擁有藝術、神學及教育學位的Penny Price從事芳香療法將近30年，在英國與海外教授芳香療法。她創立了Penny Price芳香療法和Penny Price芳療學院，並擔任IFPA委員，在2012年6月的IFPA的年度大會上她被選為IFPA委員會主席。
My life in Aromatherapy
Penny Price (with Shirley Price)
My journey into the wonderful world of aromatherapy began when I was about 12 years old. My
mother Shirley Price was a trained teacher but had also trained to be a hairdresser and beauty
therapist, which she practiced first in a small village shop. When we moved to Hinckley, the town
where we both still live now, she opened a larger salon and began to look into making her own
therapeutic skincare. She was also interested in helping my Grannie, her mother, with her terrible
arthritis. Grannie was in constant pain and had trouble moving around. She was, at that time on over
30 different tablets a day just to keep going! Mum began to explore complementary medicines for
Grannie and the skincare, and found aromatherapy.
At that time there were very few courses in Aromatherapy in the UK. In those days, it was usually
a weekend course teaching massage with an aromatic, pre-blended massage oil. On one course
she attended there were 30 delegates using tables for massage with one tutor! Undeterred, mum
started practising aromatherapy as it was then - in 1974.
However, feeling restricted by the use of the oils, she then went to France to try and discover the
healing properties of the oils for herself rather than relying on other people’s blends. This was partly
so that she could understand the oils better and also so that she could help others. I remember
mum coming home full of enthusiasm and trying out all her new-found knowledge on her mother –
she had also learned how to speak French! She’s like that!
As my grandmother responded to the oils, so my mother’s confidence grew and she also began to
have the confidence to blend her own skin care for her beauty salon. People came from all over
our small town to buy face creams and potions for all manner of ailments from sinus congestion
to menstrual tension. What a wonderful idea to put oils for complaints in the moisture cream that
nourished your skin every day as well as having a therapeutic action.
Soon my brother and I were drafted into the business. This started at one night a week, when my
mother would get out her Kenwood Chef and blend creams and oils together. My job was to put the
cream into jars and bottles. My brother had to clean the bottles and put the lids on, and my father
hand-drew every single label and stuck them on. After a very short space of time, we were working
almost every night of the week and my parents realised they were going to have to employ staff to
help them so that my school work did not suffer!
The popularity of the products grew and grew – much to the chagrin of some of the less-well known
people who had taught mum ‘English aromatherapy’. In those days, the blends were supplied by the
people who taught the courses and mixing and blending them yourself was a definite no-no! The
blends had to remain shrouded in mystery and were only available from their original creators. But
in our part of the world, aromatherapy products blended for the individual were becoming more and
more popular.
Eventually, we had to move from the small beauty salon to larger premises to accommodate all the
stock we needed, and of course by that time, people were asking if they could learn aromatherapy
and especially, how to blend. We were the first people to teach aromatherapists how to blend for
an individual client – something that we take for granted now. So aromatherapy in England became
slightly better, because instead of using ready blended oils, we could now use our own knowledge
to create blends for clients. My father, a very intelligent man, had studied organic chemistry and
in particular the chemistry of essential oils. We also became the first school to teach the chemical
properties of popular oils to our students.
I trained as an aromatherapist in 1983, having been involved with the family business since it had
begun, and soon afterwards took a teacher training course so that I would be able to teach the
wonderful art of aromatherapy to others. I remember well my son Edward sitting in his bouncy chair
while I was training – such a good little fellow!
The aromatherapy profession grew in the UK, and professional associations were formed,
notably the IFA and then the ISPA (now the IFPA). Shirley Price was instrumental in both of these
organisations, founding the ISPA herself as a clinical association rather than a profession based in
beauty therapy.
When Mum sold her business in 1998, I worked for the new owners for a while, but it was not the
same as working for my parents and I left shortly afterwards to take a research degree with Oxford
University. I had, by this time, trained over 600 aromatherapists as mum had stopped training as
soon as I was able to take over the role to run her business (which became the largest aromatherapy
business in the world). After I had gained my degree, I went to teach at the local YMCA, but I so
missed my aromatherapy. I felt lost, and out of place and so my lovely husband Bob encouraged
me to open my own business in aromatherapy modelled on everything I had known and enjoyed
so much for so many years. And so Penny Price Aromatherapy and the Penny Price Academy of
Aromatherapy were opened in May 2003. My parents were so happy that I had gone back into
the ‘family’ business and have been a great support ever since, acting as consultants and more over
the last 10 years. I remember 2 very great examples of their help: one was when I did a mail-out of 7
different items to 4000 people! The great Shirley Price and her husband Len sat on the floor stuffing
envelopes for 2 whole days. The other time, we have received a huge order for nearly 10,000 bottles
of product. Again the parents came up trumps, filling bottles, putting on the lids, packing into boxes
every day until the last one was done. I can honestly say that they were both 80 at the time, an
amazing example of love and support. They are very dear to me as you can tell.
Just before mum had retired, we were becoming more and more interested in Gattefosse’s original
method of healing – that is intensive application of essential oils rather than a superficial massage
technique that was relaxing but not intensively healing in one treatment. We wondered why the
training for aromatherapy was restricted to external use, when it wasvery obvious that all essential
oils are able to cross through the skin, and therefore all aroma treatments become internal. Added
to that, therapists were starting to use pessaries and suppositories, gargles and mouthwashes and
even making aromatic teas to drink. We were starting to return to the French ideal of aromatherapy
on a very small scale.
It became clear to me that we should not omit internal and intensive uses of essential oils from
training just because it was unknown or alien to us. After all if one were training to be a chef, the
tutor would not miss out the frying element of cooking because it is more dangerous than baking!
We would not learn to use butter knives to cut steak because it was too dangerous to use steak
knives!
Why then not find out how essential oils properly affect and effect the body and learn about the
complete therapy? The discerning therapist can then choose how they would prefer to use the oils.
It might not be appropriate to massage someone if all they need is a compress over the area using a
slightly more concentrated blend of oils.
But, in England, this aspect of aromatherapy has been given a separate and distinct name of its own
– aromatology! How much better it would be to include the whole spectrum of aromatic practice to
one word – aromatherapy – the art of healing using aromas!
As we attempted some definition of aromatology as distinct from aromatherapy we realised that
the division was, of course, both false and forced. Aromatology is a type of aromatherapy, properly
understood. Because aromatherapy in England has become massage with essential oils the whole
meaning is obscured. Aromatherapy should embrace all methods of using essential oils. So where
once again, my mother had led, I followed into this amazing world of actually helping people to heal
and develop.
Just last year I was asked to treat an open wound with MRSA. The client had had the condition for
2 years following an amputation of his foot. 2 more amputations later and he was left with no leg
below the knee. As the condition was not clearing, even after maggot treatment, he was faced with
losing the whole leg. I know this sounds miraculous (and it was) but within one month, the MRSA
was declared gone from his tests and how he has a prosthetic lower leg, enabling him to lead a
perfectly normal life. This is the stuff I love, proper aromatherapy, proper results, proper illnesses to
treat!
It is my 10th Anniversary this year, on May 25th. Ten years since I took the leap and it was the best
thing I have ever done. We will celebrate with a big Open Day at our local golf club, with guest
speakers and lots of workshops. I know I had a great start in life, being able to follow in my parent’s
footsteps and being taught by them every step of the way, but now I am forging ahead on my own
steam, and that is something too priceless for words (no pun intended). My husband and children
have always been supportive and in the years to come I hope to continue to grow my lovely business
and also to grow as a person too, so that I can better help those who need it.
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