Customer Reviews

Essential Oils and Aromatics: A Step-by-Step Guide for Use in Massage and Aromatherapy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received my copy of Marge Clark's new book. It is a compact and concise course on aromatherapy. I appreciate the size of the book, and am amazed at the thoroughness with which Marge covers her subject. Many other books on the subject are more verbose and many others are more formulaic. In this book, Marge shares her extensive knowledge of essential oils, including their best uses, safety profiles, and some lovely blends one can make for oneself.
Marge is one of the best teachers of aromatherapy, because she is a true student of aromatherapy. Her business, Naturesgift, is a success because of her integrity and her shared wisdom, and her new book is a natural extension of both of those qualities.

I came to purchase this book after coming upon Marge Clark's very helpful site naturesgift dot com. I was impressed by her knowledge of different types of essential oils and her willingness to explain things on her site so we could make an educated purchase. Who knew that there were at least 2 different kinds of chamomile? And that how they extract the oils from the flowers makes them have different uses for the body? Well I didn't, so I'm glad I got her book. The chapters in the book include:

Essential oils (eo's) - outlines differences in botanical species, countries of origin, method of distillation, cultivation, production--basically telling you how to get the best quality eo for your purposes.

Carrier oils - helpful chapter, but the book leaves out a number of oils on her site that I'm interested in such as Argan Oil, Camellia Oil, Sea Buckthorn Oil, and Rice Bran Oil. Hopefully she expands this chapter a bit in the next edition. The dilution table at the end of the chapter is very helpful :)

Using eo's - how to prepare eo's for compresses, inhalation, diffusers, topical application, sprays; safety concerns with eo's.

Aromatherapy for mind and mood - which eo's affect what mood, along with a few recipes

Eo's for massage - how much to mix in for full body vs local massage

The aromabath - recipes for bath, shower, jacuzzi (yowza!)

Healing with eo's - recipes for skincare (acne, wrinkles), sore muscles, bruises, sunburn, headaches, sinus congestion, nausea

Fragrances for the home - recipes for things I never thought of as uses for eo's, including: living room, bathroom, and kitchen fragrances, carpet deodorizer, shoe/sneaker freshener(!), insect repellant, glass cleaner, mold/mildew remover and an general germ killer.

Alphabetical guide to the eo's and their uses - this is the most info-packed chapter, going into the best types of eo's to buy, their uses, and what they blend best with. Regarding CO2 distilled varieties of eo's, her website has a lot more info than her book does...

All in all, this is a nice book to have, full of pretty, zen-like pictures, and it has a lot of info in it considering its short length. As stated before, however, there are some things I wish she would have expanded on, such as carrier oils and CO2 extracted eo's for skincare. If it weren't for the info on her website that's not included in her book, I would have given it five stars. :)

I have loved Marge's oils and great website (www.naturesgift.com)
for years. And now to have her advice, suggestions, and "recipes" in such a beautiful format is the best! I am an aromatherapist and I salute her for leading the way in a book that is too lovely to put away in a bookcase.

This book combines a concise and easy to follow format with in-depth information. It covers a wide variety of topics related to essential oils. I particularly liked the chapter on carrier oils, somthing many other books seem to just skim over. This book has some very good information about oil quality, why it is important and how to be an informed consumer. I sat down and read this book from cover to cover on the day it arrived. You want to keep reading and learn more. Lovely photographs. A very handy size. I can't wait to try out some of the formulas and blends. This book would make an excellent gift for anyone interested in essential oils, aromatherapy or natural health and well-being.