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Aromatherapy gives a whiff of personality
Smells have an uncanny ability to move us. A whiff of pipe tobacco, a particular perfume or a long forgotten scent can instantly conjure up scenes and emotions from the past, all things that Melanie McMillan, a certified aroma therapist and artisan perfumer, knows only too well.
As the study of enhancing wellness through scent, aromatherapy is the use of pure essential oils extracted from various plants to calm, balance, and rejuvenate body, mind and spirit. McMillan offers two types of aromatherapy consultations at Neal's Yard Remedies in Greenwich, Conn.: those designed to enhance overall well being by incorporating essential oils into one's life, and personality profiling by natural fragrance preference, assessing which essential oils bring out a person's most positive traits. The later service is a practice in aroma-psychology and the theory that people gravitate toward those natural scents that will do them the most good and bring out the most positive aspects of their personality. The typing begins with a questionnaire: choose 13 adjectives from a list of 30 that best describe you. Words include easygoing, earnest, nosy, introverted, friendly, individualistic, sophisticated, idealistic, faithful, loyal.
Analyzing the word selection is the first step in determining personality. Based on the questionnaire, McMillan makes a preliminary classification into one of nine categories of oils: floral, fruit, resin, spice, leaf, seed, root, wood or herb.
Floral oils include: rose, chamomile and lavender;
Various traits are typical of each of the headings.
For example, upon observing the town of Greenwich, McMillan classifies it as a floral. Floral personalities are typically enterprising, dynamic and ambitious. Fruits are usually loyal, balanced, creative and organized. Herb personalities are usually compassionate, kind, down-to-earth and emotional. Leaf personalities are focused, idealistic, thoughtful, and relish solitude. Resins are charitable, ethical, objective and persuasive. Roots are traditionalists, peace-loving, solid and reliable. Seed personalities are honest, tolerant, intuitive and feel things deeply. Spice personalities are entrepreneurial, animated, vivacious and sparkling. Woods are trustworthy, warm-hearted, self confident and highly motivated.
The next step is to warm up the nose and begin smelling the different oils
within your category. Based on a person's likes and dislikes, McMillan mixes a
blend of oils that best complements the personality. Essential oils are pure
extracts and should not be ingested or applied topically without the counsel of
an aroma therapist. The personality mix is only for sniffing, designed to awaken
those positive traits on an off day or in a stressful situation. Says McMillan: "Essential oils can be incorporated into your life in a
variety of ways, according to your specific needs whether they be therapeutic,
aesthetic, psychological, spiritual or cosmetic."
McMillan believes it is possible for a person's aroma-personality to change
over time, although she has yet to have a client change personality category
completely. "There are so many oils preferences but still remain within
your original personality category. I suppose it's conceivable that your
aromatherapy personality could change over time. As we grow older, our sense of
smell begins to diminish somewhat," she explains.
Although aromatherapy is a serious form of alternative therapy, the
personality typing aspect is done in the spirit of fun. Clients often request
the US$80 consultations for bridal showers, parties and other social events.
For the most part, women participate more than men, but McMillan says the
number of men becoming interested is increasing. For most people, it is their
first experience with aromatherapy. McMillan explains: "I use personality typing by scent preference as a
lovely, entertaining way to help others become familiar with essential oils so
that they can begin to incorporate them into their life."
She hastens to add that personality typing is not an exact science.
"Obviously, it's unfair to place a person in one single category, because
we each have many layers to our personality," she says. "Also, some
people fall into two or three personality groups. Usually, one fragrance type is
predominant, but some people are equally two or three different categories- and
if that's the case, then the blend is created with essential oils from all
appropriate categories."
Personality typing and aroma-psychology are relatively new to the
aromatherapy scene in the United States. McMillan, a certified aroma therapist for more than 12 years, began practicing aroma-psychology in 2000. McMillan
began studying the different ways to use aromatherapy during formal education in
France, and the area of psycho-aromatherapy sparked her interest.
"It amazed me that scent can play such an important factor in our health
and well-being. I began personality typing friends and family- and it grew from
there," she says.
Cheryl Cromer, an Atlanta-area aroma therapist and owner of essential blends,
an aromatherapy-based product line, says, "Personality typing offers a way
to educate the uninitiated in the power of essential oils and how plants provide
amazing scents, as well as chemical attributes that elicit different responses
in the human body. Just as each person is unique, his or her reaction to the
essential oils themselves is different. Some people gravitate to citrus scent,
others to flowers. People enjoy the process of self discovery and in the process
of learning about the oils, they can begin to appreciate the incredible range of
plant essences and in turn, incorporate them in their personal care."
Although there may be other aroma therapists who do personality typing, McMillan knows of none in the United States. As for popularity, she has seen a significant increase in the past year or so. Cromer adds that "aroma psychology is not widely practiced in the U.S., where aromatherapy has instead grown more from a complementary use by massage therapists, aestheticians, and day spas."
However, McMillan is excited to see the emergence of aroma-psychology and practices such as personality typing.
"I hope it takes some of the mystique out of aromatherapy. It really is important to realize that there are alternate forms of therapy," she says, adding, "(aromatherapy) is becoming more mainstream and widespread, which is exciting. More people are discovering aromatherapy and upon experiencing it, are becoming convinced of its validity."