Aromachology is a science that studies the relationship between odors and the reactions they produce in humans. Aromachology focuses on the impact of different scents in human beings, including the emotional changes they cause.
The origin of aromachology is unclear. Some sources states that aromachology was born in Japan back in 1988 when a scientist named Shizuo Torii at Toho University studied the connection between emotion and scent. Another source believes aromachology was born in the 1980’s in the United States and more particularly through the work of the American psychiatrist and neurologist, Alan Hirsh, director of the Smell & Taste Research and Treatment Foundation of Chicago. Scientists began studying, analyzing, and even isolating the active principles of plants’ natural aromas.
Difference Between Aromachology and Aromatherapy
In the 70s, the term “aromachology” was coined in order to separate it from aromatherapy. From that moment on, it started taking shape as a branch that focuses on the study of how aromas affect our mood and, therefore, our behavior.
One of the biggest difference between aromachology and aromatherapy is that aromatherapy is based on the idea of using natural oils and extracts from plants and herbs to improve your health or your sense of well-being. Aromatherapy’s methodology is about the oils actually absorbing into the different layers of the skin to then enter the bloodstream to actually affect your balance within your body. There is usually a massage process involved or some type of application process. Whereas with aromachology, it is the study of how fragrances, through inhalation, scientifically influence a person’s mood or feelings and overall well-being.
Aromatherapy also strictly refers to only the use of natural fragrances or essential oils to boost or alter the mood. Aromachology, on the other hand, claims that both synthetic and natural fragrance can have a mood-altering effect on the brain. Aromatherapy, for example, claims that lavender oil can physically relieve tension in the head that causes headaches. Aromachology, on the other hand, believes that lavender—whether synthetic or natural—helps relax your mind by boosting your mood, easing mental stress, and preparing you for sleep.
Aromatherapy and aromachology can work hand-in-hand to bring therapeutic benefits.
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How Can Aromachology Be A Form of Therapy?
The olfactory nerve consists of neurons with one end in direct contact with the external world and scents, and the other in direct contact with the brain, including our limbic system. The limbic system is the area in our brains regulates emotions, feelings, moods, emotions, sexual behaviour and memory.
However, there is no one scent for all. Anne Churchill, BSc, PhD, FIFST, a research fellow for Givaudan Fragrance’s health and well-being’s Centre of explains, “While lavender is generally recognized as being a relaxing odour, when you look at the [scientific] literature, you’ll find that it will be tested in one place and found to be relaxing, but then tested elsewhere and found to be stimulating. The results contradict [each other], and that’s largely because people test in different ways, and then there being different types of lavender and different sources of it. So it’s very difficult to make a universal statement around [one scent].”
Another factor to keep in mind is personal and cultural preferences. What may be appealing to you may not be for others. Even more interestingly, you may prefer certain scents at different moods, for different occasions, or even whether it was day or night! On the flipside, instead of looking for a scent that suits your mood, you may want a scent to set the mood, such as a lusty scent for a sensual evening or a calming scent to ease you to sleep.
This is the main ideology of ZENT – to find your personal scent that matches your identity and moods.
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This is the main ideology of ZENT – to find your personal scent that matches your identity and moods.
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