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

Comments

1. BronxLake@aol.com says:

   January 21, 1998 at 8:00 am

   Rating

   Valerie Ann Worwood’s book is an excellent, well-written and easy to understand foray into the amazing uses of aromatherapy. She covers topics ranging from basic first aid to home uses and perfumes. She also clearly explains some of the potential hazards in using essential oils. This book should be on the shelf of any serious student of aromatherapy.
2. Anonymous says:

   July 12, 1999 at 9:31 am

   Rating

   This book was my introduction to essential oils and aromatherapy. Included in the book are recipes for health and beauty, cooking, cleaning, domestic pet care/health, gardening and pest control. Tables provide information on essential oils origin, part(s) of plant used, type of plant, and typical areas of use. My husband became a believer after I started using the “Irritable/Disagreeable PMS” mixture.
3. Anonymous says:

   October 19, 1999 at 7:27 am

   Rating

   This is the most practical aromatherapy book ever! I’ve finally found a book that gives actual formulas for all kinds of everyday health problems, plus others for serious health conditions I didn’t expect to find in it. Every formula we (my friends and family) have tried works! It’s like having your very own health care specialist on hand, and its become indispensable. And it’s written like a friend talking to you. As well as all that, there are whole chapters on pets, gardening, cooking, children, babies, elderly, the home, work-related problems etc etc etc. This book has totally changed my life!!- and I feel FANTASTIC about it. What this book is not – a boring catalogue of details about essential oils, with no practical advice. This is the book for everybody. You’ll wonder how you lived without it. It’s given me control of my life. Feel stressed? Just look it up, put the oils in the bath and – hey presto – no more stress! A WONDERFUL LIFE-CHANGER!!
4. R. Hanger says:

   February 4, 2001 at 7:09 pm

   Rating

   Valerie Ann Worwood’s book “The Complete Book Of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy” is one of the most complete and down-to-earth books on the subject, especially for the beginer. If I were to teach a course on aromatherapy for beginers, this would be one of two main texts I would use, as it is so complete. Here writing style is very clear, easily understood, and enjoyable to read. No dryness here. She begins by discussing ten essntial oils as a “basic care kit,” and explains how such oils should be used via an A-Z list of common household occurances. The list includes the following as some topics: -Abdominal pain. -Abraisions. -Black Eye. -Bruises. -Colds. -Fever. -Headache. -Hicups. As a matter of principle, she explains at the very begining of the book that the information contained therein is NOT intended to take the place of a Physician’s care. Her chapters on Travel, Sports related injuries, and Beauty (3 chapters covering head to feet!), Maternity and Motherhood, Mens/Women’s health (seperate chapters), and Aging are exceptional. She closes with chapters on aromatherapy for animals, and gardening; which I have not seen except in a work by Dr. Gary Young. The charts at the end of the book are indespensable, and complete as a ready quick refrance. Valerie’s bibliography contains such authors as Belaiche; Gattefose; Valnet, Duraffourd, Lapraz; and Wells; shows that she is very well read as she is experienced. These authors are the very pioneers of the modern resurgence of aromatherapy, and should be read by all who desire to be serious students of the art and science that is aromatherapy. Those who may wish to criticize her lack of litterary sitations should go and read the works cited here, remembering that Valerie has over 25 years of practical experience as a student and practicioner in a country where aromatherapy is taken seriously, and all they will be left holding is empty litterary critique. Better still, they should utilize her book, and let experience speak for itself! My only sugestion for a revision would be an in-depth chapter on essential oil chemistry, and their interaction with the bodily systems. Otherwise, I consider this book to be amoung the best out there on the subject. It makes a great gift for all occasoins.
5. Artemis Gems says:

   December 2, 2001 at 6:07 pm

   Rating

   This is a great book for starting out or for recipes. As noted it doesn’t cover the modes of action (turn to Kurt Schnaubelt or R. B. Tisserand if you want that), but it is an excellent book! It starts off with a basic care “kit” of ten moderately priced essential oils. However if you read the WHOLE (unlike those who claim she uses only ten) book you’ll find she covers many others. She covers common medical problems (consult a doctor first, of course), beauty creams and lotions, household uses, garden uses, and food. I would research the pet uses first, she suggests giving tansy to a horse which is a good way to end up with a dead horse. When purchasing essential oils always check the scientific name of the plant from which the oils was extracted–otherwise you may end up with something other than you intended (ie. eucalyptus, eucalyptus lemon and eucalyptus peppermint depending upon whom you purchase them from are all labeled eucalyptus, it is the scientific name that distinguishes them) Overall this is an excellent, excellent book.
6. Laura Jones says:

   January 11, 2002 at 11:13 am

   Rating

   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 …?
7. Vicki Fotheringham says:

   May 17, 2003 at 1:54 pm

   Rating

   “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.
8. DaVinci Kittie says:

   August 5, 2003 at 4:15 am

   Rating

   For anyone new to aromatherapy and essential oils, this book is a MUST have!! Worwood covers a plethora of medical conditions and commonplace ailments, and gives step-by-step instructions on how to use the oils. She devotes two entire chapters to building and using (during travel and in daily life) a Basic Care Kit from the ten most *essential* Essential Oils, and includes several very thorough chapters dedicated to the subjects of babies, body care, women, men, and the elderly, to name a few. In the last few chapters, she gives invaluable advice on making your own perfumes and creative gifts, enhancing the food you cook, and even tending your gardens with essential oils. This book is well worth the [money amount]price tag and will definitely be one of the most easily accessible books on my shelves!

   If you’re interested in aromatherapy, or even *thinking* about it, this book is a must-have for your collection.
9. Julie Ann Dawson says:

   February 10, 2005 at 12:27 am

   Rating

   Wormwood provides an easy to use guide to effectively adding aromatherapy to a health-conscious lifestyle. Avoiding the new age mystical lingo often found in aromatherapy books, she presents practical information on how to select, store, and blend essential oils for a variety of needs. The book is divided into convenient sections and has a well done index to make it simple to locate the information you’re looking for. And the detailed charts provided offer a quick reference guide for folks wanting to experiment with their own blends. I can honestly say I reference this book at least once a week, and I’ve owned my copy for years! One of the best, most complete books on the topic available.
10. Genevieve Kiger says:

    December 5, 2005 at 1:24 pm

    Rating

    This book is truly a ‘complete’ guide to almost anything you’d want to know about essential oils and aromatherapy. As someone who works with such things on a pretty much daily basis, this book is my cornerstone of information. Any time I need information on usage or recommended oils, this is the first place I look, as it has everything, from Essential Oil First Aid, to Cooking with Essential Oils; and, of course, your basics, such as perfumery and massage.

    It is written in a very clear, concise way that is both easy to use and to understand. It is written as a series of entries/articles, each about a very specific topic. Each of them are about a third of a page or less, yet still very informative and thorough, covering all the basics you need to know, and much beyond-the-basics information as well. This is one of the reasons that it manages to be so concise; each article is completely independent of the next, grouped together by a general subject into chapters.

    The index is probably one of the best features of this book; it is very complete and thorough, as is most of the book, and you can use the book for many years without having to look anywhere but the index to find the information you need.

    Another aspect that is highly useful is the charts in the appendices. They are quite informative, and can help clear up confusion about `which oil is which’, since there may be multiple names for a single oil.

    In addition to what this book obviously has – in-depth information on essential oils and other aspects of aromatherapy – it also has to its advantage a vast amount of `other’ wholistic information, such as dietary suggestions and environmental recommendations.

    One of the few downsides to this book, for those of us in the US, is it was written in the UK, and they use different terminology for many things, so finding the information you need can be tricky at times.

    All in all, this book is definitely a must-have for anyone interested in essential oils or aromatherapy.
11. school grants says:

    June 15, 2010 at 6:37 am

    What a great resource!

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