Robert Tisserand Q&A

Q&A

More Questions and Answers can be found on Robert Tisserand.com

Essentia  "Robert you are the well known author of The Art of Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Safety.  Any books in the pipeline?"

Robert Tisserand I have been revising Essential Oil Safety since 1998. I think the whole book has actually been re-written several times! I am working on it with my (new) co-author Rodney Young, who has experience in both pharmaceutical and herbal medicine. I’m not going to tell you when it will appear until I have a date from the publisher, and we still have not yet delivered the manuscript. One reason for the protracted delay is because we realized that, for some substances, we needed to set our own safety guidelines. In some cases because none exist (such as for thujone-rich oils) and in some cases because current guidelines are so obviously misguided (such as for the notorious EU “allergens”). Once that mission is accomplished, I will turn my attention to the world of ebooks, and see if I can get something written quite quickly!

 Q&A

Essentia  "Robert you are just back from Beijing and Seoul where your weekend seminar was a sellout.  What impressions of Aromatherapy in that part of Asia did you bring back?"

Robert Tisserand Over the last couple of years I have given presentations in Taiwan, mainland China, Korea and Japan. Each one is different, but the over-riding impression is that aromatherapy is newer, more vibrant, and more popular than in most European countries. One refreshing discovery for me was to see that in China, herbal medicine never became an alternative therapy, and in many hospitals it is used alongside conventional medicine. I knew this before I went to China, but to see it first-hand felt quite liberating. One hospital in Guang Zhou for example, has had success in treating patients with liver cancer with Curcuma aromatica oil.

Q&A 

Essentia  "Aromatherapy Research and Synergy of Essential Oil Constituents is the title of your London seminar. What are your favourite synergies?"

www.purearomatherapy.com

Robert Tisserand Research is now revealing that some essential oils do what they do because of constituent synergy. This may seem like stating the obvious, but there are instances where we can say, for example, clove oil has X effect because of its eugenol content, and there are others where there is no correlation between the amount of eugenol and the effect of the oil. Geranium is a nice example of an oil with wonderful anti-inflammatory effects that cannot be attributed to any one constituent. As for mixing essential oils, lavender and tea tree often work synergistically. But let me just add – mixtures of oils are not always synergistic. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

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Essentia "Essential oils are increasingly finding their way into skincare.  Do you see any particular safety issues newly graduated aromatherapists should bear in mind when preparing products for their clients?"

Essential Oils in SkinCare, Quantity, Quality, Safety & Cosmeceutical Effects

Robert Tisserand One of the most important safety issues is phototoxicity, because if you get it wrong, the resulting skin burns can be pretty bad. When you see those burns it is probably the most dramatic example of how important essential oil safety is. Knowing what happens, why, and how to avoid it is something practitioners should have a good grasp of.

 Q&A

Essentia  Robert, the title Clinical Aromatherapist is used with increasing confidence by the aromatherapy profession.  What are the issues you see in this development?"

Robert Tisserand Aromatherapy is an umbrella term that covers approaches that include: Aesthetic, Energetic, Clinical and Psychotherapeutic. Or any mixture of these. So there isn’t one entity that is aromatherapy – there are many. Even clinical aromatherapy is, I feel, not clearly defined. I think there are still too many vague notions of “this-for-that therapy”, in other words “this oil is good for that problem”. Practitioners need to understand what process is being engaged, what method of administration and what dose is needed, and how to measure success. Knowing that “this” is good for “that” is only one part of a rather complex puzzle. At the same time, a practitioner needs to work within the boundaries of their knowledge and expertise.

In conversation with Pat Herbert, Editor In Essence Magazine, look out for the forthcomng article in the Spring In Essence Issue

PH You have been a major influence in aromatherapy for over 30 years. What do you regard as the major achievements in the profession and industry over that time – and what opportunities do you think have been missed?

Robert Tisserand The way that the various aromatherapy associations have been formed, and then have integrated or fallen out with each other represents both achievements and missed opportunities. An important achievement has been the willingness to set standards in both the profession and the trade. The UK is still the only country in the world with an aromatherapy trade association. Perhaps one missed opportunity has been a definition what an aromatherapist is and does. Another relates to essential oil quality. But, those opportunities still exist.

More pertinent are the legislative threats to the practice of aromatherapy and the availability of essential oils. Meeting those threats requires considerable resources and co-ordination of effort. We may never know whether more could have been done up to this point, but this is certainly the greatest challenge to aromatherapy today. Already we have seen the closing of aromatherapy studies in some British universities, because of lobbying by medical interests. And, the use of essential oils in products will be further restricted in products if proposed new EU legislation is enacted.

PH How do you see aromatherapy developing over the next decade?

Robert Tisserand I’m not sure how the dynamic of increasing research-based evidence of efficacy, contrasted with increasingly restrictive legislation will change things. I suspect that the trend of seeing essential oils (or their constituents) used in OTC medicines may well speed up some, and we will probably see aromatherapy become more firmly established in hospitals, and therefore in nurses training. It’s possible that the use of “unusual” oils in aromatherapy – those about which little is known – will disappear. This partly depends though on what the role of an aromatherapist is. If natural fragrances are being applied to the skin by a therapist for psychological benefit, then you can no more forbid that than you can forbid the use of body lotion.

PH Is there now enough evidence of its effectiveness for it to play a major role in mainstream healthcare?

There has been an explosion of research in recent years There are now thousands of srticles that touch on either the safety or efficacy of aromatherapy – many times more than, say, 30 years ago. However, there are very few substantial clinical trials, mainly because they are expensive to run, and the status quo favours drug research. There have been many small trials, with some showing an effect and some not, but the bulk of the research is either in vitro or in vivo. However, taken collectively, the data is often quite impressive, such as the antimicrobial action of tea tree oil or the calming effects of lavender oil. (It would be nice if we stopped referring to this as “sedative”, as this implies a powerful effect.) Progress has been made on two fronts. One is academic, and the other is the fact that aromatherapy is now used in so many hospitals and healthcare facilities. To answer your question, no I don’t believe there is enough evidence yet to justify aromatherapy playing a “major” role in healthcare, but I guess it depends on how you define major. What is desperately needed is something that demonstrates that there is a scientific basis for much of aromatherapy, and that it’s not just quack medicine. Books like Jane Buckle’s “Clinical Aromatherapy” go a long way towards providing a useful information platform. Unfortunately too much aromatherapy literature is still anecdotal, and often nonsensical. Maria Lis-Balchin’s “Aromatherapy Science” provides some very good information in some areas, although dangers are quite often portrayed where none exist.

Do you think there will be a place in the UK for the French approach to essential oil use, including oral use? Well, don’t forget that in France, you have to be a medical doctor before you can practice any form of alternative medicine, including acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine and aromatherapy. I’m not too sure what is happening with EU regulations and herbal medicine, but so long as herbal practitioners and doctors are open to using essential oils orally, yes I think that will absolutely happen in the UK. But I don’t see practitioners primarily trained in massage being given a green light to prescribe for oral use. We may have to invent a new type of practitioner, something akin to a nurse practitioner – less than a doctor, but very much more than a massage therapist.

PH Your blog, Twitter and Facebook pages provide new, fast ways to communicate with aromatherapists and the general public. Is this a satisfying way to communicate and what are you learning from it?

Robert Tisserand To have a virtually cost-free way to instantly communicate with an unlimited number of people across the planet is wonderful, especially when dealing with topical issues. The one huge drawback of the Internet is that misinformation spreads just as quickly as good information! But overall, for me, it has been life-changing. In the 1970s, if I needed to access any kind of published research, I hopped on a No. 43 bus, went to a central London library, and then had to wait a few hours or days to get what I wanted.

PH In recent years you have focused on tracking published research about essential oils and worked on collaborative projects with doctors, herbalists and pharmacologists. Could you give examples of one or two of these projects?

Robert Tisserand The revised Essential Oil Safety is one, and a book entitled Essential Oil Therapy is another. This I am co-editing with Caroline Hoffman, and there are some 20 contributors. Initially I approached several people well known in aromatherapy, but many of these declined and so we looked to academia instead, and found some great people.

PH Is enough research being carried out on essential oil safety?

Robert Tisserand Again, there is a huge amount, and the revised Essential Oil Safety has almost 4,000 references. Whether there is enough depends on what the parameters are. The current guidelines for carcinogenicity testing involve 540 rodents being euthanized to test a single substance, at a cost of £1,000,000 or more. Occasionally, after all that, we don’t know much more than we did before. Some people would probably prefer to wait until there is a viable alternative test, and then go down that road. However, we are not much closer to finding that test than we are to curing all cancers. It is a very slippery customer, and is nothing at all like a simple test for skin irritation or acute toxicity. Similarly, very few essential oils or constituents have been tested for reproductive toxicity, also an animal test with no viable alternative. In fact we know more about carcinogens than teratogens in essential oils. But whether reproductive toxicity testing should be speeded up and broadened is another question. There will always be an element of risk, an element of uncertainty, and the aim should be to reduce that to a minimum. Where available funds for testing would be best spent in future is a matter for debate, and it would be great if that decision process was more transparent than it currently is.

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