Cooksley is a registered nurse and aromatherapist, and a wonderful teacher.  Her book is practical, accessible and chock full of recipes.    Her chapters are organized by body systems, and she gives an overview at the start of each chapter of each system she covers, and then follows that with common symptoms and remedies.  For example, in her chapter on the respiratory system, she describes how the respiratory system works, and then goes into the oils most useful for the respiratory tract.  From there, she describes common  illnesses, such as bronchitis, or asthma, and treatments which may be helpful.  In addition to essential oil remedies, she includes other supportive treatments, including dietary, herbal, breathing exercises etc.    Her explanations and descriptions are always clear and simple to understand,  and she includes case histories.    This is a great step by step guide to using essential oils, and the back of the book includes a concise essential oil reference guide.

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375 Essential Oils and Hydrosols by Jeanne Rose

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A great book for summaries of essential oil properties.  Jeanne Rose profiles 375 essential oils and hydrosols, including botanical family, aroma, habitat and growth, chemical components, actions and uses.  She manages to do this without being dry or too technical;  many of the descriptions include fascinating historical and literary references.  And she includes chapters  that are fascinating, including one titled “Essential Oils are More Than Stinky” which helps us understand  the experience of aroma.  This is a useful addition to any aromatherapy library, and one we turn to often when we need a quick reference on an oil.

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We started out a few months ago on another blog site, and have just moved into our new space. Our hope is to be able to post tons of information on using essential oils, do more Aromatherapy Q & A, (we do quite a bit of this by phone and email, but this way we can publish our answers more widely), post recipe ideas and tips, announce specials, and give information on upcoming new products. Most especially, we love to hear from our customers, since it’s you that give us some of our best ideas, and motivate us to try new formulations and product lines. So, please don’t be shy–ask questions, make suggestions, and share essential oil recipes.