There is much controversy surrounding essential oils in recent years – lawsuits and accusations against essential oil companies. Many eyebrows have been raised about the quality of the oils these companies are selling. Numerous exposé has shown evidence numerous small and big companies have been using synthetic compounds in their products. With this troubling information, how then should we check to ensure that the essential oils that we purchase are of quality.
Why Does This Matter?
When used in the right manner, oils can be powerful medicine for the body. However, unscrupulous businesses might put in synthetic chemicals to lower the cost of production. Not only do these oils lack therapeutic properties, they may even be dangerous to use.
Most oils can be absorbed into the body by inhalation or transdermal absorption when applied onto the skin. The substance is directly absorbed into the bloodstream after penetrating the skin. Scents go directly into our lungs and into our bloodstream thereafter. The oils are then circulated throughout the body, causing immediate effects. Essential oils are a powerful way to relieve ailments because they can be easily absorbed by the body. This is why we advise you to use top quality oils for all oil applications. Read on to learn how you can look out for quality oil.
Price Variance
The price of oil depends on the yield of oil from flowers, leaves and other organic matter. For certain flowers, more plant matter is required to produce the same amount of oil. A drop of rose essential oil requires 60 roses to produce, making it much more expensive than more abundant oils (such as lavender or rosemary). The price also depends on how expensive the organic product is. Be cautious of oil brands that are priced the same across the board.
Watch Out For False Claims
Common terms that are used to describe the oils that you are buying might not mean anything. Watch out for terms such as “Therapeutic Grade” that has been heavily used to describe top quality oils. There aren’t any industry standards for essential oils, as such, this term is almost meaningless.
Botanical Names
Always do your research on your products before buying them. One way is to verify the botanical names of the essential oils that you are buying. Botanical names provide you the genus and species of the plant, and provides other specifics (Variety, cultivar, chemotype and hybrid). This is a good indication that the brand is legitimate.
Gain an Understanding of oils
Having an understanding of the types of distillation and the part of the plant that is used can help in determining quality oil. Some distillation processes are relatively cheaper or use other parts of the plant, but do not produce the same quality oil. Take for example, oils extracted from cinnamon bark is a lot more potent as compared to that of cinnamon leaf.
Train Your Nose
Once you are familiar with the different scents, it is actually possible to differentiate a pure oil from cheap synthetic oil. Train your nose to be able to tell the difference by comparing the different scents.
At Plant Guru, we offer a wide selection of oils, blends, diffusers, roll ons and more for your essential oil needs. All our essential oils go through third party laboratories using GC/MS testing to ensure that we provide the best quality oils for your use! All of our oils are 100% pure therapeutic grade. No chemicals, pesticides or GMOs are added into our oils.