Aqua Oleum is a company with a long history, starting with Julia's mother, Kerttu, a Finnish biochemist who studied essential oils and who had a lifelong interest in herbs, as did her mother before her. Family knowledge goes back at least three generations and our interest in essential oils pre dates the advent of Aromatherapy in the UK by many years.

Kerttu and Julia were concerned more with research than with business - they did not train Aromatherapists and chose not to engage in commercial activities, though their research left them well connected with oils suppliers. Inevitably however they were asked by friends to supply essential oils for personal use and eventually were approached by local retailers. As a result Kerttu and Julia started selling oils to a shop in London in 1970, with Julia taking over the business when her mother became ill. Sadly Kerttu is no longer with us.