Today, more than ever, wellness is at the forefront of societal discussions. From mental health to physical well-being, women are making significant strides in bringing about change, introducing innovative solutions, and setting new standards. Despite facing unique challenges, they break barriers, inspire communities, and are reshaping the very definition of health and wellness. In this series called women in wellness we are talking to women doctors, nurses, nutritionists, therapists, fitness trainers, researchers, health experts, coaches, and other wellness professionals to share their stories and insights. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Hana Tisserand.
Hana Tisserand is the co-founder and director of operations and communications at the Tisserand Institute, the global leader in evidence-based essential oil education. She oversees the creation of course content and curricula, moderates live webinars, and teaches her own introductory classes. She has been working at the Tisserand Institute for nine years, but her love for science, essential oils, perfumes, and fragrances runs even deeper, as does her appreciation for fine teas and coffee.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Thank you for this opportunity! My name is Hana Tisserand and I was born and raised in the Czech Republic in a medical family - my grandmother was a nurse and my mom is a pediatrician. The Czech Republic has a great history of bringing together holistic and western medicine approaches, so even with my family being in the mainstream medical system, it was my nurse grandmother who introduced me to herbal teas and taught me how to recognize useful plants. This primed me for a similar all-encompassing approach later in my career, when I saw these different aspects as complementary.
I studied translation and interpreting, which helped me focus on clear communication strategies as well as the importance of understanding the full context of what’s being said. It’s these two frameworks - one of a holistic approach to health and wellbeing and one of clear and factual communication - that inform my approach to essential oil education today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
This is something that happened to me fairly recently, and made me realize the full impact of what we do. A woman approached me during a professional conference to talk to me about an article I wrote about olfactory training as a way to regain lost sense of smell. She thanked me for it, first mentioning how the protocol described there helped her brother after brain surgery. She then continued saying how although she loved the article, she wanted to do her due diligence and check other sources for further information, and anything she found was already included in my article. She was amazed that I really managed to paint the full picture!
This showed me that the approach we take - looking at a subject from all angles and giving as much context as possible - is not only appreciated, but also impactful. And that spending weeks researching a topic is worthwhile.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of the biggest mistakes I made early on was thinking that I have to individually debate and inform everyone online, mostly in Facebook groups. I would spend time answering a question from an expert perspective, offer additional clarification in comments, only for that question to be asked again a week later by somebody else. Rinse and repeat.
I realized that this is not a sustainable and efficient way to spread information, and focused on creating articles such as the one about smell training. That way if the same question pops up, we have a “standard response” we can link to.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
Essential oils have been on the scene for a few decades now, gaining more popularity recently. My work is focused around making sure that people using essential oils - whether professionally or in their home - have as much understanding as possible.
Essential oils are an incredible and multifaceted tool with real impact on our health and well-being. They can be used to improve our mental health, help our immune system fight off threats, and are a great addition to skincare. We also see their impact in palliative care and management of chronic conditions.
At the same time, if not used properly, they can cause irritation, allergic reactions, and even toxicity. They are natural in origin, but they are concentrated by means of distillation. It is important that people understand the power of essential oils, so they can use them to the highest possible benefit with the lowest risk. And that’s what we’re trying to teach them!
With our evidence-based approach, we’re also helping health professionals bring essential oils into their care facilities. Aromatherapy may be a bit too esoteric a term for administrators, but bring in an RCT (randomized control trial) on the impact of inhaled lavender oil on pain levels post-surgery and the doors start opening.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
This is strictly from my perspective, so not everyone will have the same experience or needs, but if I have to pick five “tweaks” that helped me be healthier it would be physical exercise, mental check-ins, little moments of joy, hydration, and staying present.
1 . I found that physical exercise - running, strength training, yoga (whatever you can do, enjoy, and gets you a little bit tired) - is a great way to keep the mind clear even in challenging times. This also feeds into the mental health check-ins. Our body can reveal a lot about our mental state through posture, muscle tension, etc.
2 . The mental health check-in can be a personal journal entry or seeing a therapist. Whatever works for your situation, but you should keep stock of where your mind is.
3 . Another little tweak with big impact is making sure to have little moments of joy throughout the day. For me, that is making a pot of good tea and enjoying it before taking on the tasks, observing birds in our back yard, and taking in the scents around me. Just taking a moment to pause and find a little glimmer.
4 . On a physical level, I’d say making sure you’re properly hydrated may sound trivial, but is so important. I’ve always been a big water drinker, so it comes naturally to me, plus I add the tea to the mix.
5 . And last but not least, I’m making sure to stay present, or come back to being present as much as possible. Essential oils are a great tool for that - when you smell something it brings you back to yourself, you enjoy the scent, think about how it makes you feel, and all distractions quickly disappear.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
That’s a very interesting question! And looking at it from a broad context, I think it would be a community gardening network. This would bring people together to foster relationships and social support (which is an important determinant of health) and help supply good quality ingredients that can be used within the community. There would also be an educational aspect about nutrition, mental health, herbalism, and our place in the ecosystem. Depending on the size of the garden, each community could even distill their own essential oils and learn how to use them. Plus you have the physical exercise and fresh air aspect to it all. I think a communal approach to health has the potential for great impact!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
1 . No question has an easy answer. In every situation, you have to be able to take into account many different factors to find the most appropriate course of action. What works for me may not work for anybody else, and it’s important to understand that and help others understand.
2 . There is no one best essential oil, and no one best essential oil supplier. It’s absolutely ok to shop around depending on what you need at any given point in time.
3 . Essential oils are powerful and can cause harm. Just because they are natural doesn’t mean you can use them copiously without restraint.
4 . On the entrepreneurial side of things - you won’t always love your work, but if you understand your “why”, you will always be able to do the work and love the result.
5 . You won’t be able to please everyone. Again, stick to your core values and your “why” and the right people will appreciate you.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
That’s a tough choice to make! I would say that currently, mental health is at the forefront for me. Partly because there is a lot of new research emerging on the very real impact of essential oils on mental health, and partly because unless we take care of our mental health, tackling any of the other challenges becomes even more difficult.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
Visit our website at Tisserand Institute and follow us on Instagram at @tisserandinstitute.
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
