This week, in my series of aromatherapy book reviews, I am looking at both an informative and fun book about the chemistry of essential oils; if you find the study of chemistry of essential oils difficult to understand at times, the book Essential Oils in Colour by Rosemary Caddy might just help you to understand it a bit more through the Caddy profiles of some of the most popular essential oils.

About Rosemary Caddy

Rosemary Caddy is a British clinical aromatherapist with a BSc Honours degree in Science from the London University.  She is also a lecturer and author who developed the Caddy profiles in order to help her students “visualize” essential oils.  The Caddy profiles were developed through her research.

About Essential Oils in Colour

The book Essential Oils in Colour gives a brief profile of some of the more popular essential oils, such as lavender, tea tree, pine, rosemary and the citrus oils; it lists the main properties of each essential oil and how they affect each of the body’s different systems (for example, nervous system, endocrine system, circulation etc). Each essential oil profile is also represented as a diagram (a bit like a Pi chart) showing, in different colors, the percentage of the different chemical components contained in the essential oil (for example, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones etc); you can see at a glance which chemical component is the dominant component and it helps you to understand how the properties relate to them.

If you think chemistry of essential oils is either boring or difficult, Essential Oils in Colour by Rosemary Caddy, might just help you change your mind!  You can purchase the book online at Amazon for $16.22.

Next week I will have another interview with an aromatherapist!