A new approach to well-being
and a new standard of care
Who we are
We believe the little things add up to a great experience of care, whether you’re recovering or just living your everyday life.
We create aromatherapy-based healthcare products for both patients and people who want to improve their daily well-being. We do this by exploring how integrative care and design thinking can work together to make everyday health less stressful, more comfortable and convenient.
Our work is based on two principles:
Integrative care
An approach to care that considers, through evidence-based practice, all aspects of a person’s healing during treatment, including sensory, emotional and psychological experiences.
Human-centered design
A design approach that creates solutions based on the needs and experience of the user, working for people and their lifestyles.
Our products
We’ve created a new generation of aromatherapy tools that are personal, portable, protective and leak proof — making it easy to take your essential oils with you wherever you go. Using fully recyclable and BPA-free materials to preserve a proprietary blend of 100% pure essential oil vapors, we advocate inhaled aromatherapy as a safe and easy way to manage your comfort. You can learn more about our formulas and products, or find out how we are helping hospitals improve patient experience.
Our story
We started Soothing Scents by trying to answer a question about how we cared for patients: How could we comfort hospital patients during their recovery, without overwhelming them with medications over and above what was necessary.
This led to more questions: What would it take to bridge the gap between integrative and conventional medicine? What would a company that does this look like? How could we rethink nursing interventions to address the current issues facing patients, nurses and facilities?
The answer came to nurse anesthetist Wendy Nichols over 15 years ago, when she started using essential oils as an alternative way to help her patients deal with nausea after surgery. Through extensive scientific research and discussions with hundreds of medical professionals, a homemade remedy became a standard hospital supply, and finally, a thriving business, which Nichols co-founded with her brother, Roy Nichols.
Today, our signature solution QueaseEASE is used in over 2,000 hospitals, and our TIEO training program has helped dozens of nurses better serve their patients.
About inhaled aromatherapy
Inhaled aromatherapy is one of the known ways to enjoy your essential oils. It involves smelling essential oil vapors through a diffusing mechanism, which can be anything from a room diffuser to the steam of a hot bath. It’s also one of the safest and fastest methods of use because it goes straight to your body’s olfactory system. Different essential oils have different properties that can lift your mood, clear congestion and even help your feelings of nausea, depending on which plant is used.
At Soothing Scents, we’ve designed a nifty little twist-cap inhaler that allows you to use these oils wherever you go, while ensuring they remain safe and long-lasting.
Advantages of using inhaled aromatherapy
FAST-ACTING
Inhaled aromatherapy gets to
work quicker than other methods
SAFE
Because there is no contact with
the skin, inhaling aromatic vapors is safer to use
SAFE
Because there is no contact with the skin, inhaling aromatic vapors is safer to use
MOVEABLE
No need to worry about bottles or spills,
so you can use your oils on the go
MOVEABLE
No need to worry about bottles or spills, so you can use your oils on the go
SPONTANEOUS
No fidgeting, no setup — just
twist and sniff whenever needed
FEEL GOOD
A safe, natural and delightful way to put
your health and well-being first
FEEL GOOD
A safe, natural and delightful way to
put your health and well-being first
FEEL GOOD
A safe, natural and delightful way to put your health and well-being first
How does it work?
Inhalation of essential oil vapor stimulates a complex neurological process that interrupts the nausea feedback loop in the brain.
It works by inhaling a formulated oil vapor blend with antispasmodic and antiemetic properties (often involving ginger, lavender, spearmint and peppermint) through the nose. The high alcohol content of the essential oils interferes with nausea signaling in the brain’s limbic system, while calming essential oils like bergamot and lavender work with a person’s inherent scent bias to elicit an emotional response (they also stimulate the amygdala, responsible for emotional retrieval, thereby having a potential effect on the mood of the patient.)
For more information on the science behind inhaled aromatherapy, visit our medical page.