AromaTouch Hand Technique Study

Introduction

Human clinical trials are the gold standard of scientific research, as they provide direct generalizable data on how the investigated subject matter impacts us in the real world. Human clinical trials are also exceedingly difficult to get approved, organize, conduct, and are expensive to boot. Although there are over 10,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies on essential oils published in PubMed indexed journals (the most widely used search engine for life science and biomedical science research), a very small percentage of them are human clinical trials. As the first name in essential oil science, doTERRA is doing something about that. With its second published human clinical in 2018 (more are currently in the works), doTERRA investigated the effects of the proprietary AromaTouch^® Hand Technique (ATHT) and two of our most soothing essential oils, Deep Blue^® and Copaiba. The effects were more powerful than any of doTERRA’s scientists could have imagined.

The Study

doTERRA scientists recruited 36 participants for the recently published AromaTouch Hand Technique clinical trial, and separated them into treatment and control groups. After a thorough evaluation by a physician and documentation of baseline measurements, which included a questionnaire and various functional assessments, all participants received the ATHT twice daily for five consecutive days. The treatment group received the ATHT using a combination of doTERRA Deep Blue blend and Copaiba, while the control group received the same protocol using Fractionated Coconut Oil.

To prevent participants and ATHT administrators from using their sense of smell to determine which treatment group the participant was in, both the participant and administrator wore surgical masks to which one drop of Lemon essential oil was applied. Masks were worn by both the participant and the administrator for every ATHT session. Furthermore, blue food coloring and Spearmint essential oil was added to the Fractionated Coconut Oil to mimic the light blue color and aroma of the preparation used in the treatment group.

At the completion of the five-day trial period, all participants were reassessed using the same questionnaire and functional tests. Participants in the treatment group reported clinically relevant improvements in metrics evaluated on the questionnaire and statistically significant progression in functional tests compared to the control group, providing robust evidence of the efficacy of Deep Blue Soothing Blend and Copaiba and the proprietary ATHT application method. doTERRA scientists are currently planning future clinical trials to further assess the benefits of other CPTG^® essential oils and blends and the proprietary AromaTouch application techniques on various markers of health and well-being.

Conclusion

The results of the AromaTouch Hand Technique clinical trial represent a totally new area of research not only for doTERRA, but also for the essential oil industry as a whole. doTERRA science is validating what we know from years of usage and the breadth of in vitro and in vivo research and making it relevant and generalizable in the real world so that you can feel confident that you are using and sharing the highest quality and most efficacious essential oils in the industry.