What is an Essential Oil?
A concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile chemical compounds from plants.
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam. Other processes include expression, solvent extraction, sfumatura, absolute oil extraction, resin tapping, wax embedding, and cold pressing.
When trying to use essential oils or simply learn about them, it can be extremely overwhelming. There are hundreds of essential oil brands in the market and knowing what is considered pure and high quality can be very difficult and confusing to be honest. So how exactly do you know what a good quality oil is? And what do you look for to determine if an oil is high quality or not?
- Label: Botanical name, plant part, country of origin, distillation date and/or expiration date, chemotype (if applicable), and “Keep Out of Reach of Children” statement.
- Cost: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
- Testing: Especially GC/MS testing organic, unsprayed, or wildcrafted
- Affiliation: NAHA or other association memberships
Sustainability and economic cooperatives or initiatives
So with that being said I did a lot research on purity of oils, and third party testing and I was able to narrow down my search to a top three brands of oils. Young Living, doTerra, and Plant Therapy.
I quickly eliminated Plant Therapy from the list, for the following reasons:
- Although Plant Therapy test their oils for purity, they do not have third party testing. All testing is done internally and therefore there is no guarantee that you are getting an unbiased evaluation of the product your purchasing.
- The Oils are not organic, in fact only a handful of Plant Therapy’s Oils are considered Certifiably Organic. Therefore making me question the possible purity of the oils themselves.
- The Oils are not ingestable, and can not be used on pregnant woman and children across the board. Which again makes me question the oils themselves. Granted ingesting oils is something that needs to be done correctly and under proper guidance and knowledge; however it is something that raised red flags for me personally.
I then was left with Young Living and doTerra, upon researching, I found that doTerra was in fact created by former Young Living executives in 2008 and therefore most of their products and company structures seem to “copy” Young Livings. With that being said, It left me with a difficult choice, I wanted to pick the best suited oil company for my family and myself, so I looked at the company itself, I looked at the sources of the oils and the oil purities. Both companies offer third party testing and offer a variety of products not just oils to help families or just people transition to a nontoxic and naturally sustainable home and wellness. But then I found this fun fact out…
Young Living is in fact the oldest essential oil company in the world and is the ONLY company that owns their own farms. This was very big game changer, in the sense of the companies core values of pure, organic and non-toxic oils and products for families all over the world.
The purity of their products is so important to Young Living, that they have developed the the Seed to Seal guarantee which is exactly what it sounds like. They have complete control from the moment the seed is chosen to be planted into virgin soil right up to the time the lid is put on the bottle (above and beyond organic standards). Being the only essential oil company that owns their own farms means they are the ONLY COMPANY that can guarantee what they say on the bottle is what is actually inside the bottle. It ensures that their oils are always pure, authentic and not watered down.
So there you have it, for the many reasons above, I educated myself on how to choose high quality oils and then choose the company that produces those very oils. I have not only been able to incorporate the purest oils on the market in my home, I have been able to use Young Livings other products such as household cleaners, supplements, and body care to transition into a nontoxic and safe home for my family.
(please note this is not a paid review, all material presented in this post is intended as my perspective only)
Now that we established how to choose high quality oils…lets discuss how we can actually use these oils to our bodies!
Now to use oils to the best of their ability we must remember…
SAFETY FIRST!
Please dilute your oils.
Do not put them in your eyes or ears.
Follow directions on labels.
(Young Living Oil Usage and Description)
The solid labels have aromatic and topical directions on them.
1. Topically – Apply on your skin. Dilute with a carrier oil like coconut oil or grapeseed oil. They are quickly absorbed and effective.
*Citrus oils can cause photosensitivity. Avoid direct sunlight to areas where citrus oils have been applied for 12 hours.
2. Aromatically – Use in the diffuser or by inhaling from diffuser jewelry or just put some on your hands.
3. Internally -Young Living oils are safe to ingest. The labels that are white are from their vitality line and have dietary instructions on them.
* NOTE: Oils in the regular bottles are the same as the vitality bottles. For Example: Peppermint oil from the regular line and Peppermint oil from the vitality line have different labels (per FDA rules) but are the SAME OIL.
Thank you so much for reading through this essential oils guide. Making your health a priority is so worth it, for you and your loved ones.
When you are ready to get your very own Premium Starter Kit through Young Livings Essential Oils, so you can turn your home into a SPA and so you and your family can benefit from all the amazing oils, please reach out to me on IG @thegreatmombie or Facebook @thegreatmombie. Click on this link to order. >>>>>>>https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=19117878&enrollerid=19117878&isocountrycode=US&culture=en-US&type=member