Is Aromatherapy A Scam? "You write a LOT of aromatherapy articles but some of them sound like you don't think too much of aromatherapy. What's your honest opinion of aromatherapy?" Once upon a time, I took aromatherapy very seriously. Today, though, I'm far more skeptical. I won't go so far as to say that aromatherapy is quackery but it comes awfully close. Just look at some of the most popular aromatherapy books, full of miraculous cures and "out-there" theories about "life forces" and it's easy to understand why many serious herbalists distance themselves. Aromatherapy Is Really Just An Offshoot Of Herbalism Some aromatherapy "experts" would have you believe that aromatherapy is this wonderful new science only recently discovered. In truth, aromatherapy probably goes back to the very first humans. Herbs and spices have been used for millennia for purposes that have nothing to do with food. Aromatherapy is just another form of herbalism. Nothing more and nothing less. "I once took aromatherapy very seriously. Today, I'm far more skeptical." And It Ain't No Miracle, Either! I remember my first aromatherapy book. It was written by a woman who is now considered one of the premier aromatherapists in the world. In it, she talked about battle wounds healing "right before the eyes", or some such nonsense about lavender oil. Well, I've never had a battle wound but I have had my share of cuts, scratches and minor burns. Not a single one ever healed "in the blink of an eye", no matter how much lavender I put on it. Nor did they ever heal as quickly as similar wounds on which I put standard antibiotic cream. And I'm not alone. In most of the herbal books I own, aromatherapy gets only a minor nod, if it's mentioned at all. To put it bluntly, even among people who work in herbal medicine, aromatherapy isn't really taken too seriously. Is Aromatherapy A Scam? Does this mean that aromatherapy is a scam? Certainly not. Do a quick search on PubMed or HerbMed and you'll find dozens of studies involving essential oils. These aren't fringe studies done by crackpots, either. Some of these studies are very encouraging. But when it comes to aromatherapy being the next cure for cancer . . . well, something just smells funny.