Just this last Saturday I gave an essential oils class for beginners. It was LOADS of FUN!! People came and put oils in their water, did steam tents, rubbed them into their feet, it was great to see their first time reactions to essential oils and watch them fall in love.
The oils I use, sell, and love I get from a source that I know personally. She has her bachelors degree in herbology and teaches at the community college in Post Falls, Idaho. She has encouraged me to expand my knowledge and I have done just that.
Before I found her I used Young Living essential oils and about 2 years ago I signed up for doTerra. I bought into their advertisements and believed they were certified as the most pure essential oil company. When I met my provider now she didn't have anything bad to say about doTerra, but she did inform me of some valuable information that you just won't find on the internet. It's common knowledge that there are no regulations for essential oil companies because they are in the natural food source industry. So, with that said there is no such certification in the U.S. for essential oil
companies. There are for essential oil
distillers all over the world to ensure they are distilling a pure product, but not for the
companies selling the product. doTerra's biggest claim is that they are 100% CERTIFIED pure therapeutic grade essential oils. The certified part is just a name. The actual certification does not exist. Also, they copy writed the name so no one else can use certified in their companies as well (which doesn't matter since, again, the certification does not exist). While their oils are wonderful, don't get me wrong, they smell absolutely amazing, you must know that they are in fact diluted. Now they say that they do not dilute their oils which is partly true because they don't dilute with a carrier oil, but they do dilute using other cheaper oils. For example, their melaleuca (also known as Tea Tree) is not just melaleuca, it's mixed with orange and I think one other. It actually lists on the bottle what else is in there. They did not used to list what all they added and my suspision is that people who knew something about oils knew that what they were saying was just melaleuca could not be just that. This is only one example. The case is true with most of their oils. Now again, I'm sure they are still pure in the sense that whatever oils they are using to combine with are pure oils, however, if I purchase Tea Tree oil I want just that and not a blend. An advantage to having diluted oils is that you don't have to be very knowledgeable about them to use them. When you are using pure, neat (meaning undiluted) oregano oil internally you better know not to take it for longer than 5 days (in rare cases 10) and then you need a 10 day break before starting it up again if necessary. Oregano oil is extremely high in carvacrol which is what makes it one of the strongest oils in combating acute illnesses. Carvacrol builds up in the liver though and thus should not be ingested for extended periods of time. With all of this said, it is still safe and can even be beneficial to buy from doTerra. My thinking is why get a diluted version when I can have the straight thing from a different company for less than half the price because it's not a MLM and I'm not paying people at the top. There is only one MLM that I feel truly confident in and that's Young Living. Much of the bad press on Gary Young himself is true, however, like the restaurant that got shut down for poor cleanliness and then re-opened will have the best cleanliness habits, I think the same is true in this case also. Gary Young (he's the owner) has a true, honest desire to help and heal others. He also has a wealth of knowledge and has taught my own sister personally how to perform rain drop therapy on others. (Google rain drop therapy if you're sick and find someone near you to do it on you, it is truly amazing. I offer rain drop therapy myself and am in constant demand). The one essential oil of theirs that has only one other equal that I've found is theives oil. It's an immunity blend that never fails. Like theives oil, I sell vitruvian natural health essential oils and it has a blend called immunity that is almost identical and also never fails to deliver. Just take one sniff from the bottle and you'll smell why. (Find it at
www.HealthAndWellnessEO.weebly.com).
So, doTerra is fine but I REALLY think that they are not worth the price they ask. While Young Living's essential oils are great too, again, because they are a MLM you are going to pay big money for them. Are there any other options? What can we do? What about those essential oils in the health food store? Aren't those just as good?
Not all essential oils are equal. In order for someone to put on their label 100% pure they only need to have 52% of that particular oil in the bottle. The rest can be filled with..... you name it; a carrier oil, junk from a bad crop, etc. When you see oils at the store that are being sold as
aroma therapeutic it's because it's not healthy enough to be used on the skin, let alone ingested. What you want is straight therapeutic grade essential oils, undiluted. If you find those in the store, before you buy, go to their website and ask for a chromotography test sheet. Those are what distillers use when they have completed a batch. They test to make sure that each chemical constituent that is meant to be found is present and that there aren't any other constituents contained inside that are not supposed to be there. It guarantees the companies that are buying from them that they are getting pure essential oil and nothing else. If you find an essential oil company and they cannot produce test results to you then STAY AWAY! There is a reason why they don't want you to see the results, or usually they don't have their batches tested to begin with. Having the necessary testing done is an extremely expensive procedure and only those companies that really care will have them done and make them available to you the consumer. Also ask the company about the distillers they are buying from and make sure that your oils are coming from their place of origin. It has been scientifically proven that oils extracted from the same plant grown outside of its place of origin contains less of its chemical constituents. For example Lavender is form France. Make sure your oils are being sourced from the right places. Some distillers will spray the plants with a chemical that will give them a higher yield of oils come harvest time. While that oil is still considered 100% pure of course it is not. Be sure that the distillers used are growing their plants organic, which
is a real certification and companies can use that on their labels or their websites etc. (There's a lot more to essential oils than you thought).
Now as you research oils you will learn about different types of distillation and how they can effect the oils being distilled. While in most cases a complete distillation is hard on oils because it means that the plants are under heat and pressure for longer, in some cases it is necessary. So, as you learn more don't throw out a company just because they use a complete distill on their peppermint. (That happened). Instead, educate yourself on that particular plant and distillation, then use your judgement.
The bottom line is Ma and Pop essential oil companies are more likely to be better for you and definitely more cost effective. The main reason for that is because you can know them personally. It's like choosing a doctor. I don't want to join a chat room and share my illnesses with someone I'm never going to meet and take his advice. I want my doctor to see me and know me personally, then he can make a much better assessment and give me a personalized treatment plan. He's workable and there for me. (Wouldn't it be great if all doctors were really like that, hehe).
That is why on my website I include my personal phone number. I want people to know that there is a real person behind the oils I sell and recommend and that I have a relationship with my oils provider and distillers. I know them personally, I know they are honest, I know I can call them any time with my question, comments, concerns and they are there. Like them, I am also here to take your call, help you out, answer questions, research your needs if I don't know off the top of my head, I am here for you as a good doctor should be as well. I offer chromotography tests to any one that asks so they can see that the oils I sell are truly pure, undiluted, and unadulterated in any way. I LOVE teaching so please don't hesitate to call me. I give essential oil classes 4 times a month. The first one is an intro to essential oils and the last three are specific treatments and applications of essential oils.
To learn more and/or contact me visit
www.HealthAndWellnessEO.weebly.com I'd love to hear from you!
