She followed her nose to a new career

She followed her nose to a new career

After working in an eclectic mixture of jobs focused on external beauty, Gloria Hammer turned her focus inward to the healing art of aromatherapy.

BY WENDY DOSCHER-SMITH

Special to The Herald

A former dancer, fashion model and belt designer, North Miami-based resident Gloria Hammer found her piece of inner peace in tiny glass bottles filled with fragrant oils. Hammer now makes her living as an aromatherapist, using nature’s sweet scents to help people relax and improve their health.

In 1994, after abandoning a successful belt design business, Hammer decided to concentrate on a career with a ”healing power.” She began reading about aromatherapy and traveling to Grasse, France, which is the world’s perfume capital, she says.

In 1995, Hammer established Glorious Aromatherapy, where she blends her own oils. Expanding upon her personal research into the subject, Hammer decided to attend The American Society of Aromatherapy and Natural Perfuming in Philadelphia, where she graduated in 1998. The society’s program costs approximately $600 to $700 and takes one year to complete. Classes are offered in the management of oils, including precautions associated with oils and blending them.

Each oil has its own unique attributes, Hammer explains. There’s lavender for muscle soreness, ylang-ylang for relaxation, and chocolate for creating a sweet aphrodisiac. Hammer orders all the oils from Grasse and then blends them in her home office for clients. Hammer also holds seminars and trains people in aromatherapy. The private lessons take about five months to complete, and Hammer charges her students $500 for the complete program.

Hammer’s days consist of personal consultations ($80 for an in-person, phone or Internet consultation), during which she assesses an individual’s personality type before mixing a unique blend for that client. Hammer selects carefully from her assortment of 100 oils, each of which serves a specific purpose, she says, such as relieving stress or sharpening mental clarity.

Speaking about aromatherapy, Hammer says, “It’s fascinating. It’s a world of magic, but it is also a business.”

Among Hammer’s more creative blends is a ”slenderizing” mixture, made from rosemary, cypress and juniper. She claims that the blend works by draining toxins from the system while taking fat out of the body. Essential oils — including sage lavender, rosemary and peppermint — stimulate the lymphatic system.

The two- and four-ounce bottles, which contain thousands of drops of oil, run about $30. According to Hammer, less than 10 drops are needed daily to produce healing benefits. The drops can be inhaled off the fingertips, massaged onto the chest or placed on feet at reflexology points. For stress, Hammer recommends placing three to four drops on the fingertips, and then inhaling them in through the nose. This sends the fragrance to the lymphatic part of the brain, which then assists in healing, she says.

Hammer likens her blending of oils to painting.

”You have to feel in a certain mood, and everything has to be right,” Hammer says.

AROMATHERAPIST

Typical education: Certification through The American Society of Aromatherapy and Natural Perfuming or courses on aromatherapy offered at some colleges; reading; activating the sense of smell by becoming familiarized with different aromas of citrus and floral scents.

Typical salary range: $25,000-$30,000 a year.

Personal philosophy: Aromatherapy is about assisting people and guiding them to a healthy mental state.