The word "aromatherapy" is less than 100 years old. The practice it describes — using aromatic plant extracts in ritual, medicine, and daily life — is thousands of years older, and comes from many places at once, not one.
Before the word existed
- Ancient Egypt used aromatic oils and resins in embalming, religious ritual, and daily life — incense blends like kyphi were burned in temples for centuries.
- Ancient China and India developed long traditions of aromatic plant use tied to broader medical and spiritual systems, including what became Ayurvedic practice.
- Ancient Greece and Rome used scented oils in bathing culture and medicine.
1937: the word gets coined
"Aromatherapy" was coined in 1937 by French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé, in his book Aromathérapie: Les Huiles essentielles hormones végétales. The oft-repeated story: Gattefossé burned his hand in a lab accident and treated it with lavender oil, an experience that pushed him toward systematically studying essential oils. He's generally credited as the father of modern aromatherapy — meaning he named and organized the practice, not that he invented it.
Mid-20th century: Jean Valnet
French physician Jean Valnet expanded on Gattefossé's work, notably using essential oils on soldiers' wounds during World War II, and later wrote extensively on the practice in a clinical context.
Today
Aromatherapy moved from a niche, semi-clinical European practice into mainstream wellness and lifestyle culture — spas, candles, diffusers, and eventually portable formats built for everyday, on-the-go use.
Unplog's nasal stick is a modern version of a practice with a long, layered history that no single culture or brand owns. What's changed is the format, built for a life the practice's earlier eras never had to account for.