I want you to know, you’re not alone. Many people discover that they have a passion for essential oils—only to find out that it means learning (or re-learning) one of the most feared sciences. 

But it’s also one of the most fascinating (IMHO).

In the early days, when I used to sit in nearly every aromatherapy class that my mom taught, I was relieved to find out that learning essential oil chemistry didn’t mean I had to learn all chemistry. 

She would often say, “Most essential oils are made up of different combinations of virtually only 3 different atomic elements.” 

Though this is a slight oversimplification, it isn’t so by much. 

As you study essential oil chemistry, you might find a component containing a molecule that has a nitrogen, and maybe one with a sulphur, but you’ll find those are few and far between. 

I remember thinking to myself, “I can handle three kinds of atoms.” 

That became the door that opened my mind to understanding as much as I could about these volatile aromatics … a.k.a. aromatherapy.

Here’s the deal: you can totally start to understand aromatherapy on a scientific level. It starts one layer at a time. 

Do you need an essential oil chemistry pep talk? 

Check out these words of encouragement from us:

If you’re just beginning to learn about essential oil chemistry, or you’ve got a background but want to go deeper, here are a handful of amazing resources that we highly recommend:

• Collection of Khan Academy Videos on basic organic chemistry 
• Chemistry of Essential Oils class taught by Dr. Robert Pappas
• Our Interview with Dr. Tim
• The Chemistry of Aromatherapeutic Oils Book by Joy Bowles
• Want to smell aromatic chemicals? Here is our Chemistry of Essential Oils Kit.
• AromaChemistry Course by Dr. Tim
• Aromatherapy Practitioner Course

What are your biggest challenges when it comes to learning essential oil chemistry?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, and let’s see if we can tackle those so you can learn more.