The Alchemist
Where Science, Nature & the Art of Living Well Meet
Hi, I’m Heather A. Howell, founder of Aromatic Institute, Master Certified Clinical Aromatherapist, Integrative Wellness Consultant, educator, and executive leader.
My journey with plant medicine began in Colorado in 1999, shortly after the birth of my first child and while completing my Bachelor of Science at Colorado State University.
What started as a mother’s desire to find safe, natural ways to care for her family quickly became a lifelong fascination with the chemistry, history, and therapeutic potential of essential oils.
In 2002, I became a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist. Over the next decade, I founded and grew Hemp Essentials and Aromatic Institute, creating custom formulations, retail and wholesale products, private-label offerings, consultations, and wellness education. During those years, I also raised three incredible children and served on the Board of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists.
When Life Took an Unexpected Turn
In 2011, I became a single mother, and my priorities shifted. I continued my work in wellness, including serving as Executive Director and resident Aromatherapist of a Wellness center, but eventually recognized that I needed greater financial stability for my family.
In 2015, I stepped into an entirely different world: corporate leadership.
I entered the construction industry and ultimately moved into the C-suite as CFO and interim President. Over the following decade, I developed expertise in financial strategy, operations, organizational leadership, and business transformation.
It may seem worlds away from aromatherapy, but that experience taught me something invaluable: what it feels like to be the woman who can handle everything. The woman leading, solving, caring, achieving, and carrying the weight of responsibility, while quietly wondering where she fits into the life she has worked so hard to build.
That understanding changed my work.
Coming Full Circle
Today, I no longer see my corporate and holistic lives as opposites. One taught me strategy, leadership, resilience, and structure. The other taught me to listen to the body, to nature, to intuition, and to the subtle signals that tell us when something needs to change. I have returned to graduate education in Integrative Health and Aromatherapy, bringing more than two decades of aromatherapy experience together with modern research and evidence-informed whole-person wellness. And Aromatic Institute is evolving with me.
More Than Essential Oils
Essential oils remain at the heart of Aromatic Institute, but this work has never been about the bottles. It is about the person using them. My approach brings together clinical aromatherapy, integrative wellness, plant medicine, education, coaching, intentional ritual, and practical strategies for living well, recognizing that physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being are deeply connected. There is room here for science and intuition, ancient wisdom and modern research, ambition and rest, practicality and a little magic. Aromatic Institute is a space for people navigating change, seeking deeper connection with themselves, or simply wanting a more intentional approach to wellness.
Because sometimes transformation isn't about becoming someone new.
Sometimes it is about returning to yourself.
Welcome to Aromatic Institute.
Where science meets nature and wellness becomes personal.