PSA: Essential Oils Are Not Created Equal

After 3 people in the last month shared stories with me of side effects they experienced after using oils from questionable brands, it’s clear this info is super needed right now - especially because the essential oil industry is unregulated and growing fast.

Just because you're purchasing a product that's intended to be used for your health doesn't mean the company that's selling it to you cares about your wellbeing (just look at the food, pharmaceutical, and beauty industries in the US if you need examples of how far companies will go to prioritize profits over customer wellness). 

I know, I also wish we could just give companies the benefit of the doubt that they're acting out of integrity - but, since it's obvious that we can't, I'm here to help ensure that you're able to easily discern between quality and quackery when it comes to essential oils. I want you to be as healthy and happy as humanly possible - and supporting informed consumerism is one of the best ways to do that.

So, here's a cheat sheet of what you need to know when choosing an essential oil brand (and the reasons that I exclusively source my oils from dōTERRA):

⚡️Purity: A huge piece of the puzzle - purity standards ensure that all you're getting in your bottle of oil is pure plant material and nothing else. Just because your bottle of oil says "100% Pure" on the label doesn't make it true. Again, essential oils are unregulated, so you could actually be getting a bottle of synthetic oil, or maybe your bottle has some plant material in there, but it's contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, filler oils, and other adulterants. These can cause unintended side effects and be super harmful to your health in general. 

The brand you're using should share their purity standards and testing practices openly (rigorous third-party testing of every batch is KEY) so you can rest assured that you're not unintentionally adding toxins to your life. dōTERRA has uncompromising purity and potency standards and runs far more tests than any other brand (54 tests on every batch) between third-party labs and their in-house scientific team, which they then share online for anyone to access. This is extra-important because 80% of essential oils on the market are adulterated (even some of the big-name brands you see all over social media), and they purposely make it very tricky for us to be educated consumers.

⚡️Potency + Sourcing Methods: These two go hand-in-hand - and they're important because they're all about how effective and versatile your oils will be. The thing is, a plant has to be grown its natural environment and harvested at the perfect time to ensure it has the best conditions to thrive and grow into its full potential. This is how you produce the most powerful essential oils. Unfortunately, many companies buy giant plots of farmland and grow their oils in a central location to keep costs down, and many others shamelessly exploit growers, distillers, and the earth to increase their profit margins. 

dōTERRA has an incredibly intricate model called Co-Impact Sourcing that sources 130 oils from over 45 different countries (over half of which are developing nations). Instead of buying plots of land all over the world, they invest in long-term partnerships with the people and communities - helping them continue on as proprietors of their own land, empowering them with fair conditions and pay for their work (even paying them higher rates in lower-yield seasons), and further uplifting their communities with their non-profit, the Healing Hands Foundation. 

When deciding on a place to source an oil, dōTERRA looks for two big things: 1. Where does this plant best thrive (so the customer can reap the max benefits of the oils)?, and 2. Where can they have the greatest positive impact on growers and distillers (so they can bring hope and opportunities to those who could most benefit from it)?

⚡️Transparency: By now you're probably wondering how the hell you're supposed to know which brand of oils to choose when you're shopping the shelves of your local health food store. In short, there's generally no way to know the integrity of a company by reading the label on a tiny bottle - you've gotta do some online investigation beforehand. Hop on the brand's website, ensure their plants are grown sustainably in their indigenous environment, ensure the people growing the plants are being treated well, ensure the brand has their own ultra-strict quality, testing, and labeling standards (dōTERRA's is: Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade/CPTG), and generally look for a ruthless dedication to quality, integrity, and transparency. 

If you wanna see a rocking example of how this is done, hop over to www.sourcetoyou.com (and, if you're anything like me, have a box of tissues handy). 

P.S. If you want to learn more about essential oils, fill out this quick form and I'll reach out to connect.