This book is awesome! It has an extensive amount of information.
Be sure to get this book if you are interested in essential oils and
aromatherapy.

This book contains a pretty thorough coverage of aromatherapy. It is a great reference source on the market. Don't waste your money on other books claiming to have more formulas or being "more fun to read". Keep it simple and complete with this one!

This is a must read for anyone interested in essential oils or aromatherapy. The author tells what each oil can heal and how to use it.

This book wasn't what I expected. I wanted homemade cleaning supply recipes made with essential oils along with some of the recipes listed. The book is written in a way that is harder to understand than I expected as well. I wish I would have gotten another one.

I LOVE essential oils. I started using them after I went into the health food store with a headache I couldn't shake and came out feeling great. I talked with the owner and she told me the names of the essential oils she was using in the store that day and I bought both. I now have probably thirty or more and I have a plastic chart that tells me what each of the oils will do. My little chart is better and easier to read than this book. The index is horrible. I wanted to know about the oils and this book does not do that. Go inside the book, click on the index, and see how many names of oils are there. I tried her remdies for several things---didn't work.

I read the low reviews on this book but I did not listen to them because there were so many great reviews. Now I am back looking for a book on the oils, not on her thoughts. She even goes into the morality of having oils that your employer might use in the air system to get you to behave a certain way. I HATED that---I just want to know about the oils, what they do, what combines well with what---and let me decide how I want to use them. If you want information on oils, this is not the book.

This is a good reference book for the physical aspects of aromatherapy. However all positives stop there. She does not explain the oils and their function or contradictions. There is nothing about the effects of the oils on emotions or moods. The recipes include too many oils as I was taught the more simple the recipe the more effective, I.E no more than three E.O's, this book has recipes that have over 6 different oils, and she fails to explain why the oils in the recipe work. Not one mention of Rosewood or Ylang ylang. I disagree with the selection of oils. Over all I was disappointed with this book. It's a good book for a home remedy kit. Not a good book for an Aromatherapist.

With this book on your shelf you'll have an invaluable source of information on the endless uses for essential oils. With helpful examples of everyday-situations Valerie Ann Worwood gives insight on the riches we can get from the plant-kingdom, thanks to the powerful essence we can put to use for most anything. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to share in the secrets of essential oils.

Fanatastic resource book for any one working with Essential Oils and Natural Products! I refer to it as the Bible! Yes, it is that helpful! I make homemade soaps and this book has been an invaluable tool along with several others! I Highly recommend it!

I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said by other reviewers, so I'll keep it short. I have a lot of different books on aromatherapy, a hobby/lifestyle of mine.

If you're looking for your "first book" on it, get this one - it's comprehensive, safe, and informative. I've been using it regularly for years.

For essential oil and aromatherapy recipes this book IS GREAT! I've used many of these recipes and they have worked. If your looking for an EO dictionary.....YOU'LL WANT THIS BOOK!!

After reading several books that seem to be missing critical information for me to fully understand Essential Oils: how to mix them and why you must mix them that way, This book has it all. This book covers topics that essential oils are helpful with that I never would of guess to use them for those purposes but they work great.

As someone very new to exploring essential oils and how to use them in daily life...this book is great! I think I learn something new each time I open it. I highly recommend this book for beginners.

I love this book!! It has so much information that I can use. It was delievered quickly and in great condition!!

The reason I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5 was that it covered many remedies and concerns in depth using a few select oils. Handy charts in the back were a plus. But it is not comprehensive in that it went in depth into only a few select oils. Many are not even mentioned. Perhaps the book would be several times more thick if it did this? So, overall, it's a good refernce.

As an aromatherapist, I have many titles in my library of reference material. This book is one of the few that is unique. It is a great book for someone just starting to delve into aromatherapy, but it goes farther than that. You will find yourself going back to this book over and over and over again as you develop and hone your skills. I have been using essential oils for almost a decade, and I picked it up just the other day to look something up. When I grabbed it this week, it hit me just how good a book this really is. I decided I had to review it here so others could benefit from reading it as well. I hope this helps someone :)

This has a lot of interesting explanations on how the oils mix, about synergistic blends. It is a great overview of aromatherapy.

However, I find the book to be a little bit too preachy. When the author wrote this book, did she consider the audience? Every other sentence explains about the toxicity and the poisons of our every day products. It's a bit much. One doesn't need to convert the choir. They are already converted, at least part way. One can do without such overt preachiness.

My second criticism is that the book is designed for a beginner. As a beginner, it seems to me that the recipes should be a little more basic. While in the beginning, she discusses the 10 essential oils that everyone should have in their basic care arsenal, the other recipes often go far beyond those 10. As a beginner, I have yet to acquire all of these costly oils, and then some. It would be helpful to have recipes that didn't contain 6-10 different oils. An example would be: these two oils is a basic recipe for this, and if you really want to go further, add these as well. (There are a number of recipes like that, but they are far and few.) Also, it would be nice to know why one essential oil was chosen over another for a certain mixture. Is it for anti-inflammatory reasons? For general antiseptic? Anti fungal? One has to do a lot of guessing. This is supposed to be a beginners book, after all.

i bought two! gotta get it!
Keys to Third Heaven...Using Third Heaven Revelation to Impact a World

Seers Handbook

Outstanding "British" book, but the Index table could be seriously improved. I hope the next edition will correct this minor detail.

I usually use Gel Candles to fragrance my home. My daughter first told me about all types of Essential Oils and what they can do. So I went into the Internet and found this great book. It explains everything there is to know. For example, what is safe to use in the home, around children and pets. Its also explains what the scents are, which I plan to use to making greater Gel Candles. Most Important, what not to use cause it can be dangerous to your health. I really recommend this book.

The information and rememdies in this book are good but I found very important information on toxicity of oils to be lacking. In short, I tried a remedy for bunions by following the instructions given in the book, but I started feeling very strange and it wasn't until I read another reference book on essential oils that I found tagetes oil is listed on the toxic oil list. The warning is to use it only very diluted (which her recipe was NOT)and for only two weeks. There are some other oils in her recipes that are photoxic for the skin but there is no mention of this in her book. It's of vital importance that the consumer know the complete information about all the oils they will be using. I would recommend buying a complete reference book of esential oils as a companion to this one.

Its exactly the same as The Fragrant Pharmacy of the same author! I had originally purchased this book based on the recommendations from the website as I was purchasing the Frangrant Pharmacy and the Fragrant Mind. I am now returning all as I find them a bit old fashioned with their choise of ingredients. I believe there is more to the world of aromatherapy than Lavender, Teatree, Peppermint, Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon and Clove. If anything they are my bottom 10 in essential oils! I absolutely hate Lavender (reminds me of stale nanas!) and it features in pretty much most of the recipes. For a more contemporary flavour, try Judy Chapman's books. Thank you to Amazon.com though a quick and efficient delivery once again!

I have used this book for years. It is thick and truly complete but is easy enough to reference quickly. The oils the author suggests are accessible which is important to the useability of the book.

A good book to help you understand essential oils and aromatherapy. I have used much of the advice the book gives to keep chemicals out of my environment.

The book I turn to for just about everything! This is an especially great jumping off point for those just starting to investigate aromatherapy. Very informative without being condescending nor hoity-toity.

When I ordered this book, I ordered it along with another I had found at the library. When they arrived, I found I liked this one better. It is indeed the Complete Book of Aromatheraphy.
I have used several of the recipies, if you will, that are found in this book and have had excellent results in a very short time. To anyone looking for more natural remedies for non life threatning conditiions, I highly reccomend this book

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.

This is an amazing book and a wonderful reference on aromatherapy. The only reason why I gave it four stars instead of five is because Worwood uses a lot of British terms for diseases that have different names here over in the United States, and provided no explanation or translation of those British terms. However, she IS a British author; I can't fault her too much for using the terms popular in her own culture. Apart from that one minor flaw though, this is an excellent book and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in aromatherapy.

This is the most comprehensive book on the safe use of essential oils. I keep it right by my bed. Aromatherapy has gotten a bad rap as some smell good products for the bohemian set. Not true. EVERY single thing I've tried so far has worked. Even on my pets. And in such a short time too. I have been in ill health for over 2 years though once a healthy active person. MS, rhuematoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, degenerative disk disease (cervical and lumbar), not to mention severe adult acne. While I'm not saying this should be used as a replacement for traditional medical care and medicines but I've been able to cut down on quite a lot

Simply crammed with wonderful information on many subjects! Of the many suggestions I've tried, I haven't had a single disappointment.

I use this book in conjunction with my midwifery and massage practice. It is a great reference style book for those that already have a fairly strong understanding of aromatherapy and essential oils. It has a good index for me, so I can easily look up any herb and it's precautions for my pregnant clients. I recommend it for those already established in some sort of practice. For a beginner it's a little wordy.

This is an excellent way to learn how to use Aromatherapy. It gives synergistic blends that can be used for ailments as well as beauty and skin care.

I love this book! I bought this copy for my daughter-in-law. It is informative and has many practical applications from household to health to cooking. It doesn't go in depth about the makeup of the actual essential oils, such as terpene content, etc., but it is excellent for recipes around the house. The "basic" kit and "travel" kit are a great general collection.

I think this book is a great guide into the world of aromatherapy. It definatly convinced me of the benefits of essential oils. It contains many recipes. It not only discusses the oils, but actually is divided into sections on their uses, such as beauty, skin care, children and much more. A great reference book for the practitioner but also easy to understand for someone just starting.


Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

Absolutely the best first book to get on the subject of essential oils. I have purchased a few others, and this is by far, the best in the lot. I take it everywhere.

Details are unnecessary- just get this book!

There are other reviews that go into great detail about what is in this book. I will only add this and say it has been a useful book in many ways. It has paid for itself in stress relief recipes alone. It is interesting and helpful and has cured what ails my family many times over.

Well worth the money.

I love using this book to compare and contrast with Roberta Wilson's "Aromatherapy: Essential Oils for Vibrant Health and Beauty." The two books are similar in many ways, though I do consider Roberta Wilson's book to be somewhat better. Nevertheless, I'd still recommend having both on hand, as you can learn a lot from both. There are many blends to choose from in Worwood's book, and lots of ways to get ideas to formulate your own blends. I also enjoy the fact that the book is grouped by condition, which makes it very easy to find information regarding specific issues. There's also a lot of background information on both essential oils and the various states of being they address. I do have one gripe, though, and strangely enough, it's not even about her coverage of essential oils. In one of the chapters, she refers to Bloody Mary as Queen of Scots, which just blows me away, as these are two totally different people. I really would have expected a better knowledge of Northern European history coming from a native of that very region. Other than that and Worwood's questionable knowledge of felines where EOs are concerned, I would still recommend this book as a good addition to your essential oil library.

I just bought this book, as well as "The Fragrant Mind", and I love them both! They are wonderfully written books, that are enjoyable to read, as well as extremely informative.

I highly recommend these books (and any others by Valerie Ann Worwood) to anyone interested in Aromatherapy...whether you're just starting to learn about it, or someone who has a lot of experince with Aromatherapy. If you were to own only two books on Aromatherapy, these would be the two to have!

This is a wonderful book on aromatherapy! It is not only complete, but also it is succinct and charming. It really is, as the cover says, "non-toxic & fragrant recipes to create health, beauty and a safe home environment."

I had several books on Aromatherapy, being a long-time user of and dedicated believer in aromatherapy in all aspects of my life. This is one of two that I kept, the other being "Aromatherapy for Commom Ailments" by Shirley Price (which I would give 3 stars simply because I consider it a companion to "The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy," as it is not as complete. However, it does contain a very nice chart of the Essential Oils and Ailments as well as full-color photographs of plants of essential oils along with a facing page chock full of information about the plant, the essential oil and its uses. Hence, it's quite a nice book as well.)

It originally comes out of England in 1990 but had its second printing in the USA in 1991. I find many books out of England, especially those on herbology and related subjects such as aromatherapy (and incidentally cat books) to be superior to American-published books on such subjects. I'm not quite sure why, but I own many on these subjects and I just find them to be superior in content, writing style, clarity, artwork, completeness, etc. This book is one of those superior ones.

As a somewhat advanced aromatherapy user, I usually concoct my own aromatherapy recipes - and I have lots of them -- yet this book has given me great guidance. It is very well written, useful and enjoyable--great for the novice beginner, so don't be afraid, and still inspiring for the advanced user.

A particular example from the book which I rely on continually is from page 231 PMS formula (and, again, I have formulated my own personal concoction but started with her ideas). This essential oil formulation really, really, really works! How soothing, how cramp relieving, how tension relieving, how calming, how skin enhancing! It is so great I use it for migraine headaches and other muscle spasming problems, as well as general skin conditioning all over my body, neck and even face occasionally.

Other great uses of essential oils, which the book suggests, are as room fragrances, and you just can't beat these! Don't even bother with commercial ones--these are so very much better and much more inexpensive to concoct as well as healthy to use. Try them; you'll love them!

The one point of CAUTION I would give readers of this book is the essential oil information given for use with CATS. (You'll have to trust me when I say that I have a particular specialized knowledge of cats.) Cats are a way too sensitive creature to be massaging essential oils onto their coats. Indeed, lavender (not tea tree oil in my experience) can be used neat for cat skin injuries, but that is about the extent of it. Using essential oils in a diffuser in the room is the safest way to allow cats to experience the benefits of essential oils, as well as offering occasionally a bit of catnip and valerian root, as whole herbs and not essential oils, in their play area and on their scratching posts.

That cat advice problem aside, I see no further reason not to dive into this book wholeheartedly and live it up with essential oils!

She has some very good charts in the back, with a particularly interesting and useful one of the essential oils listing common name, latin name, type of plant, part from which the essential oil is obtained, countries of origin, aromatherapeutic home use and some other uses.

A very nice book, probably the only one you will need on the use of aromatherapy.

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.

I think this is a good concise book on essential oils (and I have many in both English and Italian, giving the aromatherapy perspective from England, North America, Italy and Germany). However, I caution you all to ignore Wormwood's advice on using essential oils on animals. Wormwood recommends the use of certain oils including tea tree oil, lavender and others on cats all of which are highly toxic to felines. Before buying this book, I had instinctively known to never use any essential oils on my two cats (I think mainly because whenever I would use tea tree oil or lavender on myself, they would avoid me like the plague). But when I saw these same oils highly recommended in Wormwood's book for use on cats, I foolishly thought that if it's in print, it must be true. So, when one of my cats got an abscess on her hip from a cat bite, I tried Wormwood's abscess treatment using tea tree oil (only a couple drops) on her. She frantically tried to get away from me as I tried to apply the drops and then within about 15-20 minutes, started acting very ill. Thank God I had the common sense to stop the treatment, did a search on Google and found out that in fact, tea tree oil as well as a number of other oils that Wormwood recommends are highly toxic to cats - their livers cannot process certain oils and become poisons in their systems. I've even read reports of kittens being killed from low dosage applications of tea tree oil. I would say this is a very good reference book for applications on humans but if you care about your pets, do more research on your own to find out the facts about using essential oils on animals. You might just save their life. If it hadn't been for the dangerous misinformation in the pet section, I would have given the book 4 stars.

I started as a relative novice when I bought this book. I have a total of 6 in my library now, but this is the one I use the most - hands down! A novice can understand it but the depth of knowledge is good. It isn't just one of the recipe books that are out there. She offers alternatives when you don't have exactly the oil for a blend. I have solved several frustrating health issues by using this book as the author recommends. If you can only buy one, buy this one.

Very detailed, easy to understand book. I love it. It's a book that will be kept by your bedside for references as these beautiful natural oils have a zillion ways to be used. If you use any of the recipes found in this book, you'll be afresh and alive spiritually and physically. Great affects!

Author did her homework and shared with us all of the beautiful gifts given to us on this Planet in words and explanation. Bravo!!

A friend had this book and I would read it every time I was at her house. There are discriptions and uses for many oils that could/should substitute store bought products. Her child was having problems with lice, therefore a small community of people had a problem. We used the brand name product over and over to no avail. Then we found the natural recipe and got actually got RID of the lice in a few applications. There are great recipes for fleas for dogs and cats; and the section on keeping creepy crawlies away is good AND safe for your family and house, plus smells tons better! I love this book!

My taekwondo instructor, who happens to be a reiki master as well, let me borrow this book after a strained muscle. After looking through it I had to buy my own copy. It gives you the abc's of aromatherapy and the know how to use them. Thanks to this book I am on my way to having my own collection of oils and home remedies that work better then those on store shelves.

This book is so easy to understand and follow. I find myself trusting this book more then any other book I own.
It you are just starting out I would get this book before any other as it offers so much. You will want to continue with Essential oils because of this book.

This book is masterfully put together for a beginner, a person who is knowledgeable of a lot of the oils and to certified aromatherapists. I check back often for different recipes for everyday things. For every season and every reason, this book is a great compliment for creativity.

If you want a book that has it all with regards to creating your own natural skin care, perfume, etc. this is the book for you! I have fallen in love, and am so glad that I purchased it. Invaluable!

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.

I have owned this book for many years (published under the title "The Fragrant Pharmacy"). I have used many of the remedies on myself and my children. There is a section in the book about using essential oils on cats and there's no warning about the fatal dangers.

On Sunday we found a tick on our 2-year old, beautiful Persian cat Leo. The book recommends putting a drop of Thyme oil on the tick and after if has fallen off, applying Lavender to the wound. Admittedly this advice is not specifically in the Cat section, but there are similar pieces of advice for other ailments in the Cat section. We applied one drop of Thyme and after the tick fell off we applied the Lavender as written. Leo got sicker and sicker despite daily visits to the vet. On Wednesday he died and the autopsy found kidney and renal failure. The vet said that it looked like he had been poisoned. This immediately rang warning bells for me about the Thyme and Lavender. I have been researching the Internet and have found countless warnings about using essential oils on cats. The reason is that cats are not able to metabolise many essential oils, especially those containing terpenes (which are present in Thyme and Lavender). They can cause liver and kidney toxicity and even death, which is what happened to Leo.

I am writing this in grief over our experience and still need to explain the cause of his death to my children and deal with the guilt I feel over contributing to Leo's death.

This book is very informative about different conditions and how to help treat them with different arays of oils. The book also is easy to understand and well written, However, this may not be a recommended book for beginners (myself) to learn about the oils and how to properly use them. This is a invaluable book, however, but better served as a desk reference than a teaching manual.