Now you might say how do I get through all the marketing jargon and choose an essential oil? There is one unbiased 3rd party standard that is applicable to all suppliers and that is certified organic. Certification is easily obtained by a company who can prove there were no pesticides used on the plant matter the oils were obtained from. Legally companies are not allowed to say organically grown or use the term organic on their labeling without this certification. Now companies are using the phrase better than organic, which begs the question why aren’t they certified then? If they are grown better than organic it would be very easy to obtain an organic certification.
The next thing we can look for is if a company supplies a GC/MS report for every batch of oil. Even if we never use essential oils for aromatic medicine or for aromatherapeutic purposes what this tells us as consumers is this company has transparency. They are not trying to hide or hold anything back. What is a GC/MS evaluation? It stands for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This test separates and identifies components of the essential oil. This allows someone using an essential oil for aromatherapeutic purposes to know exactly what chemical components are in an oil and at what percentage, to allow for accurate dosing. Now you might be asking yourself Why is this important? Isn’t lavender oil lavender oil? Yes and no - because essential oils come from plants there are many factors that can change the oil including weather, where it was grown, and when it was harvested. This is true for any plant as any gardener can attest. Many people may never need to know the chemical components of an essential oil especially if you are using them to replace chemicals around your house like those found in cleaners and air fresheners. When companies deny access to GC/MS evaluations with proprietary claims, I question character of the company and the lack of transparency. It’s also important to note that many large companies obtain their oils from the same industry supplier, meaning there may be no real difference between one brand and another except some packaging and fancy marketing.
KEY POINTS:
- Certified Organic - this is especially important when using essential oils to make products that will be left on the skin, and when purchasing citrus oils. Citrus oils are cold pressed from the peel of the fruits, because pesticides are also volatile they will easily be extracted with the essential oils. When making products for cleaning or wash off purposes you can choose to go non-organic here if cost is an issue.
- Disregard fancy marketing terms - they are often irrelevant and unattainable standards outside the company that uses them
- Transparency - we want to purchase from companies that are open about their sources, and batch analysis.
My goal is to help you learn to choose the proper oils to get the desired outcome you're looking for in you natural product selection. If you're ready to learn more pick up a coming of my new e-book Essential Oil Love, where you'll learn about carrier oil selection, how to choose essential oils, and properly dilute them for home use and so much more! Grab your copy of Essential Oil Love here.