The Heart of Aromatherapy: An Easy-to-Use Guide for Essential Oils

I've just started using aromatherapy, and I first learned of Andrea through a Hay House interview where she discussed the benefits of using essential oils for the body & home. I can tell that she's passionate about her life's work and has a special relationship with the scents that she writes about, which makes for a pleasant read. The book also provides a guideline for blending oils at a 1%, 2%, or 3% dilution -- as well as suggestions for when to use each dilution. For instance, 2% dilutions are recommended for blends that support emotional health, while a 1% blend is better for people with skin sensitivities. Andrea also addresses phototoxic oils, and how to safely use certain citrus oils on sun-exposed skin (something that I had not considered).She also writes about the different carrier oils and butters, each one's special benefit, and what they're useful for (i.e. face washes, brittle nails, stretch marks, etc.). This is great information because it will help a reader get the most out of her/his essential oil blend, depending on its purpose. I also like that she teaches how to make "trauma oil" for injuries and recovery; and I wish that I'd had this information when recovering from prior surgeries.The castile soap blends for house cleaning and soaps are also something that I want to try, since the natural cleaning products that I buy from the store don't always seem so natural...some still have a chemical smell. Making my own cleaning products is an empowering step forward. Andrea even mentioned in her interview that it's nice to switch scents for each season -- so citrus scents in the summer and pine/earthy scents in the winter. It's a great way to honor Mother Earth and work with the weather patterns, while enjoying the aromas of the changing seasons.Overall, a great book that I plan to use again and again!

This is a good book to learn all about essential oils and all their uses. After reading this book you’ll have a good grasp of them and you might be using them.

What a pleasure and breath of fresh air this book is! As the title suggests, it’s full of heart and carries so many moving stories about the author (Andrea Butje)’s personal experience in the many years of practicing and teaching Aroamatherapy, and even essential oils profiles are presented in such fun way.Andrea is a leading educator of Aromatherapy and the “personalities” of oils go beyond delightful reading and it shows the authors expertise and innovative ways of teaching – by imagery and storytelling. I really appreciated this as it's a fantastic way to learn deeply and get a true sense of the therapeutic properties and characteristics of oils so that the knowledge becomes part of us, not just superficial memorization. A really powerful learning tool!I also love that the author has highlighted and shared experiences about the distillers and farmers who put in hard work producing the essential oils. We love the plant kingdom and always remember to honor it, but the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to produce these beautiful essential oils are so often forgotten. So I appreciated reading about various distillers.The book is beautifully laid out and color coded for different sections for easy reference. There are tons of recipes that will be well used and ear marked for future use. Every recipe has kid friendly version! It’s a perfect book for beginners and also for experienced aromatherapists as it goes into chemotypes, safety, phototoxicity, gc/ms and so much more. The recipes are wonderful in all the ways we can use the essential oils to enhance our health and well-being. It'll make a great teaching tool for professionals, too. Highly recommend it!!

A wonderful book from start to finish. If you are new to Aromatherapy or a seasoned Aromatherapist, this book is surey to please. Andrea Butje's passion for Aromatherapy shines in every page of this book. As you will find, there is more to Aromatherapy that just using Essential Oils. Carrier Oils and Body Butters play a large part in Aromatherapy. Andrea brings this home in a section that covers this subject in depth. There are also 40 Essential Oil Profiles along with 100 plus easy to follow recipes along with instructions to assure your blends will turn out perfect. I truly appreciate that Andrea continually reinforces the correct dilution rates for children, elderly, pregnant women and everyone else. Her approach is less is best as we conserve our precious earthly resources to ensure we will be able to have Essential Oils for years to come.We still get the desired results using the dilution rate that she has spent 25 years studying. I am gifting this book to some very special people in my life that love Aromatherapy as much as I do. This is an excellent book to add to anyone's Aromatherapy Resource Library.

Andrea Butje's "The Heart of Aromatherapy" is the perfect book for people first exploring the wonder and beauty of essential and for those familiar with the world of essential oils but who may enjoy gaining a new and fresh perspective on some old and trusted friends. I have been using essential oils in my massage practice for over 16 years now, but never before did I feel the personal connection to them that I do now after spending a wonderful weekend curled up with this book. As the oils told their stories they took on a simpler yet more profound personality for me. I found myself re-organizing my oils in a friendlier manner, weeding out the oils that no longer spoke to me, and adding some marvelous new friends. The recipes are wonderful and I appreciate the kid friendly versions that Andrea adds for each one. I started out following recipes but with the confidence and new knowledge given here, I quickly branched out and personalized the recipes for myself, my family and my clients. This book is professional, informative, and delightful.