Aromatherapy, an excellent beauty ally

Mary Cohr favours the use of essential oils for its cabin treatments, combining the healing power of these plant concentrates with the expert movements of the beautician.

The name aromatherapy comes from the Greek "aroma", meaning aroma, smell and "therapeia" meaning care. Originally, it refers to the use of aromatic plant extracts, in particular essences, hydrolats and essential oils for their medicinal virtues. René Maurice Gattefossé was the first to highlight the properties of essential oils. Since then, they have been used to treat minor ailments, but their use has spread widely, including in cosmetics. To the great pleasure of our senses and to the delight of our skin. Essential oils are therefore a natural choice for skin care products. They have been carefully chosen for their soothing, purifying and rebalancing properties. We reveal all about the beauty benefits of aromatherapy, with Maeva Coutrel, Mary Cohr Training Manager.

Aromatherapy and essential oils

Essential oils are plant extracts obtained by steam distillation. From the flower, root, bark, fruit or aromatic plant, an essential oil is obtained that is highly concentrated in active molecules. For example, 4000 kg of rose petals are needed to obtain 1 kg of Damask rose essential oil and 150 kg of true lavender flowering tops to extract 1 kg of true lavender essential oil. Essential oils have been used for thousands of years and steam distillation is a process known since antiquity.

Essential oils and the skin

Essential oils have become an integral part of skin care routines, both in the cabin and at home. Their active ingredients quickly penetrate the skin barrier and are absorbed by the skin, acting gently and spreading their beneficial properties. The molecules contained in the essential oils can act in synergy: the combination of essential oils allows them to work together and reinforce each other. For example, at Mary Cohr, the trio of sage, lavender and rosemary is used in skin care products such as Essence Vitale Universelle and Essence Vitale Corps, but also in cabin rituals. It increases the effectiveness of make-up removal and optimises the penetration of the treatments applied afterwards. It is found in the modelling creams used in the CatioVital Double Jeunesse or CatioVital Lifting rituals, and also in the Soin Beauté Aromatique.

Each essential oil has its own action

There is an essential oil for each skin problem. Sage tones, regenerates, repairs and has an anti-oxidant power. It is recommended for skin lacking tone and vitality. Lavender softens and soothes sensitive, irritated and dry skin. Rosemary purifies and rebalances mixed to oily skin. Shiu wood, also known as hô wood, helps to revitalise mature skin. Red Thyme essential oil has toning properties. In the Universal Vital Essence, you will find a cocktail of all these essential oils and benefit from their synergy in a single product.