Posted on September 3, 2009 - by napavalleybath

Meet the Father of Aromatherapy…Plus, Create a DIY Aromatherapeutic Bath!

French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé gave lavender a public relations boost that’s lasted almost a hundred years.

A lab accident in 1910 buoyed Gattefossé’s belief in the healing power of essential oils.  After seriously burning his hands, he rinsed them with lavender essence which stopped his skin tissue from further degrading. Healing began the next day.

In 1928, the chemical engineer coined the word ‘aromatherapy,’ distinguishing the therapeutic use of essential oils from simply perfume applications….with lavender at the forefront.

Gattefossé avidly campaigned for Provence’s lavender growers, working closely with them on cultivation and distillation methods.  We think that Napa Valley Bath shares the same enthusiasm for those that sow our harvest!

A Stress-Relieving Bath for You!

Supercharge your bathing ritual with green bath aromatherapy. Essential oils protect skin from dehydration – and trump detergent-based bath foams every time.  Gattefossé would approve!

Stress Relieving Fruity Bath

1 cup Sevillano extra virgin olive oil

1 drop rose essential oil

1 drop Napa Valley organic lavender essential oil

1 drop vetiver essential oil

2 drops mandarin essential oil

3 organic unwaxed oranges, cut into quarters

How to:

1. Add the essential oils to the olive oil and pour the mixture under running water into the bathtub so that the oils spread evenly without forming greasy puddles.

2. Add the oranges and let them float around. As you bathe, squeeze the oranges lightly and wipe your face with their juices.

Tune in next time for pointers on how to give a relaxing lavender oil massage!

Bath Recipe From The Green Beauty Guide, by Julie Gabriel