For many centuries, people have used plant oils for a variety of reasons.
They have served as healing ointments, love potions and embalming agents.
"Cleopatra was known for her essential oils," said Jackie Farnell, a certified aromatherapist who taught a workshop on the practice at the Willcox Inn on Feb. 16.
The Egyptian queen soaked her ship's sails in her signature oils before sailing to meet Mark Antony.
Oils are mentioned more than 1,000 times in the Bible, Ms. Farnell said.
Frankincense and myrrh are essential oils.
The spikenard with which Mary anointed Jesus is an oil used to prepare a body for burial.
Ms. Farnell, who owns Scentsible Solutions LLC at 218 York St. in the workshop to smell several oils, including spikenard.
"You either love it or hate it," she said.
Ms. Farnell talked about the history of oils and her work with nursing homes and Alzheimer's patients.
She has developed an alternative therapy for Alzheimer's patients that has been used in 450 nursing homes nationwide, she said. She has written two articles on the subject for Alzheimer's organizations' publications.
Mattie C. Hall Nursing Home in Aiken first used the aromatherapy treatment she developed in 2001. It was part of a one-year experiment, and the results earned her the South Carolina Spirit of Caring Best Practice initiative from the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Tests have indicated that aromatherapy helps stimulate the patient's appetite and calms anxiety, she said. Oils also can help stimulate short-term memory and promote creativity.
The work with the nursing homes has been the "most gratifying thing I've done in my life," Ms. Farnell said.
For more information about Scentsible Solutions or aromatherapy, call (803) 642-0018.
Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.
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