Aromatherapy Associates

A British aromatherapist trained in the 1970s spent 15 years developing a bath oil protocol for a hospital in Cornwall before launching a commercial brand in 1985. The protocol is still on the product label almost 40 years later. Geraldine Howard co-founded Aromatherapy Associates in 1985 in London after apprenticing under Michelin RCA, one of the first clinical aromatherapists to work in British hospitals. The founding hero product was the Bath & Shower Oil Range with the original deep-relax oil designed specifically as part of a hospital nighttime protocol for anxiety and insomnia patients. The oil required two precise steps, a small amount rubbed directly onto the wrists for inhalation, followed by the remainder dispersed into a warm bath.