Olfactory Wellness

Fragrances that heal and that make us feel good

Originally, perfumes – and in particular their raw materials – were regarded as essential elements of the medical art; later, in their more recent interpretation, their cosmetic role came to prevail.

Today, important scientific studies are once again considering their therapeutic value, to the point that we find them used in the most advanced healthcare facilities. As in Strasbourg, where the faculty of medicine has offered a University Diploma in Clinical Aromatherapy since 2015, defining protocols for the use of essential oils in treating cases of stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and loss of memory and of smell.

Clinical experience has also pointed to the use of aromatic essences in anaesthetic practices in operating theatres and specific hospital wards. France, home of modern perfumery, is at the forefront of this research: at the hospital in Angers, olfactory therapy (aromatherapy) is practised in the internal medicine, pulmonology and gynaecology departments. In Rennes, in the clinical haematology department, while in Montpellier and Toulouse it is part of the protocols used in palliative care. The aromatic essences used, which differ according to the condition being treated, are administered both through ambient diffusion and through topical application and direct inhalation.

Olfactory stimuli

OSTMR (Olfactory Stimulation Therapy & Memory Reconstruction) is a therapy that uses controlled olfactory stimuli to evoke emotional responses and reconstruct memory in traumatised individuals. Developed by the French neuropsychiatrist and biochemist Olga Alexandre, it is used for the rehabilitation of smell and the treatment of psychological disorders.

Through smell, I have the immense privilege of connecting with others on an intimate level. Of sharing their doubts, their anxieties, their sensitivity and their fragility.

The approach she takes with patients is in fact a holistic one, as she explains:

I try to bring them a little light, to understand their emotions, never forgetting that we don't treat diseases, but people.

She has also shared this experience, as a consultant, in the theatrical work by Antoine Neufmars presented at the Venice Biennale in 2022 and inspired by recovery from anosmia, the loss of smell caused by Covid.

The perfume of angels

Based on these principles is the humanitarian olfactory therapy project “Parfum des Anges”, launched in 2017 at the children's hospice in Minsk, Belarus. The initiative was developed in collaboration with the École Supérieure du Parfum in Paris to improve the quality of life of terminally ill children or those undergoing cancer treatment.

In Italy too, aromatherapy as a complementary care practice is beginning to spread through hospitals and specific care facilities. Particularly significant is the initiative promoted by the Associazione Sulle Ali ODV, which has created a training programme for hospice staff at the hospital in Varese, setting out specific, well-tested methodologies and protocols.

Aromachology

While aromatherapy is the practice based mainly on the use of essential oils and raw materials to treat or relieve specific conditions, aromachology instead deals with the effects of odours – perfumes in particular – on human behaviour in a broader sense.

Perfume, which in its modern form is the harmonious blend of natural and synthetic odour molecules, retains the ability to influence the psychophysical and emotional wellbeing of the person wearing it. The process is always linked to the stimuli that olfactory perceptions exert on the limbic system. A fragrance can therefore not only be pleasant, but can also induce a state of wellbeing linked to the activation of a specific hormonal metabolism. Likewise, olfactory memory – the most vivid of all cognitive processes – can recall positive experiences and the feelings that accompanied them.

Fragrant wellbeing

Silvia Martinelli, nose and founder of Giardini di Toscana, firmly believes in the beneficial effects of fragrances, which she blends in her workshop:

ever since we began, as an artisan workshop, we have always understood the creation and offering of perfumes as a path to wellbeing. A wellbeing that is first of all personal, since fragrances produce positive stimuli in our body, and then relational, because they help us be appreciated by the people we meet. The aesthetic aspect is a by-product; treating it as the main point is, objectively, limiting.

For Silvia, clinical evidence and studies reinforce a conviction that stems from direct, personal experience:

when we wear a fragrance, we activate stimuli that trigger responses at a neuronal level and the production of specific hormones that induce positive feelings. It's just as effective when we perceive it on others. Take, for example, a perfume with floral and musky notes: at the top I would put peony, then in the heart white flowers and roses, and finally in the base musks and woods. The result is a soft, reassuring fragrance that we perceive almost like an embrace. And this harmony of notes objectively makes us feel good.

Pleasure and wellbeing in perfume

Have you too rediscovered a feeling of wellbeing while wearing a particular perfume?