Professional reinvention does not always begin with a business plan. For Fai Chan, it began in Jackson, Mississippi, where life as a homemaker felt limiting. She wanted financial independence, renewed purpose, and proof that she could create something of her own. An aromatherapy class became her first step. “I learned aromatherapy because I wanted to create a future for myself,” she says.
That decision developed into a career spanning more than 12 years in health and wellness. Today, Fai is a clinical aromatherapist, published author, and founder of Austin-based Deli Aroma LLC. Her story is about more than discovering a professional interest. It reflects her journey of building an identity beyond the role that once defined her daily life.
From Personal Growth to Entrepreneurship
Financial independence mattered, but Fai’s reasons ran deeper. “Self-worth is what I wanted to build up,” she has explained. Her experience with debilitating acne scarring also influenced her direction. The insecurity surrounding her skin led her to explore aromatherapy and the relationship she perceived between physical care, emotional well-being, and confidence.
What began with one class required sustained study, formulation work, consultations, and writing. Without following a conventional corporate path, Fai built her experience incrementally and developed Deli Aroma around what she learned. The company became both a commercial venture and an important milestone in her professional journey, allowing her to turn curiosity into a career of her own.
A Broader Perspective on Aromatherapy
Fai encourages people to view aromatherapy through a broader lens than fragrance, luxury, or temporary relaxation. Her approach draws from clinical aromatherapy, traditional Chinese medicine, and pharmacology. By connecting these perspectives, she aims to make complementary wellness more structured and attentive to the broader context in which someone receives care.
This is especially relevant for clients already using conventional medicine. Fai says she encourages them to communicate with qualified medical professionals and keep a journal. Her work is intended to complement, not replace, conventional treatment. While she is interested in exploring how complementary protocols may support well-being, those goals should not be interpreted as independently established medical outcomes.
Bringing Research Into Wellness
Research helps Fai distinguish her work from consumer-focused aromatherapy. She has authored papers exploring inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, cognitive health, and integrative practice. One exploratory study she authored describes an aromatherapy-based procedure applied with three individuals who have rheumatoid arthritis. She has also presented at traditional-medicine conferences.
Fai also says she conducts peer review involving natural and conventional medical research, an experience she believes helps her consider both approaches. Publication does not, by itself, establish that a protocol is clinically effective, but it demonstrates her willingness to document ideas and contribute to a formal research conversation. Her work reflects an interest in examining aromatherapy through a more structured and evidence-informed perspective.
Encouraging a More Structured Approach
Much of the wellness market depends on broad promises that are difficult to measure. Fai wants her practice to move in a more outcomes-conscious direction. She says she asks detailed questions, conducts follow-ups, documents processes, and encourages clients to record changes over time. That information can also support more specific conversations with the licensed professionals overseeing their medical treatment.
Her emphasis on documentation is paired with a highly personal service philosophy. “I take joy in knowing my clients personally, and am devoted to giving them personalized care,” she says. For Fai, structure and personalized care work together to create a clearer picture of an individual’s experience while avoiding conclusions that go beyond the available evidence.
Growing Deli Aroma
Deli Aroma currently speaks to two audiences. Its consumer-facing side offers aromatherapy and self-care products intended for home use, including options for people who want to continue elements of their routines outside consultations. The company also says it considers sustainability when sourcing ingredients, reflecting an awareness that wellness products carry environmental as well as personal responsibilities.
The second direction is more ambitious. Fai wants her writing and protocol development to interest pharmaceutical companies and university laboratories. She envisions research rights being acquired or developed through licensing arrangements, although these are goals rather than completed partnerships. Together, the two sides reveal a founder balancing an accessible retail business with a longer-term desire to participate in institutional research.
Recognition Along the Way
Recognition has accompanied Fai’s professional evolution. Deli Aroma was named Best Essential Oils & Aromatherapy Products Provider – Central Texas in LUXlife’s 2022 Health, Beauty & Wellness Awards and Most Innovative Aromatherapy Products Provider – Texas in 2024. Fai also reports receiving Best Article of the Year recognition from Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry in 2023 and 2024.
For Fai, however, achievement is no longer defined by individual distinctions alone. After turning 40, she began viewing success differently. “Success is persistently meeting the goals,” she says. Her perspective reflects a shift toward the consistent work of learning, publishing, and continuing to develop her professional direction.
Looking Ahead
That commitment to continued progress now shapes Fai’s future plans. She intends to explore immunology more deeply, with research interests that include ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. These remain areas of investigation rather than established treatments, but they demonstrate the scale of the questions she hopes to examine through her integrative perspective.
What began as Fai Chan‘s desire to earn independently became something far greater: the creation of a professional identity entirely her own. Through Deli Aroma, she transformed personal uncertainty into purpose and curiosity into a developing body of work. Her story shows that the courage to begin can eventually become the power to redefine one’s life.
