Dropsmart (formerly Dropsmith) is an online platform that provides precise information about essential oils.
It is the most ambitious project of AtmanTechnology OÜ (previously under the non-profit organisation Aromainstitut) as well as an organic result of many years of working and collaborating with various aromatherapy schools, organisations, alliances, journals, distillers, homes for the elderly, hospitals, universities and other educational institutions but most importantly listening to our students, colleagues, professionals in many different fields of aromatherapy. Our vast experience in bringing together companies and practitioners, distillers, academic etc.
Because we’ve considered such a broad audience Dropsmart is made simple, precise and useful. We wanted it to be highly practical while professional enough for our science friends to benefit from it as well. On the other hand, we did our best to make science fun and safe and most of all useful, applicable and approachable for everyone – or at least anyone who is willing to take the next step.
This quote nicely sums up Dropsmart’s intention towards our aromatherapy community:
“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
The mastermind behind the vision of Dropsmart is its founder Melani, but it took many great people, their expertise, passion and support to create it. Dropsmart is built on trust, transparency, respect and support with a moto ‘WIN-WIN FOR ALL’.
Melani Kovac devoted her last 10 years solely to promoting and teaching aromatherapy. To serve this purpose she’s founded Aromainstitut through which she organises and supports different aromatherapy projects, collaborates with colleagues, non-profit organisations, homes for the elderly, hospitals, universities and anyone who can benefit from aromatherapy or is hoping to incorporate aromatherapy in their work. Her IT background, curiosity as well as working as an educator for a very wide variety of students along with collaborating with distillers, sellers, nurses and scientists inspired her to create a global online platform for everyone who is using, distilling or selling essential oils – Dropsmart. Her goal is to make aromatherapy simple, fun and as precise and safe as possible.
“For me, making Dropsmart took a long time because it happened organically. Through working and
collaborating with many different individuals, organisations, companies and so on.
It also took time because I keep on getting sidetracked with all my projects. But they are too important to
ignore. And in return, they always inspire me and give me new ideas, collaborations and challenges.
Collaborating with different fields and countries gives aromatherapy many more layers to discover, making it
more beneficial for everyone.”
Science, tradition and referencing
Dropsmart provides scientifically based properties for the essential oils and chemical components found in the essential oils. The aim is to make scientific research more approachable and useful to the wider public. In that respect, when you click on the information that is presented, a pop-up window will give you the appropriate reference along with the link leading you directly to the abstract or the scientific article.
We strive to make research ready and available and simple for the therapists to incorporate the latest up-to-date information to their practice. This is beneficial for everyone involved – the researchers, therapists and patients. Nevertheless, it is imperative to be clear on the information you are using and where it comes from, to be able to use it sufficiently that is why all the information in Dropsmart is referenced. This way, we save the practitioners time and money by helping them find the information that is relevant to their specific needs quickly and easily.
All the properties in Dropsmart are based on scientific articles, however, many things have not been tested yet or are simply hard to test, such as the emotional effect of the oils. That is why we decided, it is inevitable to include the traditional use of the oils and the experience of practising aromatherapists in the application segment.
Under application segment, you will find useful information from scientific journals as well as aromatherapy journals. The aromatherapy journals contain some priceless experiences from case studies as well as how and why practitioners used specific essential oils in therapy. They answer some of the most common questions from practitioners and everyday users.
This section also includes books from various areas of aromatherapy – wellness, clinical aromatherapy, perfumery etc. to have a broad overview of different domains of aromatherapy – all gathered in one place. To make this possible we collaborated with many authors, who were tremendously supportive and gave us the permission to include their books.
Too often references get “lost in the translation” when in fact they are incredibly significant to the quality and ethics of our own practice. Knowing where the information came from, provides us with vital details as to if the information is actually relevant and useful in our particular circumstances. By linking the information directly to the author’s page you can get to know the author a bit better, check out what they are doing and if the information suits your needs. Again, we feel this approach is much more beneficial for everyone involved as well as for the community – by putting a face to the information.
A word on the books in Dropsmart
Quite often we get asked why we selected the books we did, therefore, we decided to make a short introduction to all of them. As above mentioned we selected books from various areas of aromatherapy to broaden the view as much as possible this way we provide a thorough insight into the vast opportunities the oils offer. We encourage you to get to know these authors and if possible read the whole book. The books are presented below in the alphabetical order.
A kao aromaterapija
‘A kao aromaterapija’ is a book originally written in Crotian but translated in several languages. The author
of the book is Slobodanka Poštić who is an aromatherapy educator, natural perfumer and an author of several
publications. Her work is acknowledged locally for decades but lately, she’s also been distinguished and
active globally as well. She is currently writing a book on natural perfumery.
We included this wonderful book because it is made for a broad audience furthermore it has a unique approach
to aromatherapy from a perspective of natural perfumery. The quoted essential oil application was translated
for a to English. The link on her quotes takes you directly to her web page where you may purchase her book
and read more about her work
Aromatherapie für Pflege und Heilberufe: Kursbuch für Ausbildung und Praxis
The latest addition to our international book collection has arrived from Germany from the lovely and
talented Eliane Zimmermann. The valuable quotes from this wealth of information are currently being
translated. We included this book because it offers professional information on indications, effects and
therapeutic benefits of essential oils.
Eliane is a woman of many talents but her journey always brought her back to nature. She has been practising
and teaching aromatherapy for almost 3 decades. In 1992 there were no adequate texts available for her
students and that is what inspired her to become an author. We are honoured to have her precious support.
Complementary Nursing in End of Life Care and CO2 Extracts in Aromatherapy, 50 Extracts for Clinical Applications
We are grateful for Madeleine’s continuing support, wide knowledge and experience that she is so generously
willing to share with us. The reason we included both of her extraordinary books is because of their detailed
descriptions on the extremely specific application. Although her books are primarily written for therapists
working in palliative care her advice on how to apply oils is applicable for all of us using them. Madeleine
Kerkhof-Knapp Hayes is a former nurse, now an authority on clinical aromatherapy lecturing all over the world.
She’s an author of several books and numerous professional articles.
Madeleine is the founder of several influential organisations active worldwide to help develop complementary
care. Her unique experience is shared through her work and these wonderful books we quoted. The link on her
quotes will bring you to her web page where we encourage you to read more on her activities and purchase her
books.
Essential Oil Safety 2nd Edition
With a total of 400 essential oil profiles examined in depth for hazards and risks of essential oils as well
as hundreds of their constituents, ‘Essential Oil Safety’ is an absolute must-have for every professional,
practitioner or anyone, actually, who uses essential oils. The reason we primarily used this book as the
reference for the general safety recommendations is that it presents its rationale on current scientific
knowledge of essential oils biological actions.
Respected authors Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young have greatly contributed to aromatherapy throughout the
last few decades. We strongly encourage you to follow the link and learn more about their activities and
purchase the book if you haven’t already.
Fitoaromaterapija
‘Fitoaromaterapija’ provides a highly comprehensive foundation for the fundamental sciences needed for the
clinical aromatherapy and phytotherapy practice. This incredible book describes 226 essential oils with
chemical and botanical precision including their action on the human body as well as clinically tested
activities. The author, Dr. Sc. Stribor Marković holds a BSc in biochemistry and pharmacy and a PhD in
pharmaceutical sciences.
He’s worked on drug research and quality control moreover Stribor is a pioneer in Croatia for introducing
phytotherapy and aromatherapy into medicine, developing and applying aromatherapy remedies in a clinical
setting as well as advising and educating in the field. He generously shares his clinical experience using
essential oils in this book and we felt its value should be shared globally, therefore, the quoted essential
oil application was translated for a to English.
Unfortunately, this book has been sold out for many years so the link takes you directly to Stribors
incredible web page Plantagea. This website is devoted to herbs, aromatherapy, phytotherapy and natural
cosmetics and is an incredible growing database of carefully evaluated information. It is a continuation of
‘Fitoaromaterapija’ and that is why the link will take you there.
Modern Cosmetics and Sodobna kozmetika
‘Modern Cosmetics’ is described as the world’s most comprehensive book on cosmetic ingredients of natural origin. The book was written by 11 scientists, professionally active in the fields of cosmetology and pharmacognosy. However, before ‘Modern Cosmetics’ was published a Slovenian extended version was available ‘Sodobna kozmetika’. We’ve included both in Dropsmart because it is the more extensive Slovenian version that includes monographs on essential oils. The reason we wanted to include this highly respected book even before the English versions came out is because of its scientific and practical value. The books are intended for medical professionals, such as cosmetologists, pharmacists, doctors and students of natural sciences, but also for cosmetic users, particularly the users of natural cosmetics and DIY cosmetic makers. We feel that natural cosmetics is a growing field in aromatherapy and one that should be suitably covered in our database. The link on the quotes will bring you to ‘Modern Cosmetics’ web page where we encourage you to read more on the authors involved as well as their activities and, of course, treat yourself to this wonderful book.
The Complete Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Handbook for Everyday Wellness
This best seller is one of the favourite go-to books of aromatherapy students as well as practitioners because of its holistic take on aromatherapy. ‘The Complete Aromatherapy & Essential Oils Handbook’ features 109 oils, 450 remedies and is just bursting with practical tips on therapeutic uses. The co-author Lora Cantele shares her experience as a clinical aromatherapist. She works in both private practice and in pediatric hospice and palliative and has contributed to the aromatherapy community as a former president of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists where she worked to improve the standards of aromatherapy education and foster aromatherapy education through the programming of international conferences and cooperative alliances with other aromatherapy organizations around the world. She is also the editor and publisher of International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy (IJPHA) which equips her with an extensive insight into essential oils. We are honoured for the opportunity to include this extensive book in Dropsmart's database and selected it for its holistic representation of essential oils and personal wellness. The link on quotes will take you to Lora’s web page where we encourage you to read more on her activities and get your hands on this book as well as the fresh info provided within the latest IJPHA.
The Secret Healer series of books
Elizabeth Ashley wrote many books on aromatherapy and we are lucky enough to have permission to include
several of them. She wrote an entire book on a single essential oil therefore in Dropsmart you will find
quotes from her books on Rose, Spikenard, Vetiver, Cannabis, Clary Sage, Helichrysum, Monarda, Sweet Basil and
Holy Basil. Ashley has a unique slant on the healing world and we wanted to share that with our users. With 21
years of professional aromatherapy, she has a lot to offer.
Elizabeth Ashley is an international speaker and writer for the International Federation of Aromatherapists
and is the UK Director for the National
Association of Holistic Aromatherapists.
We strive to represent aromatherapy in all its variety and beauty and we continue to quote valuable books and articles to keep you up-to-date.
We feel that the way to gain more credibility to aromatherapy as a profession, we should present aromatherapy professionally and systematically. Gather as much information as possible in one place, so that we can properly examine it, see where the gaps are and if possible address them to successfully move forward.
Grow together as a community.
We hope Dropsmart will contribute to that journey.
