Aromatherapy/Essential Oils Books

If you are interested in books on Aromatherapy or Essentials Oils, the bookstores do carry a very limited selection. These books will be located in either in the New Age or Health/Alternative Medicine sections of your bookstore. I like the bookstore environment because at least you can thumb through and see if you like it. If you know a title of a book and the bookstore does not have it, they can place a special order for you.

Another place that you can look for books on this topic is at Elephant Pharm. They have locations in Berkeley, Los Altos and San Rafael. I believe they will be opening a store in Walnut Creek.

Of course, an alternative to purchasing these books is through Amazon.com. They have a wide selection of books for great prices, but you cannot skim through the pages to see if you like the book. Some books have a preview of some pages, normally they are the table of contents and the index, which may or may not help. Sometimes there are reviews by customers who have previously purchased the books. These reviews can or cannot be helpful. I would say the bad thing about purchasing books through Amazon is that if you do not like it then you lose out on alot of money by returning it.

Some of the books I have purchased on aromatherapy or essentials have been a hit or a miss. Here are some of the books I have purchased:

The Essential Oils Book by Colleen Dodt. This book has alot of good info from an introduction to essential oils to blending advice to other uses. The one thing I do not like about the book is that the text is printed in a shade of blue which makes it very difficult to read.

The A to Z of Essential Oils by E. Joy Bowles. This book has alot of good information on essential oils. Section 1 discusses the essentials of aromatherapy from plant information to massage. In Section 2 goes into the directory of essential oils. Each essential oil is described by how it is made to what it is used for and why it works. Of course, if there are any cautions in using a particular EO (Essential Oil), then it is noted. Also, there is information on what is the active consitutents for each EO. I really like the colorful photographs in this book.

The Directory of Essential Oils by Wanda Sellar. This book includes information on more than 80 EO's. It will describe aroma to properties to precautions to blends.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valarie Ann Worwood. I would say this is the best book on this subject so far. It is very comprehensive on the subject and is practical and in an easy to understand format for using EO's and aromatherapy in everyday life.

The Aromatherapy Bibleby Gill Farrer-Halls is a great book on learning how to prepare essential oils in various remedies as well as how to use them effectively. This book also provides recipes for creams and lotions and also includes a directory of common oils. The only complaint I have about the book is the size. The dimensions of the book are 6 1/2" by 5 1/2" which makes the rather small text hard to read. I wish this book had a 8 1/2 by 11 format because it would be alot easier to handle.

500 Formulas for Mixing Essential Oils for Every Use by Carol Schiller and David Schiller is a recipe book on creating your own personal aromatic oils for every day use. There are alot of good recipes in this book, but the book lacks instruction on how you should mix the ingredients and what tools you need. Also, it may not be really clear on how much of the mixture you should use for your particular need. There is some good information in the chapters on scent and touch and selecting and using pure oils, but if you are looking for extensive information on this particular subject then this is not the book for you. I would say that this is a great compliment for any other books you have on aromatherapy and essentials oils that give more elaborate info.

There are many more books on this subject that you will find on Amazon.com. You can often read the comments that customers have left behind to determine if that is the book for you. This can be helpful I found that the bookstore do not carry alot of these books. Your favorite bookstore will be more than happy to take order a particular for you.