Essential Oils You Can't Do Without - Book Review *gifted

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well, and having a good week. If not, then maybe this book review can help a little. I was recently *gifted a copy of this book all about essential oils, and have just finished, what turned out to be a much better than expected book.

The content of the book is centred around 6 essential oils: tea tree, lemon, lavender, peppermint, rosemary cineole, and damask rose, plus some bonus oils. It's divided up into easy to digest sections, first an overview of each of the main oils featured, and then how to use them. Part 2 has sections for beauty, mind and body, and the home with different sub sections in between. Skin concerns are divided up by age brackets, there are ideas for different rooms in the house, and some useful massage techniques that you can practice yourself.


PROS:

• Good, clear advice in the comments at the start of each section on how long to use the oils for, and when to get advice on use and application. 
• Easy to follow ideas with precise dosage (very important part to get right).
• Nice to learn more of familiar ingredients such as Argan, which I see in products all the time, but don't know much about. 
• General guidance on what to look for when buying aromatherapy oils.

CONS:

• The book seems to have an international reach, stating product availability and usage advice may vary from country to country. I would have found UK specific buying and sourcing advice more useful.
• Would have liked more information on what the additional/base/carrier type products are and where to find them, e.g. black liquid soap, rose hydrolate, clay paste.
• I'm not sure how practical some of the ideas are to put in practice. I am not a fan of spiders, and love the idea of deterring them, but putting cotton wool balls soaked in lavender around the house, that could easily get moved, trodden on, or picked up and thrown away, just wouldn't work.

Overall I would say though it's a book I can trust. The instructions and safe usage advice is clear and in all the right places, there is a wide variety of ideas, in fact many more than I expected, and it was enjoyable to read. Now I just need to get my hands on some essential oils to try out some of the suggestions myself. My favourite so far are the face masks, a solution for cleaning your hair brush, and their suggestions for concentration, well-being, and anxiety. 

Have you tried any essential oils in your life for the home or beauty/skincare? Do let me know in the comments below. I have used lavender with a base oil in the bath, and a high street headache product for the forehead with peppermint oil in and both worked well. I look forward to hopefully trying some new ideas and reporting back in the future. 

6 Essential Oils You Can't Do Without by Daniele Festy, is published by Eddison Books Ltd. Daniele was a renowned pharmacist and best selling author.