The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Aromatic Oils In Aromatherapy, Herbalism, Health, and Well Being

I was actually surprised by two things:1. The fact that I have a now vast and still growing library of books on Aromatherapy and Essential Oils (Including from authors like Worwood, Cooksley, Schnaubelt and Tisserand) yet I now find myself reaching for this one more than some of these other authors.2. The negative reviews of others.I guess my expectations were different. While it is an Encyclopeia which should make it a valuble reference source, I feel it does what an Encyclopeia should do and what is standard for that type of reference - that is it covers a lot of information on a broad range of items that you can look up (in this case essential oils) and does a good job giving you the necessary background and basic information that you would need to get a good understanding of what it is you looked up. (Not be a master at that topic because that would result in something far more extensive and a very weighty book when covering so many oils.) Despite being concise and to the point Lawless still manages to give you a snap shot of each oil with information on 13 topics for each of the over 165 oils listed (one review said over 190 but not sure where that number came from, I counted something around 168, still quite a list!).The only thing I will say is that she is along the lines of Cooksley and Worwood where I sometimes feel like they are overly cautious. I believe in being responsible and informed with use but I prefer authors like Schnaubelt that don't discount an oil due to one study that was done once by someone and recorded and therefore it is now considered toxic, without looking at how the study was done and what factors were involved, if constituents of the oil were isolated, etc. However, if you are new to EOs than it is best to error on the more restricted use just to be safe.I will not list the chapters in the introductory Part 1 as another reviewer already covered. But in Part 2 "The Oils", each oil is listed with its botanical name and then given the following information in the following order:BOTANICAL FAMILYSYNONYMSGENERAL DESCRIPTION (Of the plant)DISTRIBUTIONOTHER SPECIESHERBAL/FOLK TRADITIONACTIONSEXTRACTIONCHARACTERISTICS (Of the oils, scent, appearance, etc.)PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS (Chemistry snapshot)SAFETY DATAAROMATHERAPY/HOME USEOTHER USESThis is what the majority of the book IS (just like an encyclopedia would be) and I believe it does a good job doing what it is designed to do. The fact that it is only missing about 3 of my favorite oils (probably because they are newer, i.e. Rhododendron, Palo Santo, etc.) and lists so many others, it truely is a nicely organized and very handy and useful reference.It is easy to find the information you need and quickly. Despite the lack of "color" complaints by other reviewers, I still found it one of the more attractive aromatherapy books. It is well laid out, in nice print, and has some lovely black and white illustrations. The book is actualy more attractive than some of the other more well know ones and I think I reach for it more often now because I don't have to wade through many reciepes and a ton of other chapters to get to hunt for the part that just profiles the oils themselves. (Other information is good, all of the recepies, uses on animals, household cleaners, etc. just not what I am looking for when I am grabbing an encyclopedia to give the basic background and profile.)ALSO - The Therapeutic Index in the back along with the General Glossary that defines the medical terms addressed in the book (and address in several others, but are not defined in a lot of other books) for those who do not have a health science background proves very useful. There is also a rather extensive Botanical Classification and a good Botantical Index in the very back.So I will be getting the newer Illustraded version eventually but not out of dissapointment for this one, if anything because I was so impressed with the layout and information that exceeded my expectaions of this author that I took a chance on. (Getting a good used copy of this edition will allow those pinching pennies to add a great reference book to their Aromatherapy library.)

My wife is big into the aromatherapy essential oils stones things like that. She's taken courses on it, she talks about it with their friends, and she reads about them on the Internet. I wanted to be nice to her so I got her this book as a surprise. She loves it.The book covers a lot of stuff. It's got some history of different routes and things so information about aromatherapy and a herbalism. The stuff she found more interesting though is it also tells about the body and actions and applications for the oil basically how whales work what they do to different parts of the body and how they can affect things. Later in the book it shows how to use them at home for things such as massage, skin oils and lotions, hair care, etc. I personally enjoy the massage aspect. The book also teaches about creative blending of the oils which she really enjoyed. She's been mixing different ones according to the book and having a great time doing.At 194 pages, this book is a great buy for somebody who likes essential oils aromatherapy and such. I don't want to mislead you though, this isn't like a paperback book on aromatherapy. The portions I mentioned before that she liked reading are only about 38 pages. The rest of the book just tells about the different types of oil. Essentially, you'll see a family, synonyms, general description, distribution, herbal/folk tradition, actions, extraction (how the oil is obtained), characteristics, principal constitutes (chemical makeup), safety data, home applications, and other uses for each oil. The book is really more of a reference material than a book for beginners. There are a few pictures, but they're just drawings and the not all that interesting; I don't want to give the impression that they don't break up the text a little bit and some of them are actually useful diagrams or representations of the source plant, but were not talking about full-color pictures of everything. I kind of wish there were more diagrams a more different plants, but maybe that would've made the book too long. Anyway, good book and I suggested if you're already into oils otherwise start off with a different book and come back to this one.

Loved the book, very informative with detailed information. Just wish it had dermal limits for each Essential Oil and it did not. Still, great book to have for referring to.

This is the gold standard Essential Oil book. Do some comparing, and checking and you'll agree. It is an encyclopedia, as it says. The information is in good depth, and complete, and it includes nearly all the essential oils in current use. Julia Lawless is a world renowned expert. I use this book often. You can delve a bit deeper in the chemistry and I have some of those books. For the daily, in depth, practical and experienced but yet science-based information we need, this book is it. I am so exceedingly tired of thin little books with the same repetitive recipes for cleaning and skin care and air freshening etc etc etc. Or, big glossy books with pages of gorgeous photos with info that's been lifted from the same source as last year's big gorgeous glossy book. They have their place, to interest you, and give the short answers for those who only want quick and light information. This book takes you beyond the "dabbling in essential oils" phase to actual knowledge and useful application.

It’s quite full of un useful information if you just want a guide on what oil to use for what ailment, it goes through the processes of extraction and where the plant is originally from quite in details, but I personally found this information of no much help, and focused mostly in the glossary of the treatment at the end of the book (which is a VERY small portion of the book compared to the remaining sections).More than an enciclopedia of essential oils I found it be a herbolaurium (book about herbs and plants). There might be better out there. Really not as complete as it claims to be.

This is an amazing book which has a rare quality - it is authoritative, so that the most experienced aromatherapist will find it an indispensible guide; yet it is also very accessible for anyone approaching the subject for the first time.Perhaps someone who is starting out with essential oils and wishing to know which ones to buy first.The truth is that this is my third copy since it was first published at the end of the last century. The first two have been "borrowed" by others and not returned (the sign of a good book,I suppose, but I'll be a bit more careful this time!! :-)). This truly is my "Bible" of essential oils and their uses and I recommend it highly!

andwile i have to say im quite happy about the the advice given on uing essential oils the auther and pbblisher ave left out 2 very picese of safty info wicc i belive should be in chapter one whice is not and they are proper detales on how to safley dilute the essenial ois to use topiclly i also belive i page or so shold ave been accouled for shuch inpho on how to safley bend difernt oils togeter to use safley in my time over the years i av adat least 3 other books wich my ex diched and i have to say that woild make 6 books on oils if bought out of wich only one aurter had the forsite to sart her book with the corect diultion inpho this to me ias one out of 2 very inportant bits of safty isse no moden book i have foud to dateashully conciderd it it hard enough or inporsat enough to print and to my bind these to bits of safty avivice are proberley 2 of the most inportant pieces

Great refrence for the oils themselves. Has a nice bit of background information about oils, though just a brief overview. The most valuable part of this book is the refrence list of oils in the back part of the book (and makes up the majority of the book). If you are looking for recipes you would be better suited to look into one of her other books, but if you want a great refrence for the oils themselves; their latin and common names, as well as a brief history and their properties - this is the book to get!

I honestly don't quiet understand the formatting of this book. It's great the content is fine but for an updated version this lost a star. Certain oils are hazardous to use which this book does really well to mention but does nothing to highlight. It's a very informative book but I actually end up getting the highlighter out to mark the warnings and hazards. The other negative aspect is that a lot of herbs are referenced in here that are not widely available.