Welcome to the
Jan Benham School of Holistic Studies and
    the Aroma Shoppe

The Oldest School of Aromatherapy in Canada     

We offer Uk and Canadian accredited diploma courses in holistic skin care, cosmetic making and training as a holistic health practitioner in Canada, Great Britain and Nederland. For treatments, training and workshops in Aromatherapy, Holistic skin care, Reflexology and Cosmetic making in the UK and Netherlands, please go to the website: www.janbenham.co.uk

The Jan Benham School of Holistic Studies, was established in 1986 as the Institute of Aromatherapy to provide quality education and certification in the field of holistic studies. 

This year the school celebrates 25 years of service. We are HST exempt, reflecting our status as a Federal Vocational School recognized by Human Resources Development Canada. At the Institute of Aromatherapy, we have expanded over the years to include many different healing modalities to such an extent that Aromatherapy is now only a small part of what the Institute teaches.

The expanded title reflects our growth in the healing industry and offers a chance for students to change and transform themselves, in both their personal and professional lives.

We now offer a COSMETIC MAKING diploma course for making your own cosmetics and natural mineral makeup including lipsticks, mascara, foundations, eyeshadows and blushers etc. This course has generated a new book called "The Little Book of Lipsticks" which teaches you how to make professional lipsticks, plus information on ingedients , fun trivia etc. Coming this summer "the Mineral Makeup Manual". In the UK, the books, The Creamy Craft of Cosmetic Making and The Baby Boomers Beauty Bible have just been released and are both now in the top 30 in Amazon.co.uk.

Currently our most popular course is the HOLISTIC HEALTH PRACTITIONER COURSE, Holistic Skin Care, and the cosmetic making course.

Latest NEWS: The International Society for Professional Aromatherapy are please to announce this years ISPA aromatherapy authors dinner at the Ardencote Hotel, Warwick, UK May 12th 2012. Drinks 6pm at the Ardencote Hotel. In association with CPI Rowe, Warwick Words and ISPA, "Aromatherapy Research and Synergy of Essential Oil Constituents", May 12th and13th 2012, The Robert Tisserand Seminar for Professional Aromatherapists, Ardencote Hotel, Warwick. Small table top trade stands are welcome from Soil Association certified essential oil companies. For more information, please contact our UK branch at www.janbenham.co.uk.

Jan Benham, President

The Aroma Shoppe developed as a service to The Institute of Aromatherapy previously established in Montreal, Quebec - Canada in 1986 by Jan Benham. The Institute of Aromatherapy flourished as a teaching facility, a treatment centre and a provider of essential oils and natural skin care products. In the summer of 1994, after a mystical trip to Glastonbury, England, Jan decided to open up the Institute in Toronto, where it was an immediate success. Due to popular demand for the products sold at the Institute, Jan felt that it was time to share her cosmetic making knowledge - and proceeded to write a book on cosmetic making, titled: The Creamy Craft of Cosmetic Making with Essential Oils and Their Friends". The popularity of the Creamy Craft of Cosmetic Making laid the foundation for the book, The Baby Boomers Beauty Bible.

The Aroma Shoppe sells a wide spectrum of hand-blended skin, hair and body care products, natural botanical makeup, plus herbs, jars & bottles, and all the raw ingredients such as lanette wax and seaweed extracts required for making creams, shampoos, soaps and massage blends.

The Aroma Shoppe also carries unique Aromatherapy gifts and posters with a fully stocked bookshelf of publications about Aromatherapy, soaps and herbs. For the 'Do-it-Yourself' enthusiast, the Aroma Shoppe offers courses in cosmetic and soap making, essential oil blending, shampoo, bath bomb making and NEW how to make your own makeup.


We invite you to explore the range and diversity of our courses - and to discouver our many fine products, hand-crafted for cosmetic and holistic use. Welcome to the Aroma Shoppe!