Some of the best books and videos for beginners to experts
After going over scores of aromatherapy oriented books I
have tested my opinion with the community's and present here
Only 5 to 4 star reviewed books and videos to save you time
and guesswork
Aromatherapy With Valerie Ann Worwood
While this video may be titled
Aromatherapy, it's as much about self-massage as it is about treating
yourself with essential oils. Valerie Ann Worwood is an excellent guide
to the benefits of aromatherapy--using scents to soothe and heal--for
the whole family, and the sections on how to give yourself a massage are
alone worth the price of this tape. Worwood begins with the mixing of
oils. The
video sleeve contains a guide to which oils work for specific desired
results , and she mixes a few concoctions to illustrate. She then moves
on to first aid, healing cuts and burns, stimulating aching feet, and
helping a young child fall asleep.
Next is aromatherapy in beauty
regimes. Scents in baths and showers follow, and then the section on stress, tension,
and self-massage. The self-massage is demonstrated slowly enough that
it's easy to follow. Brown She finishes the video with
environmental perfuming--scenting your living space
Reviewer:
Susan Stafford from Orlando, FL USA
This is a great video, especially for those just
beginning an interest in aromatherapy. Ms. Wormwood's voice is very
pleasant to the ear and she begins by demonstrating how to blend a few essential
oils. She goes on to demonstrate and discuss the various uses
of essential oils - medicinal, relaxation, massage, etc. A very
interesting and instructive segment is a model demonstrating a self
massage using essential oils. (I never thought about giving myself a
massage, so I tried it and found it to be a soothing experience). This
video is educational as well as relaxing to watch. You may find yourself
wanting to experiment with essential oils right away.
(note: there is a bit of nudity in
the demonstration).
List $24.98
DVD List $24.98
DVD Price:
$22.48
Books
by Valerie Ann Worwood
The
Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy
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!!
Reviewer: kmp505 from Lake
Mary, FL United States
I bought 5 books on the subject of
essential oils. This was by far the best. Valerie Ann Worwood is very
concise and offers a blend for just about anything you might need...and
then some. It is fabulous! Highly reccomend.
List Price:
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Price:
$13.97
The Fragrant Mind:
Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood, and Emotion by Valerie
Ann Worwood
Written in an accessible style
and aimed at aromatherapists, practitioners of alternative medicine, and
anyone wishing to use aromatherapy to maintain a peaceful equilibrium or
bring about positive change, this book concentrates on the mood-changing
effects of natural oils. "A good addition to alternative medicine
collections."--Library Journal.
Reviewer:
A reader from the Philippines
I have
not had the good fortune to see a copy of Worwood's other books The
Complete Guide to Essential Oils, which I understand is a bible of
sorts, and Aromantics, whose Title intrigues me very much. The
Fragrant Mind is daring in the sense that it espouses a very unique
theory, that of classifying personalities based on the scents they
prefer. I may not necessarily totally agree with Worwood, and I have
had difficulty figuring out what personality type I have based on her
system, but this book is definitely interesting reading, especially if
you're an aromatherapy fan like I am. Buy it if only to round out your
aromatherapy library. You will find yourself picking it up from time
and time to read up on her one-of-a-kind personality descriptions.
List Price:
$19.95
Price:
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Additional Authors
Aromatherapy
Blends and Remedies: Over 800 Recipes for Everday Use
by Franzesca
Watson, Christine
Lane (Illustrator)
Reviewer: Natick,
MA United States
As the onwer of giftsforthesoul.com,
this book has been a great inspiration to me. Franzesca has explained
the uses of the essential oils so clearly ans percisley.
She
gives the reader the inspiration to go out and pick up a few bottles
of some of their favorite essential oils and play with them!
This book has opened the doors to the healing power of aromatherapy,
for any of us to learn about. The recipes (hundreds to choose from)
and instruction are very good. Enjoy.
There is some question as to the nature of these recipes.
All of the recipes are made up of 3 oils, not many alternatives
if you are missing an oil. With these pages you can judge for yourself,
25
sample pages
List Price:
$17.00
Price:
$11.90
Medical Aromatherapy: Healing with Essential
Oils by Kurt Schnaubelt
Reviewer: William
S. Hill from Austin, Texas
This book is a thorough in-depth look at
essential oils from a scientific viewpoint and with suggestions for
their medical use. Thankfully, this author does not take a
mainstream approach. For example, everyone familiar with essential
oils has heard the constant warning "never take essential oils
internally." This author not only debunks that popular advice,
but suggests specific ways of taking essential oils internally for
various medical conditions
Also, what
is especially appealing about this author's approach is that
he has applied his extensive research on plants into a very
plausible explanation as to why essential oils have the
healing properties they have. So this book tells us not only
the "how", but the "why" as well. This
book is definitely for the layman, so don't be discouraged by
all the difficult sounding chemical names for the essential
oil compounds, you won't need a PHD in organic chemistry in
order to get an understanding of what they do for you.
Aromatherapy: An A-Z is a comprehensive guide to the therapeutic use
of essential oils and herbal remedies.
Patricia Davis has compiled a
vast amount of medical, pharmaceutical, and scientific knowledge into
an organized, fascinating, easy-to-understand guidebook. Her expertise
as an aromatherapist is reflected in her introduction to essential
oils and various natural healing methods and procedures. The
historical origins and traditions of healing herbs are presented with
recent scientific findings of their properties and chemistry to make
this book truly the most comprehensive guide to aromatherapy yet.
A rich resource on
the applications of aromatherapy and its uses in everyday
life, including aromas for the home, business environments,
and essences for the elderly.
Reviewer:
KAHJPW from Raleigh, NC, USA
This was my first book on aromatherapy and
after reading all the "recommended and required"
books by various certification courses and classes I've taken,
I always go back to Colleen's book. It is clear, concise and
very easy to use for beginners. I always recommend this book
to friends who want to learn more about aromatherapy and
essentials oils.
List
Price:
$14.95
Price:
$10.47
The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete
Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism
Reviewer: from NY, NY United States
I have been searching around for the
'look' of those herbs. This book gives you many colorful
photos, not drawings. This is the only way to distinguish
between herbs: see their real faces!
Do not expect to get recipes from this books.
I have ordered this book, and I have yet
to put it down!! There are at least 165 essential oils in
this book, along with the photos that correspond with the
name of the oil/herbs. This book shows a very beautiful
illustration of aromatherapy, and it tells you which oils
to avoid as well. I would say to any aspiring
aromatherapist, or someone who is doing this as a hobby,
this is THE book you need to add to your collection.
Reviewer: T.
Schmenk, M.Ed. from York, PA United States
As a Health Education Specialist it is my job to
work with clients in finding ways to improve their health. It is
also my job to provide the most acurate health information. I make a
point to check and double check any informational source that I
might use as reference in considering possible avenues.
I have found this book to be extremely helpful
in making such decisions pertaining to aromatherapy. It is full of
actual case studies, physicians reference notes, reasonable
scientific methodology, and sound references. This is one of the
only books that I know of that successfully convinced me of the
possible use of aromatherapy with more traditional allopathic
methods.
If you should choose to pursue aromatherapy as
a means to improving your ailments, I do stress that you address
your concerns and your plans with your physician to ensure not only
the best possible outcome but, your safety as well.
Reviewer: A
reader from Dallas Texas
Shirley Price is an author to be trusted. While
many books on the market seem to repeat claims without substantive
proof, Price's texts offer footnoted references. This text is well
researched and provides source material for deeper study.
Price explains the chemistry of aromatherapy
clearly, exhorting the reader to learn why and how essential oils
affect the body and mind. Chemistry, botany, and application are
brought together is a beneficial, down to earth, deep text. With
factual content and science on which to base decisions, the
aromatherapy practitioner can make informed decisions.
As a teacher of aromatherapy (my students are
allied health professionals and alternative practitioners) I
recommend both this text and Price's AROMATHERAPY WORKBOOK.
List
Price:
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Advanced
Aromatherapy: The Science of Essential Oil Therapy by Kurt Schnaubelt
Great science writing on essential oils, October 31, 2001
Reviewer:
Dr. Harold Roth from Florida
This excellent book takes a difficult
subject--how essential oils work--and makes it very
understandable. No doubt many scholars would be daunted by trying
to explain sesquiterpenes to a lay person, but Schnaubelt, who
has a PhD in chemistry, makes it interesting.
Understanding the
chemical composition of oils is valuable because it can help us
see relationships between various oils that aren't obvious, such
as between pine and citrus oils.
This book is far beyond the usual fare
for aromatherapy; most books on the subject ask little of the
reader and generally consist of lists of symptoms and oils
with no explanation of why one oil is effective in a situation
and another is not. Schnaubelt offers much more--a deep
understanding of how oils work. This is the kind of science
writing everyone can enjoy. A reviewer who remarked that the
work has no footnotes apparently didn't actually read the
book. It does have footnotes, even though the book is geared
to a lay audience rather than to academics.
Reviewer:
Sharon Davis from El Paso, TX United States
I purchased this book through another company
which sold bottles for my new aromatherapy business. I refer to
it with each and every customer who seeks information on my
essential oils. I previously only sold perfume oils, but now I'm
finding a boom in sales of the "real deal".
I simply use the reference section to
'cure what ails you' and let the customer blend their own
concoction. So Simple, Its Fantastic! I plan to buy more
copies to replace my oil stained, and dog eared one. If you
are new to the world of fragrance, Cedarvale has excellent
products to use with this book. Peace
Exact formulas for making hundreds of
blends for skin and hair care, relief of stress and
pre-menstrual syndrome, baby oils and powders, cellulite
reduction, massage oils, and more. "It's interesting to
just page through the alphabetical section and learn the
purported advantages of oils, from allspice (Pimenta
officinalis) to ylang-ylang (Cananga
odorata)."--Booklist.
With so many books on aromatherapy
available, it's difficult to know what's really
valuable.
The authors of so many books have few
medical or scientific credentials and take a highly
impressionistic approach. For this reason alone, to find a
book like this written by a chemist is a rare treat. And, since this is a chemist writing
in 1936, we find the source of much of today's common
knowledge of the discipline - from the man who made it a
discipline and coined the word 'aromatherapy'.
A must have for those interested in the origins of
modern day aromatherapy.
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Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy
by Suzanne Catty
A wonderful wonderful book that takes the reader on a journey through the process of distilling plants specially for the hydrosols, gives information on the proper handling of these special waters, then goes on the open up a whole new world of healing with the other side of Aromatherapy: Hydrosols.
A must-have book for any serious
Aromatherapist. Suzanne Catty mirrors so much of my own understanding on "Life, the Universe & Aromatherapy" that reading this book is a true joy. She has opened new doors for me that I have been trying to pick the locks of for some time now. Thank you Suzanne !
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Ultimate Water Massage copyright
2000-2003
Modified 02/02/2003
Advanced
Aromatherapy: The Science of Essential Oil Therapy
Great science writing on essential oils, October 31, 2001
