SHARE For as long as humans have roamed the planet, they have turned to the earth to treat all manner of ailments. The use of essential oils can be traced back as far as 4500BC, when the Ancient Egyptians distilled and extracted them from leaves, seeds, wood, bark, berries, resin, flowers, peel, roots and fruits for their remedial powers. “Essential oils have more than 10,000 known aromatic components,” says Isabelle Pacchioni, founder of Puressentiel, the French-born essential oil brand that recently made its way to the UAE. “This explains why their therapeutic arsenal is so extremely varied and extensively developed.” Not just a stage in the mummifying process (cedar oil, we’re looking at you), such aromatic elixirs were incorporated into beauty routines, too – not least haircare. And their powers can still be harnessed today. “Essential oils can be used generally to increase the effectiveness of products or as a treatment for specific conditions," explains Iryna Sukharevskaya, aromatherapy and cosmetology specialist at home-grown company Essential Oils UAE.