In Competition for Your Nose
Do you ever wonder why more and more wellness spas and natural products are entering the business scene? There is no doubt; a lot of people are into these things lately. Natural is the best way to go as they say especially when people have become more conscious of their health and have sworn to themselves to live a healthier lifestyle.
This doesn’t only mean eating healthy and natural foods and adopting an exercise routine. Some have even used natural products that are chemical free and as less-processed as possible.
THERE are dozens of glass bottles on the new bar at the Naturopathica day spa in East Hampton, N.Y., each with the name of an essential oil — tea tree, tobacco, vetivert, ylang-ylang, to name just a few — and each stamped with the date that the plant’s essence was distilled.
“We have vintages, like a fine wine,” said Barbara Close, the owner ofNaturopathica, one of the more luxurious spas of the Hamptons.
Yes — at last — there is a full-fledged aromatherapy bar for the lobster-salad-at-the-Devon-Yacht-Club set.
Custom-blend aromatherapy bars are a rarity. Many stores sell small bottles of essential oils, either by plant — say, a half-ounce bottle of tea tree, lavender or bergamot — or in popular blends that purport to have therapeutic qualities. Only at a handful of stores can customers walk in, consult an aromatherapist, inhale samples of oils and order a mélange of their favorites.
“The purpose is to come in and have fun,” said Ms. Close, who presides over the store with her wire-haired dachshund, Pearl.
Now, if customers come in for a massage or a facial, they can also buy a custom-scented body lotion to take home. “You can let your therapist know if perhaps you’ve had allergies or a sinus congestion, or you twisted your ankle on the tennis court,” Ms. Close said. “They can make a one-ounce dry-skin oil, or a muscle-relief oil or a decongestant.”
Lovely and sweet-smelling, yes; scientifically proven, no. Although fragrances are used in all sorts of feel-good ways — in hospital rooms for cancer patients, in Japanese office buildings to pep up workers — the efficacy is largely anecdotal. And let’s face it: even in the annals of so-called wellness practices, aromatherapy can sound a bit like a punch line. “It sounds sort of frou-frou,” Ms. Close admitted. “We should change the name of it, first off.”
The claims run the gamut. Aromatherapists say that essential oils from flowers and trees can ease muscle cramps, improve short-term memory, prevent hair loss and reduce the itch of eczema (scratch and sniff?). According to recipes in common circulation, a blend of lavender and neroli oils can help calm a cat stressed out by a new baby, or a dog wary of a thunderstorm. Another telltale sign: Madonna is said to be a big fan of the practice.
But an aromatherapy bar is basically a pampering experience, part head therapy and part aural pleasure. These bars exist primarily in resort areas, where they nurture the rich, or in bohemian enclaves, where they have vaguely Wiccan overtones. In Manhattan, there is one on East Seventh Street called Fragrance Shop New York, better known by the neon sign in front that says “Sniff.” Its vibe is far more East Village than Hamptons, with hand-labeled jars of fragrance that customers can pass directly under their noses.
Come September, the Fresh body-care stores will introduce fragrance bars where customers can fill miniature bottles with perfumes that the brand has formally “retired,” like Tobacco Caramel and Pear Cassis.
In the West Village, there is Enfleurage, where customers can buy premixed oil blends or select their own from a display of samples.
“We don’t make perfume, we blend for therapy,” said Trygve Harris, the owner. “We have a headache helper, a blend for sleep, one for comfort if you’re feeling stressed and you need to withdraw.”
That said, she and other aromatherapists were quick to note that Food and Drug Administration rules forbid their making medicinal claims. “We can’t say ‘This is good for that,’ ” said Ms. Harris in a phone interview shortly before a trip to Oman, where she distills frankincense. “We have to say, ‘This has been shown to ...’ or ‘Some people use this for ...’ ”
Because it takes a lot of flowers to make a single drop of oil, high-end aromatherapy products are pricey. This is one reason that custom-blend bars are few and far between.
“It’s very, very expensive to have an aromatherapy bar and keep it stocked,” said Kelly Holland Azzaro, president of the Natural Association for Holistic Aromatherapy. “You have to know what you’re doing in blending, which ones you’re doing for what reasons. Somebody could get it in their eye, too.”
Although essential oils do not contain the same allergens that make some people sensitive to perfume, many of them are not safe to use directly on the skin. “You want to be careful with all of them, because they’re so potent,” said Ms. Azzaro, who owns a holistic healing center in Banner Elk, N.C. When she makes custom oil blends for customers, she takes a full health history first.
One of the oldest aromatherapy bars is on Nantucket. There, John Harding is the proprietor of an 18-foot-long bar with four bar stools that face 1,500 antique apothecary jars filled with essential oils.
“I have 18 musk oils — most stores might have two or three,” said Mr. Harding, who started Nantucket Natural Oils in 1983 and now has two locations. “I have eight sandalwoods and six patchoulis to choose from. People can come sit at the bar and see which jasmine they like.”
First, Mr. Harding and his staff members use fine glass pipettes to dab a dot of oil on a customer’s hand; the customer samples that fragrance and moves on. Five to 10 dots later — or more — the customer selects a blend that will be made into a quarter-ounce bottle of scent that typically costs $85 to $120.
Part of the appeal is “that personal touch,” said Jennifer Hochell Pressimone, an aromatherapist in Clermont, Fla., who runs a shop calledJennScents and has written a three-DVD guide to opening an aromatherapy blending bar.
Many of her customers are harried women for whom it is a great relief to sit down, doff a heavy purse and let a caring helper guide them through the experience of sampling aromas. “I make them turn their phone off or put it on silent, because it’s their time — whether it’s 5 minutes or 10 minutes, they can just breathe and smell some oils,” she said.
Essential oils are easy to find in big stores like Whole Foods, and people can blend them without the help of an expert. One of the biggest retail brands is Aura Cacia, whose executives are quick to recommend ways to use their oils in everyday life: spray peppermint oil around the house to ward off mice, or tap it into a pair of shoes to keep them fresh. Add eucalyptus oil to cleaning liquids for fragrance and as a disinfectant; drop lavender oil on pillows to aid sleep.
“People are really looking for a solution,” said Jane Merten, senior brand manager at Aura Cacia, who said she uses peppermint oil as an alternative to Dramamine. “They are no longer looking for just a soap or a shampoo. Essential oils take things one step further.”
Ms. Close of Naturopathica also has a theory about what customers want. Besides being an herbalist and massage therapist, she is a realist.
“I think people are looking for attainable well-being,” she said. “The kids are getting off the bus in 20 minutes — what can I do to relieve my stress? As opposed to what the media portrays: the model sitting on a mountaintop in a yoga pose.”
