It is our mission to share with people the amazing results we have seen and experienced through using essential oils in our products and treatments over the last 30 years, and to practice real aromatherapy.

What is real aromatherapy?

How and why do our products and treatments really work?

We are careful about:

Choosing the right kind of ingredients
We select our ingredients by sharing in a pool of expert knowledge going back nearly 40 years to a time when aromatherapy was in its infancy in the UK.

This wealth of experience and knowledge ensures that Aromatherapy Associates products contain the finest quality natural ingredients, extensively sourced from around the world.

Our essential oils are derived from organically grown plants where possible using traditional methods thereby avoiding the use of chemical pesticides or herbicides. All our products contain high levels of natural, active ingredients and are GM free with no added colour or mineral oils that can inhibit full absorption.

All our oils - for bath & shower, body, face, room fragrances and essences - contain 100% natural ingredients.  Pure nature - with nothing else added.  However, whilst we love using natural ingredients we never want to compromise on product safety or stability, so a limited number of preservative systems in certain products are used where absolutely necessary. 

This philosophy of quality flows through everything we do - from sourcing ingredients, to developing products, to blending the oils and creating our unique, recognisable aromas.

We play an active role in the production of our products from plant through to bottle, exercising stringent quality control at every stage of the process.  By talking directly to harvesters and distillers, we have traceability right back to the farmer and the original source of the essential oil.  Furthermore, each consignment we receive is tested in-house and analysed by an independent laboratory to fit our strict criteria.

On an ethical basis we strive for sustainability of species at source and endorse fair trade practices.  With the environment in mind, we take great care when we source our packaging - the cardboard we use comes from sustainable resources and is, along with the plastic used for our bottles, recyclable.

Allowing the essential oils in our products to work
Of course we have quality products with natural ingredients but there's more. We use our essential oils at higher than average blending strengths which gives us the therapeutic edge enabling you to feel the results.

When we think about developing a product, we start with the essential oil blend and build the product around that.  Essential oils are used not just as a fragrance or an added extra, they are the key to what the product achieves.

The bases to our products are also chosen wisely.  Vegetable oils and plant derived base materials, such as Shea Butter and Aloe Vera, are used as these have a natural affinity with essential oils and allow the oils to work to their best potential.

Overall we aim to use ingredients that are as naturally active as possible.  For example, we prefer to use floral waters in place of water and juice straight from the Aloe Vera leaf in place of reduced Aloe Vera concentrate, a common ingredient of other cosmetic products.

Remaining true to traditional aromatherapy massage principles
Our founders Sue Beechey and Geraldine Howard are part of the history of aromatherapy.  In the 70s, Sue and Geraldine were trained by Micheline Arcier, a student of Marguerite Maury whose pioneering work on the external application of essential oils with massage was the foundation for the development of modern day aromatherapy.

When designing the Aromatherapy Associates massage, Sue and Geraldine adhered closely to the original, true principles of aromatherapy massage laid down by Marguerite Maury.  These exacting principles focus on using spinal pressures to balance out the nervous system and help relieve the symptoms of stress.

We have called our aromatherapy massage "The Real Aromatherapy Experience".  Because that is what it is.  Pure, simple and effective aromatherapy massage, performed in the way it should be.

These basic principles are adhered to in all our treatments.