Purity, Testing and Potency of essential oils

So, I've been meaning to address this for awhile, but recently I have had some emails and comments regarding this so I thought I would hit it hard!  These three thing go together beautifully and I will try to explain fairly well :) I did not know how important this was when I first started using oils, but I have been learning a lot about it lately, so I am excited to pass it on.  I will also list additional books and resources at the end to help aid in learning about these things!!!  This may seem very boring, but please read as it is very important!!!

Purity

Purity is huge with essential oils!  It is the most important thing when choosing a brand or company to buy from.  If an oil is 100% pure it means has no synthetics, fillers, chemicals and residual pesticides.  It must have all of it's proper constituents, be grown in it's native habitat and be harvested at the proper time in it's life cycle and season.  There are many many things that can affect an oils purity and therefore how well it works.  Unfortunately there are many oils that claim to be 100% pure therapeutic grade, but are actually 100% synthetic.  Or they may have fillers, or chemicals and/or pesticides that have absorbed into the plant.  Any of those things can cause major problems (allergic reactions, poisoning and etc.) if someone uses them and especially if they use them internally!  How do you know if the oils you are using are truly pure or just claim to be.  Well, it's not easy :)  I have recently learned that smelling and visual examination are not good ways to tell as an oil can be 100% synthetic and smell really really good or look really really good!  The best way is testing.

Testing


There are several tests that oils need to go through to make sure they are really truly 100% therapeutic grade!  The first and most common test is the gas chromatograph (GCT).  Most companies actually do this test which is good, but not enough.  This test determines quantity of compounds but not there origin.  It cannot tell if the compounds are synthetic or natural and it does not test for fillers, pesticides and stuff like that.

The next test is far less common.  It is called the Mass Spectrometry (MST) test.  This test is very expensive and so most companies do not do it.  I know of only 2 companies that do this test and of those two companies only 1 that does it on EVERY batch using an third party to run this test.  The MST takes the results of the the GCT and breaks it down even further.  It can tell if the compounds are natural or synthetic and if there is anything in the oils that shouldn't be!  This test is a must to determine the purity of an oil.

Other tests include Infrared Spectroscopy, NIR FT Raman Microspectroscopy and Heavy Metals Testing.  I won't go into details on them, but they are also tests that are done for purity purposes.

If you want to know if a company does these tests, call them or email them.  I have called or emails a dozen companies and most of the time they beat around the bush or don't respond.  Personally I use doTERRA.  They are the only company I know of that do ALL of those tests on EVERY batch and if they don't pass with flying colors they are shipped back.  I would love to know if any of you know of any other company that does any or all of those tests besides the GCT....I love doTERRA, but I would like to know of any other...just to compare :)

doTERRA actully puts supplement labels on their oils that are ok to take internally.  Plus they say right on them "For aromatic, topical or dietary use" if they can be used for those things.  They have been tested and found pure enough that they can do that!  IF YOUR OILS DO NOT HAVE SUPPLEMENT LABELS ON THEM DO NOT TAKE THEM INTERNALLY!  Here are some pics I just took of my lavender oil :) My Frankincense also has supplement labels as do my clove, orange and all of the other ones I mentioned in my regime (except for Balance) I hope you all can see them ok!  Click on them to enlarge.

 

Sorry if they look kinda weird!  I turned the pics on their side so they would be easy to read!!!  

Potency

Here are a few quick facts.  So, if an oil is really truly pure it is extremely potent.  Because of that you can use less to get the same effect as if you used an oil of lesser quality.  Essential Oils are 50-70 times more potent than dried herbs.  One drop of the peppermint oil I use is roughly equivalent to 26 cups of peppermint tea.  Thats super potent people!  Price point is important to people, so I thought the potency was an important thing to include.  Even though the extra testing means pricier oils, they go a lot further and you will have better results.  Not to mention your chances of negative reactions are greatly decreased.

Additional Resources


Most of my resources are doTERRA specific as far as the oils go, but the other info (such as on purity and testing) that is also found in these resources is pretty global info.

Modern Essentials: A Contemporary Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Essential Oils


Has so much info on oils, their compounds and constituents and how to use them for hundreds and hundreds of conditions.  Lots of footnotes backing up the things they are used for.

   'Frankincense—Essential Oil Library Volume 1' by Dr. David Hill



This book  has so much info on Frankincense in general but also on purity, testing, quality and method of distillation.  Dr. Hill is an MD that is also one of the leading experts on oils.


Everything Essential Website


Just check it out!  Tons and tons of info.