FHT celebrates aromatherapy week with talk on essential oils

FHT head office staff were yesterday treated to a talk on the benefits of essential oils to mark Aromatherapy Awareness Week.

We were pleased to welcome our speaker Colette Somers, who delivers training for FHT Accredited course provider Penny Price Aromatherapy and the Winchester School of Aromatherapy. Colette told us that although she has been practising aromatherapy for 25 years, she is now more passionate about essential oils than ever before.

After a short introduction, Colette focused on research, highlighting a number of scientific studies that supported the therapeutic use of essential oils for a range of health issues, such as anxiety before surgery and fibromyalgia.

She followed this by warning of the potential dangers of ingesting essential oils and talked about why this is a problematic practice. For example, when swallowed oils can react with medication, stopping them working and even accelerate the effects of blood-thinning medicine – thinning blood to dangerous levels.

Colette then ended the session by passing around some of her favourite essential oils, including bergamot, lavender and geranium. We all had the opportunity to take in their pleasant and therapeutic aromas – the perfect way to start Aromatherapy Awareness week.