss stone pine. Plus lavender from the floral oils, because it gets along with almost everything.

Four oils at 10 ml come to under €30 together. That covers almost any mood, and after a few weeks you'll have a better idea which direction to take next.

If you'd rather not combine oils yourself, essential oil blends offer ready-made compositions.

What we don't claim

We don't say that our oils relieve complaints, influence diseases or replace medical treatment. We wouldn't be allowed to, and we'd consider it wrong.

What we can say: our oils are pure, they carry the botanical name, the country of origin, the extraction method and a batch number on the label, and they are filled by hand in Germany. What you do with them is up to you.

Frequently asked questions

Is aromatherapy a recognised medical treatment?
In Germany “aromatherapy” is not a protected term and not a recognised therapy in its own right. There are, however, authorised medicines containing essential oils – these are pharmacy-only and labelled as medicinal products. Our oils explicitly are not.

What's the difference between aromatherapy and aroma care?
“Aroma care” has become established as a term for non-medical use. Neither term is legally defined.

Are essential oils medicines?
Only if they are authorised and presented as such. An oil offered for scenting rooms or as a cosmetic raw material is not a medicine – regardless of which plant it comes from.

Can I take essential oils internally?
We don't offer our oils for consumption unless stated otherwise on the product page. Oral use of essential oils belongs in expert hands and isn't something we recommend.

Does a scent affect everyone the same way?
No. Smell perception is highly individual and shaped by experience. The same scent can trigger completely different associations in two people – one of the reasons blanket promises of effect are worth little.

What does “100 % pure” mean?
That the oil comes exclusively from the named plant, without synthetic additives, without extenders, without portions of other oils. The counter-term is “nature-identical” – rebuilt in a laboratory.