Advanced Aromatherapy: The Science of Essential Oil Therapy

First and most importantly, I *love* this book. It explains the chemical composition of essential oils in easy to understand terms. It gives a science-loving person a lot of interesting information. It cites studies (and *DOES* have footnotes....)

This is NOT a simple recipe book. It does have some great ones listed throughout the book, but it is promarily an explanation of the science of many essential oils. How they work, what molecules they are made of, which ones are toxic and at what levels, etc.

What I am peeved about is that, when I first came on Amazon to look for science-oriented essential oil books and found this one, the negative reviews made me decide *not* to buy it. Luckily, I happened to see it in a bookstore, picked it up, and found out for myself that it is a perfect book to supplement the essential oil library. There is so much great scientific info in easy to understand terms. I *highly* recommend it if you are interested in science.

As a passionate aromatherapist, the most frequent question I hear is "How does it work?" Kurt Schnaubelt's comprehensive book explains the chemistry and action behind the effectiveness of essential oils. He's a leader in the field and keeps current with developments from around the world. This book is a "must buy" for anyone interested in complementary medicine and enhancing one's own health through the use of essential oils. It's easy to read and understand, with excellent graphics and many useful tips. His explanation of chemical actions helps to build knowledge that easily transfers to understanding other holistic modalities, such as medicinal herbs, use of hydrosols, etc.

This excellent book takes a difficult subject--how essential oils work--and makes it very understandable. No doubt many scholars would be daunted by trying to explain sesquiterpenes to a lay person, but Schnaubelt, who has a PhD in chemistry, makes it interesting. Understanding the chemical composition of oils is valuable because it can help us see relationships between various oils that aren't obvious, such as between pine and citrus oils. This book is far beyond the usual fare for aromatherapy; most books on the subject ask little of the reader and generally consist of lists of symptoms and oils with no explanation of why one oil is effective in a situation and another is not. Schnaubelt offers much more--a deep understanding of how oils work. This is the kind of science writing everyone can enjoy. A reviewer who remarked that the work has no footnotes apparently didn't actually read the book. It does have footnotes, even though the book is geared to a lay audience rather than to academics.

For anyone trying to use essential oils to heal themselves and take their health back into their own hands, this book has a great deal of information to help. It describes each essential oil, its properties, what it's good for and any things you should look out for when using a particular oil. This book also tells how to apply the oils on the skin, how to take them internally both orally and by suppository (which is the way in France) and why essential oils are so powerful as healers. I have six different aromatherapy books in my library and I refer to this one most often. It's well-written and Dr. Schnaubelt's philosophy is a down-to-earth explanation of a complex subject. This is a "must have" for anyone interested in aromatherapy and the use of essential oils.

In a field where so many books are filled with unproven claims, outright falsehoods, and just plain fluff, Kurt Schnaubelt's books stand out as serious, well researched works that accord aromatherapy the respect it deserves.

By focusing on the chemistry of essential oils, we learn *why* an essential oil works the way it does and how different chemotypes of the same EO can have vastly different effects (an important issue that is completely ignored by many aromatherapy books). We also learn why some EOs must be used with great caution. Dozens of oils are profiled with diagrams, lists of primary effects and contraindications, etc. There is also a chapter with proven recipes for a variety of physical, psychological, and cosmetic conditions. All methods of application are covered (including those well established in Europe but rarely used in the U.S., e.g., suppositories), and Dr. Schnaubelt candidly states where essential oil therapy is most effective (e.g., infectious diseases, hormonal imbalances, and problems affecting the psyche and nervous system) as well as where aromatherapy has relatively little to offer (allergic and autoimmune conditions as well as chronic metabolic and degenerative conditions).

What makes Advanced Aromatherapy even more of a gem is that Dr. Schnaubelt integrates the science of aromatherapy into a holistic rather than an allopathic framework and gives pointers on selecting the appropriate EOs by taking into account the totality of the patient's symptoms.