a community of practitioners

Reference materials

What books, magazines, and websites do you use most for reference when making blends for various conditions?

I like Julia Lawless' Complete Illustrated Guide to Aromatherapy and Kurt Schnaubelt's Advanced Aronatherapy.
Franzesca Watson's Aromatherapy Blends and Recipes is the very first aromatherapy book I got ten years ago and I still refer to it regularly.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jackie McLaughlin, LMT, MTI on October 18, 2009 at 8:58pm

I like "Advanced Aromatherapy - The Science of Essential Oil Therapy" by Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D., as well as "Natural Home Health Care using Essential Oils" by Daniel Penoel, M.D. and Rose-Marie Penoel.

Permalink Reply by Cynthia J. Loving on October 20, 2009 at 10:21am

I'm with you Beth...these are great good old reference materials. There are also some really great newer books that have updated safety information and some newer oils. Some of my favorites are: The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, 2nd Edition by Salvatore Battaglia; Amazing Scents and Calm Kids by Jennifer Jefferies; Aromatherapy for Health Professionals, 3rd Edition by Shirley & Len Price; Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green. The last two books can be attained at Amazon - the first two can be ordered on my website: LovingScents.com.
Thanks for the opportunity to share these great titles!

Permalink Reply by Beth A. King on October 24, 2009 at 3:45am

Yes, that's another good one!

Emma Torsey CLMT said:

Hi Beth,
I really like The Complete Book of Essential Oils& Aromatherapy,Valerie Ann Worwood.If I had to pick one aromatherapy book to keep in my office,it would be that one.
Emma

Permalink Reply by Beth A. King on October 24, 2009 at 3:46am

I don't ahve that second one -- I'll look for it!

Jackie McLaughlin, LMT, MTI said:

I like "Advanced Aromatherapy - The Science of Essential Oil Therapy" by Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D., as well as "Natural Home Health Care using Essential Oils" by Daniel Penoel, M.D. and Rose-Marie Penoel.

Permalink Reply by Beth A. King on October 24, 2009 at 3:46am

Cynthia, thanks! I haven't seen ANY of those!

Cynthia J. Loving said:

I'm with you Beth...these are great good old reference materials. There are also some really great newer books that have updated safety information and some newer oils. Some of my favorites are: The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, 2nd Edition by Salvatore Battaglia; Amazing Scents and Calm Kids by Jennifer Jefferies; Aromatherapy for Health Professionals, 3rd Edition by Shirley & Len Price; Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green. The last two books can be attained at Amazon - the first two can be ordered on my website: LovingScents.com.
Thanks for the opportunity to share these great titles!

Permalink Reply by Katharine Koeppen on October 31, 2009 at 9:53pm

My 2 favorites for beginners are Mindy Green's "Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art" (recently revised) and Kurt Schnaubelt's "Advanced Aromatherapy" (don't worry, there's nothing advanced about this book). Both are accurate, useful books that don't promote any particular agenda and are concerned with responsible, safe use of essential oils.

I know a lot of people like the Battaglia and Worwood books, but I find they have many inaccuracies. They list a bunch of recipes and don't necessarily explain why you would be choosing to blend particular essential oils, and knowing the "why" is what makes you an aromatherapist versus someone just blindly following a recipe book and hoping for results.

For the advanced practitioner, Sylla Shepard-Hanger's guides are an invaluable resource.

Last year, I published a list of recommended books with mini-reviews on my blog: http://www.aromaceuticals.com/blog/recommended-aromatherapy-books.

Permalink Reply by Sue Carberry on November 14, 2009 at 9:28am

The best and most comprehensive book on Essential Oils has to be

"The Aromatherapy Practitioner Reference Manual"
Sylla Sheppard-Hanger

http://www.atlanticinstitute.com/manuals.html

I don't use any other book since buy this 2 volume set.

Cheers, Sue

Permalink Reply by Beth A. King on November 15, 2009 at 8:33pm

Yeah, I've heard that's a good one -- I'm saving up for it!

Sue Carberry said:

The best and most comprehensive book on Essential Oils has to be

"The Aromatherapy Practitioner Reference Manual"
Sylla Sheppard-Hanger

http://www.atlanticinstitute.com/manuals.html

I don't use any other book since buy this 2 volume set.

Cheers, Sue