The great essential oil debate part 3

...And the saga continues....

Welcome back!

I chuckle to myself when I look back on the heated discussions which have happened over this blog post. Which makes it even more apparent that the title of this blog is PERFECT! Just in case you have missed the excitement...see part 1 and part 2. Are MLM oils bad? No, I never said that. If you want a home-based business and you want to have decent oils, they are a fantastic way to go. I want my readers to KNOW there are other companies out there that have great options.

I do want to clear things up. I said you should NEVER swallow oils in the last post. Which for the most part is entirely true. I do love a gentle debate and to have someone remind me that there are gray areas in all things. With that being said...It should be a rare--extremely rare--occasion in which you ingest oils. For example: Poke berries are poisonous, however, there have been cases where cancers have been treated with poke berries. Would I suggest you run into the woods if you have cancer and eating a handful of poke berries...Heck no! I hope that I have clarified that a little bit more...I wanted to share something that may or may not back up my opinion on swallowing oils. What is at the top of the list? ingesting....

I am thrilled to hear some of you are grabbing white sheets of paper and testing your essential oils. I was sad to hear you find out that what you thought you had wasn't as good as the label portrayed and that is exactly why I wanted to make sure you knew about that little trick. "When you know better you do better"--Annette Udall. Isn't she right?? I am thrilled that some of you are giving essential oils another shot although you purchased some MLM oils and "they didn't work for you" as they said they would. There is so much information out there sometimes its hard to filter through information to get the facts you need. I promise you (through experience and testimony of my own) when we use them correctly and use the right ones they will work.

Lets get back to work.

What is a blend? (some companies call them synergies)

Blends are essential oils put together making a solution to help to achieve its intended purpose. Bear with me on this: I am sure some of you are familiar with a few MLM scents so we will start there.

doTerra makes a blend called On Guard. This is very similar to the Young Living brand called Thieves. So why aren't they called the same thing? Good question! Young Living has registered the name "Thieves" and it can't be used. True story. The formulation is also a little different. There are companies out there that have come out with their version of the same thing.  The blends they make may or may not have the same oils in them, but it will do the trick.

Here is the thing: oils, just like herbs, are multifunctional. When you educate yourself on their uses, you learn that similar results can be achieved by using different versions. Sometimes it comes down to preference of smell and what works for you. Maybe you feel like On Guard works for you better than Thieves...or possibly you come up with your own formulation that or does the trick better. Either, way it's not wrong its just a matter of choice.

When you get really good you can make your own! Which I have done and prefer to do.

What is a hydrosol?

 I am using Plant Therapy's picture because currently I do not have any of these.

Up until about 3 months ago I had never heard of this. Like most of you, I am still learning.

"Hydrosols, also known as floral waters, hydroflorates, flower waters or distillates are products from steam distilling plant materials. Hydrosols are like essential oils but in far less of a concentration. When a distiller brews plant material with water in a large cooker the steam fills the pot and, as it rises, it causes the glands of the plants to burst and release the oils and essence of the plant into the steam. The oil rises through a condenser and collects in a separate vessel. This is what we know as essential oil, but what about all that fragrant water that was steamed with the original plant material? That is our hydrosol, or floral water.

Hydrosols are usually the result of essential oil production as a by-product but the highest quality hydrosols come from the devoted distillers who, with artist like precision steam the floral and plant material strictly to produce a hydrosol. Hydrosols contain all of the essence of the plant in every drop, just like essential oils but in a milder form; making them suitable for all manner of applications where essential oils would be too strong." (See reference) This was the best explanation I could find.

What is an absolute?

 Picture taken from Plant Therapy. I currently do not have any absolutes.

There is a difference in process. Essential oils are done by steam-distillation. Absolutes are made by chemical and solvent distillation. This is typically done for fragrances and not so much to be used for medicinal purposes. If you want to diffuse, this may be a cheaper way to go than using a rose essential oil, but wouldn't have the same properties per se. I would use extreme caution, like with anything, when using an absolute.

Do you feel a little more educated yet???

Couple of things I wanted to touch on before we go on to a different topic .

We spoke on transparency in the last few blogs. Why is this important? For starters if you are using these for medicinal purposes the oils need to be pure. However...

"There are a lot of companies out there selling essential oils and most of them have no ability (or in many cases no desire) to do the necessary quality control to verify what they are getting from their supplier before they pass it on to their customers. Additionally, pure [oil] does not necessary equate with good quality. A pure oil can be distilled incorrectly or could have been obtain[ed] from a particular variety of plant species that was not ideal."

- Dr. Robert Pappas/EOU

That being said, when a company makes a mistake shouldn't they admit to it? When you make a mistake do you apologize? As a company, it is essential to acknowledge mistakes and announce that to the public.

This was the announcement given by Plant Therapy on the Facebook page on March 26, 2015.

We have been made aware of concerns regarding our German Chamomile sold December 2014 - January 2015. We appreciate those that have come forward with questions regarding this batch of essential oil. German Chamomile should be deep blue in color and have a grassy/herbal, smoky/warm scent. If you have one that is green, we are looking into what has occurred. We strive for customer satisfaction and if you purchased German Chamomile from Plant Therapy during this time period please contact our customer service department at cs@planttherapy.com with your name and order number. We want to make this right and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. We are currently investigating the reasons behind this event, and will put measures in place to be sure it does not happen again. Already we are placing lot numbers on our new labels, which will help in tracking batches to GC/MS reports. Your trust & our relationship with our customers is very important to us, we will make this right.

(Do you remember in the last blog we talked about German Chamomile being green???)

They knew they messed up. They publicly announced it and took the steps to fix their mistake. Classy. This is what a company does when it takes pride in its product. In my opinion, they don't hide their mistakes.

 When a customer received German Chamomile from Native American Nutritionals / Rocky Mountain Oils and realized it was green and not blue they had it tested. When it failed (believed to be Nepalese Chamomile) they were notified of their oil being green and not blue, like it was suppose to be, their response was totally different .

Is it embarrassing? Sure it is. Is it a little uncomfortable knowing that you may have been dupted by a supplier that you trusted? Yes! This is what I am talking about how a company responds to questions. Mistakes happen to the best of us. When this happens, hopefully we grow and make the necessary adjustments to move on and move forward.

 I showed you a few oils I have been using.

What are your thoughts??

soooooooo......

Who has also shown superior test results?? I am so glad you asked. Here are more options at your disposal and not in any particular order.

NATURE'S GIFT

Marge Clark has been open since 1995! Longer than the MLM oil companies. She is so confident in her oils that she will send you samples (at a small price). She is very knowledgeable! What I like most about her site and the way she does business is she has each batch tested AND posted on the individual oil pages. Its a very rare find indeed. She has a wide variety and selection.

ORIGINAL SWISS AROMATICS 

  It is run by Kurt Schnaubelt who also runs the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy school. He is well respected in the Aromatherapy world and is very knowledgeable. I appreciate their explanation of oils and their testing results reflect they have a very high quality product.

AROMATICS INTERNATIONAL

This is like the jackpot of all essential oil companies. Their website is like an encyclopedia of essential oils. Everything you wanted to know about the essential oil and its origins is on their website. For example: Do you remember me talking about High, Middle and Low notes? They tell you how each oil sits on the scale. If they have more than one batch available they allow you to choose! (because whether people want to admit it or not the slightest weather change CAN change the oils composition.) They also tell you how to use each oil on the individual oil's page. I like this because it gives you an idea before you buy it on how to use it.  This is a great feature!! If nothing else this is a fantastic reference.

SUNROSE AROMATICS

This is a woman owned company. (That doesn't matter to me, but it may be important to others.) They have been open since 1997 and have a wide variety of oils. They have organic oils which have been certified, oils which are organic and not certified, and oils that are wild-crafted. They also have the oil's chemical composition profiled on their website. The more you know the more informed you can be to make choices best for you.

Do you feel like you have more options?? Do you feel better informed?

Tell me what you think. I would love to know.

Thank you for stopping by.