Our Story
The use of botanicals as healing agents is a long-standing practice throughout human history, dating back to ancient civilizations. In fact, essential oils and other botanicals have been used in wellness practices as early as at least 5,000 years ago by ancient Egyptians. So why stray from these historical wellness practices, the same practices echoed by our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents? We do not intend to. Instead, we are going Back To Our Roots!
BACK TO OUR ROOTS (“B T O R”) is dedicated to providing products infused with essential oils that are safe and natural. Our signature Frankincense & Myrrh lotion, for example, is made with natural skin-loving ingredients, including Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Olive Oil, Beeswax, and Jojoba Oil, and infused with essential oils, including Frankincense, Myrrh, Eucalyptus, and Lavender oils. These natural skin-loving ingredients coupled with nature’s previous gift of essential oils will moisturized, calmed, cleanse, and beautified your skin. Join us on this journey back to our roots!
Essential Oil Uses by Ancient Civilizations
Ancient Egypt was the true birthplace of essential oils, or ‘aromatherapy’ as we know it today. The Egyptians cultivated plants for their oils and used them extensively in their rituals, in cosmetics, as well as for medicinal purposes.
Rituals
In their quest for immortality, ancient Egyptians buried their Pharaohs with lots of oils inside the pyramids. When the tomb of King Tutankhamen was explored in 1922, for example, it contained about 50 alabaster jars designed to hold about 350 liters of essential oils. Thieves looted the oils instead of gold and stones, which illustrates the value the ancient Egyptians gave to essential oils. Oils made from frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, cinnamon, cedarwood, juniper berry, and spikenard were buried with the Egyptians. These practice illustrates the advancement of Egyptians in aromatherapy as a science.
Medicine
Myrrh was the most popular herb used for producing essential oils. Apart from Myrrh, other oils made from frankincense, spikenard, cedarwood, cinnamon etc. were also in popular use. Masters of cosmetics and perfumery, the Egyptians slowly brought aromatherapy into medicinal practice. Ebers Papyrus (discovered in 1817 by Ebers), dating back to 1500 B.C., is a medical scroll that lists over 800 different medical remedies and prescriptions of which most of them used essential oils. Many mixtures used myrrh and honey with myrrh serving to alleviate skin and throat infections and for regeneration of throat tissue. The temple of Edfu has hieroglyphics depicting the use of Kyphi, an aromatic substance used to induce sleep, alleviate anxieties, and remove toxins.
Cosmetic
Ancient Egyptians used many skin-care products and fragrances to keep their bodies clean, fragrant, and to ward off diseases. In no other culture or civilization has cosmetics played such a vital part in social living like in Egypt. The source of this cosmetic industry was essential oils. Egyptians transported valuable, aromatic, and healing herbs and spices from other lands (like Persia) to be steam-distilled into essential oils. Their love for perfumery made them keep perfumed cones under their headdresses during festivals. The cones, consisting of aromatic oils, would melt into the head and release sweet fragrances. After bathing, they would anoint their bodies with oils to moisturize their skin cells and replenish dead cells. They had formulated eyeshadows, eyeliners and other cosmetics from essential oils way before the western world could pack them and give them names and labels.