The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health Beauty a Safe Home Environment Paperback – January 1, 1993

I have just started into essential oils and this was one of the first two books I have ordered and those are the only two books i have experience with so my knowledge is limited with that being said and comparing those two books I LOVE this book. I wasn't so sure at first, but then I started to read. the first chapter goes over basics and background and such and the second chapter goes into the actual oils. it covers basic oils and then lists several recipes for everyday use using those basic oils! why is that wonderful? because when you look at high grade oils they can be VERY expensive! especially when you first start out and you have NO oils and have to buy several bottles for a recipe. just glancing at the list all of the oils are inexpensive to moderate with maybe clove and chamomile being the two most expensive and you can pretty much treat everything with just that list. then it goes on to traveling and oils that might help with things from flying to insect bites. and recipes for all of those things. really it is an all inclusive book! later when it gets into beauty and things like that I noticed some recipes calling for more expensive and exotic oils like rose, orange blossom, jasmine, and tuberose. While these are great oils and have both a heavenly scent and healing properties they can be quite expensive. I like that the book includes these more luxurious recipes they have other recipes under the same heading with not such expensive or exotic oils so there is literally something for everyone. they also list oils that can be exchanged for others if you don't happen to have an oil on hand. The recipes also mimic things we are used to using for example, the shampoo and conditioner recipes act more like store bought items. the recipes are all natural and have no chemical bases. for example they have an entire chapter devoted to hair. the shampoo recipes use a soap base they give the option of 3 bases. soap flakes, castile or soapwort. it explains how to prepare each base then you add the ingredients for each recipe to that and they cover everything from normal hair to Alopecia! i was especially shocked by that since Alopecia is a condition that is often ignored. they have recipes for balding or for women with thinning hair. I mean i just can't praise this book enough! another thing i found really helpful is the charts. toward the back of the book they have charts to cover everything from Bacteria busters to facial skin oils and it lists every useful oil and what its used to treat. then there is a large complete list that has every essential oil it lists the common name the latin name type of plant which part of the plant is used to obtain the oil the process that should be used to extract the oil country of origin aromatherapy use and other uses such as pharmaceutics, perfume cooking dentistry and so on. really if you have this book i don't see why you would need any other.

Buy the paperback rather than the Kindle version, because you will be flipping back and forth from the index, looking up recipes for various ailments, and aromatherapy; and that's much easier to do with an actual printed book. The healing power of herbs and essential oils is going to become even more important as overuse of antibiotics has created resistance to its use and superbugs are becoming more prevalent. The author is an expert in this field with impressive credentials you can trust. Whether you are a beginner in this field, or a practiced professional, you need this resource in your library. It's helping me choose the essential oils I need to buy and use to manage all those troublesome little health issues that you don't want to treat with chemicals or go running to the doctor, but is written with the wisdom to warn the reader to seek professional medical attention when needed. I only wish I had discovered this book and this knowledge many years ago because it has truly opened my eyes to this great untapped field of knowledge which is what medical professionals used for thousands of years.The book is well written and organized in such a way to make it a very usable tool. It contains a well organized and detailed Table of Contents of the 18 chapters covering background for the work; quality control; methods of use; basic care; travel care; occupational oils for working men and women; treating injuries; skin, hair, and body care; proper usage for babies and children; men's health; women's health; mature years health; and even natural health for domestic animals. There is a chapter on using essential oils for a clean, fragrant, and healthy home environment. There is a chapter on making your own perfumes, and on using essential oils in cooking. There is a chapter on gardening using essential oils and natural insect repellents. There are three appendices, giving charts for uses of the essential oils, and for illustrations and types of Aromassage; and a complete Bibliography. The thorough index is invaluable for looking up a disease or ailment, a symptom, or an essential oil or herb and its use. It contains over 600 recipes for health, beauty, and home. I would not want to take a trip across country without a map or GPS. This book is your equivalent map or guide in your journey of research into the field of therapeutic essential oils and aromatherapy. It has given me a great new respect and appreciation for the valuable herbs and plants God created for us to use as medicines--medicines that work, and without all the side effects and harmful results of so many of our prescription drugs today. I have learned so much and have so much yet to learn as I use this book almost daily. It's worth a hundred times its price and I highly recommend it.