Aromatherapy: Essential Oils in Colour

"I have only recently been introduced to this book and for its price it is excellent. It gives useful overviews of most of the commonly used essential oils but it is most useful if you want an easy introduction to the chemistry behind them. In conjunction with the Caddy Blending Calculator (CD) this can greatly assist in the understanding of synergistic blending."
~ Written on 2007-02-08

"This is an excellent book for students and qualified aromatherapists. Very handy and easy to understand. The lay out is great and very colourful making it "idiot-proof" when chosing aromatherapy blends. I keep a copy of this in my bag when I see clients just in case I want to double check something. In fact, it was that good, that I bought a second copy to keep in the office as well for those unexpected phone calls!"
~ Written on 2005-05-22

"I found this book informative, easy to read and with excellent information particuarly focusing on the chemical components of each essential oil. Very useful for students like myself, especially if you are doing an essential oils project. The book has colourful pie charts for each oil and is laid out in such a way you can flick for reference quickly and efficently."
~ Written on 2005-01-27

"I had initial high hopes of this book. I thought the pictorial view of the chemistry of oils was a wonderful aid to an appreciation of the 'character' of an oil as indicated by its chemical constituents.

However, a rigid application of the 'functional group' theory of chemistry only illustrates the limitations of the approach - for example, Caddy subscribes to the functional group theory which would state that the general action of an alcohol is stimulating, and while she acknowledges that some sesquiterpene alcohols may be sedative in action, she finds herself trapped, by a rigid functional group approach, into, for example, for carrot seed, drawing a pie chart of an oil which is more stimulating than sedative in its actions. I don't think many practitioners would agree with that! Another example is vetiver, which by this 'functional group' analysis shows itself to be a stimulating/balancing oil, rather than a sedative, whereas again this really does not equate with the way most practitioners would view the action of that oil.

These 2 examples are not isolated.

Whilst a close study of chemistry is necessary and useful to the serious student and practitioner, I think it is important to acknowledge that while sometimes a chemical analysis of an oil will precisely explain its actions, the fact that each oil is a synergistic blend of chemical constituents will mean that sometimes the actions of an oil will seem to be completely different from that suggested by its chemistry - there are so many examples of oils in this book which just don't work in the way a rigid functional group approach suggests. German Chamomile as a stimulant, for example? - her explanation of what each oil 'does' is fine enough, I wouldn't quarrel with that - but its the 'pie chart pictures' which are so contradictory - not, I hasten to add, the pie charts themselves, which are great, but the rather doctrinaire interpretation of what they mean."
~ Written on 2002-07-21

"A good guide to the use of different oils in common ailments. Clear and concise instructions, which include explanations of why each oil is chosen. It also gives some advise on other ways to alleviate symptoms, such as lifestyle and diet."
~ Written on 2001-02-24