Customer Reviews

The Complete Book Of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health - Beauty - a Safe Home Environment

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a must have for any beginner aromatherapist. The content is arranged in a great way so that you can read cover to cover or simply the areas that pertain to your needs. I suggest cover to cover because there is a lot of good stuff in there. The instructions are very easy to follow and there is a wide range of ailments, conditions etc. that are included. I was mainly looking for new born baby related things and found a host of mixtures. I have tried a few of the recipes and they are great, my baby loves the baby massage blend.

Thanks Valerie for putting together this must have!

The first edition of this book came out in England in 1990 under the title The Fragrant Pharmacy. You only have to look at the contents and index to see it covers just about every aspect of aromatherapy, health and home. As a full-time professional aromatherapist it is my primary source of information, indeed, it is known "in the business" generally as "the bible of aromatherapy". I doubt there is an aromatherapist in the world who doesn't use this as their reference book, because it is profoundly practical - giving answers to questions you didn't think had any answers. Looking at the many books written after this, its clear where their ideas came from.
If you want practical advice, with detailed recipies and instructions, whether just for home use or professionally, this is the book you need. Every recipie that I have used from this book proved safe, and works, and I wouldn't say that about any other book on the market. I also know for a fact of several vets who routinely use the information in the animal chapter to beneficial effect. Check out her other titles, and you'll see this woman writes in depth - Fragrant Mind, Fragrant Heavens, Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, Aromatherapy for the Beauty Therapist,and Aromantics (also known as Scents and Scentsuality). Worwood has done research on aromatherapy, and was once Chair of the Research Committee of the International Federation of Aromatherapists. She knows what she is talking about, having been a working clinical aromatherapist for years. In the aromatherapy world she has the highest respect because without her, well, what would there be ...?

I agree with other reviewers that this book can be a bit complicated as sometimes you wonder if you use the mixtures as a massage oil, where to massage it, use it in a diffuser or on a cloth to inhale. But, all in all I liked the information provided.

I do not agree with the criticism that you need to buy hundreds of oils nor do I feel concern if she uses one particular oil too much ... I do not intend to use all the recipes as I do not suffer from every affliction listed in this book (and there are many), nor do you need to use every oil she suggests you use .. she offers many different recipe versions for different conditions, so pick the ones you want and avoid buying hundreds of oils :)

I do have a bit of a pet peeve when the listings in the index do not match the actual pages that the information is found on (not even close for many items in this edition of the book (1991) - I hope they fix it in the revisions)

"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" by Valerie Ann Worwood is a must for every home! I simply love this book. In fact my copy is in great need of replacement from constant use. In 1997 I received a phone call from a man who wanted to know if I could develop a scent that would depict a particular subject to him. Then next thing I knew he was asking me to make some soap for him. A project I always wanted to do, but never ventured into. That led me to learning about soapmaking, which led me to learning about essential oils. Valerie's book was the first one I looked at and purchased along with 2 from Julia Lawless.
Because I knew nothing about essential oils, "The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" became my mainstay. Eventually, after learning more about essential oils, I ventured into the other books as well. Valerie's book makes learning about essential oils easy. Her book is easy to read, and easy for those like me who knew nothing at all, to learn and understand. This is an excellent book for beginners or those who are advanced in the art of essential oils as well.
"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" will have those who like me had absolutely no knowledge of essential oils, using them in a matter of moments! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what essential oils are and how to use them. Valerie goes into the usage for home, travel, emergency first aid, and the work place and gives formulas to make your own oils so you can put your newfound knowledge to work.

Having received this as a gift, I didn't know about it's contents until I read it. This book doesn't include "essential" information about the oils in the aromatherapy mixtures, like exactly *why* clary-sage is useful and what exactly it does. That was the information I was looking for, and this book does not have it.

I absolutely love this book. It is essential for finding synergistic blends for any ailment. It has a great chart in the back for specific skin disorders or types with the best essential oils for it. Although, I would like more detail on each oil and it's properties, I'm not too concerned as most other books cover that in detail with next to no synergistic blends. I've tried many recipes in here and they work fantastically and on a variety of people.

This book covers a basic care kit of 10 oils. It covers these oils well and provides receipes covering many ailments and situations using just this kit. If you are just interested in getting your feet wet in aromatherapy this book is a good one to start with. However if you think you might be interested in going beyond the beginning phase, then this book will not take you there.

Fantastic easy to use book for the beginner. I purchased this book for my sister and I plan to purchase another one for me and the other books that the writer has authored in essential oils. The book is well written and informative in the use of essential oils to cure ailments in children and adults. It has a nice section on pregnancy and what oils are useful in controlling morning sickness. It has a listing on "trembling" which is not parkinsons and the doctors here in Canada have no idea what it is or how to deal with it. Finally there is an answer!

Appreciated the indexing and the clearly written approach to the subject. A useful reference and reading for anyone interested in aromatherapy, from beginner to advanced.

Excellent examples on uses of essential oils. Written more for the aromatherapist. The hobbyist should take a course before just making things from a book. I am certified in aromatherapy (aromacology) and understand the concepts that help me determine the proper oils from the examples to use. If I wasn't, the book may have been too general. Instead it is a great reference for those who already are educated in this field.