You can purchase essential oils from many different sources including online vendors, health food stores and even your local pharmacies. However, not all essential oil brands are the same. So if you are getting ‘100% pure essential oils’ for dirt cheap prices, it is probably too good to be true.
Unfortunately, there is no global standard for testing essential oils and what you see on the labels of these bottles is purely based on internal testing done by the company in question or third party testing standards that it commits to uphold. Keeping this information in mind, here are some factors that can help you choose a reputable brand of essential oils:
Get Referrals
Ask friends and family members whom you respect about their favorite essential oils. You can also talk to a certified aromatherapist and get a list of their favorite essential oil brands. Be careful not to let multi-level marketing propaganda get in the way of facts. After all; everyone will say that his/her favorite brand is the best!
Directly Contact the Company You Are Interested in
Once you have shortlisted a few essential oil brands, you can directly contact each of them. Get a report of their sourcing and quality standards, a batch report and also the chromatography and mass spectrometry (CG/MS) report.
These graphs help break down the composition of each oil as well as adulteration levels. Speak to a certified aromatherapist to help you understand these graphs and reports if needed.
Try some samples
Buy a few inexpensive essential oils from reputable sources (Lavender, Peppermint or Lemon are good choices) and try them out. Do a ‘smell test’- see how your mind and body feel when you inhale the fragrance of these samples. You might need to use different senses (touch, sight, smell, and intuition) to see how particular oil feels.
Do Your Homework about Each Company You Have Shortlisted
Once you have shortlisted a few brands, you need to do some homework about each one. Find out if they have a relationship with their distillers and farmers. See if they can readily supply the CG/MS report. The company should also be willing to readily provide the material safety data sheets upon demand. Were the ingredients grown and sourced organically? What is the part of the plant processed in manufacturing a particular oil, its Latin name and genus, type of distillation or extraction used etc.
A Few Facts to Keep in Mind
· A reputable brand will have its oils tested by third-party testers to ensure they do not contain any chemicals, fillers or other agents.
· Non-adulteration does not guarantee purity. Even certain organically sourced ingredients could still contain pesticide traces. Passive contamination can occur due to wind drift, water runoff from neighboring fields as well as incorrect storage. Purity simply refers to whether or not the oil is adulterated with synthetic oils or carrier oils.
· If you plan to ingest the oils, make sure they are food grade, pure essential oils only. Impure oils could contain toxic elements so be very careful. Always start with one drop of oil diluted in carrier oil, water or milk.
Conclusion
There are tons of brands of essential oils available today and they run the gamut between cheap and cheesy and high quality. Be sure you learn everything you can about the essential oil company before you buy from them.
Certified pure therapeutic oils are the best. Having said so; always use essential oils with extreme care. Pure oils, even from top brands or reputed vendors can still be harmful if used incorrectly.
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