For millennia, essential oils have played a key role in health and beauty rituals. From references in the Bible to Hippocrates’s study of more than three hundred plant oils to Cleopatra’s pioneering use of fragrance, essential oils were prized throughout human history both for their potent healing powers and for their intoxicating scents.

But in modern times essential oils largely fell out of favor, relegated to those dusty, amber-colored glass vials shelved in the back of health food stores. That is until today, as a new generation of health-conscious consumers are returning to these pure, plant-based extracts for skincare solutions, toxin-free home cleaning, and homeopathic remedies.

In Just the Essentials, Adina Grigore, the author of Skin Cleanse and the founder of the skincare line S.W. Basics, offers a contemporary guide to these ancient oils. Adina explains that essential oils contain the most powerful plant compounds found in nature—in fact, essential oils are so powerful that they’re the active ingredients in many common drugs. (Ever wonder what makes aspirin such an effective pain reliever? It’s not a fancy chemical; it’s the meadowsweet plant.)

But it can be frustratingly difficult to find reliable information about essential oils—a simple Internet search will yield volumes of misinformation and exaggerated marketing claims. In Just the Essentials, Adina cuts through the hype and offers a fresh, balanced, and authoritative overview of essential oils and how to use them.

From plant-based skincare to safer household products to aromatherapy, this comprehensive and entertaining guide offers a range of do-it-yourself recipes for common home and personal-care products, including dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, scented candles, perfume, deodorant, and toothpaste. With lists of the best oils for beginners, instructions for safe handling, and a wealth of creative ideas to get you started, Just the Essentials makes it easy and enjoyable to reap the many benefits of essential oils.