Being a certified aromatherapist for over 15 years, I get asked
“what’s the best essential oils,” “where should I buy essential oils”
and most often, “have you ever heard of this company?” When I started
using oils back in 1997, the majority of the US hadn’t even heard of
essential oils, let alone knew how to use them. Fast forward to today
and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of them. It
seems every day there’s a new aromatherapy company out there!
But with using essential oils comes responsibility.
They are not just smell good perfumery. If you are going to use
essential oils, know how to use them safely and how to determine a good
quality oil. I just read a terrible story of how a woman put undiluted
peppermint oil on her 13 month old baby’s feet at the advice of an
untrained aromatherapist from a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) company and
the infant had a seizure, spending 2 weeks in the hospital. So please, I
encourage everyone to take essential oils seriously, use them correctly
and with caution.
How to decipher the good from the mediocre? Here’s some things everyone should look for:
Dark bottles – all essential oils will spoil when
exposed light and air so they should be sold in dark glass containers.
Store them away from light; and you can even store your citrus oils in
the refrigerator to keep them fresh longer.You want to buy based on the latin species name of the plant.
Eucalyptus, for example, has over 900 species, with about 20 being used
in the essential oil realm. E.globulus is your common Eucalyptus
species but should not be used around anyone with Epilepsy. E.radiata
is good for long term use with chronic respiratory infection and works
well on viral or bacterial infections. E.smitthi is child safe where E.globulus is not.
So the actual species is the type of essential oil you want to buy,
don’t just go by the English name – you may not know what you’re buying.
(Side Note: Some experts say Eucalyptus Globulus can cause choking or even death in infants
and any Eucalyptus should not be used on a child under 2 years of age.
E. globulus is a very strong Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus Smithii is the
mildest of all and safe for children and the elderly. E. radiata is
another good choice recommended by some well known aromatherapists.)In addition, the plant part used in the distillation process should be indicated in the English name
(“leaf,” “bark,” “flower,” “stem”) if appropriate. There is a
difference between Cinnamon Bark and Cinnamon Leaf essential oil so
again, be aware of what you are buying and what each can do for you.Buy 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils.
For the most part you want therapeutic medicinal grade essential oils
unless you are making perfume. As an example, Lavender perfume grade
essential oil may only be distilled 15 minutes. Therapeutic grade may
be distilled 1 ½ hours ensuring all the chemical constituents are
present in the oil. Both are “Lavender oil” but the chemical content
may not be the same and the therapeutic value you are looking for will
definitely not be the same!Price – if it’s cheap compared to other companies for the same oil, (i.e. same latin species name) then there’s a reason! You get what you pay for, to a point. Is the most expensive oil better? Not necessarily,
but neither is the least expensive. Sometimes these are adulterated or
diluted with carrier oils. Aveda, for instance, dilutes all of their
oils in a carrier oil so you technically are buying a diluted oil, not a
pure 100% strength essential oil. If that doesn’t matter to you, fine,
but be aware of what you are buying. Diluted oils will always be
cheaper.On that note, you should ALWAYS dilute your essential oils or blends in a carrier before using on your skin. The only 2 exceptions are Tea Tree oil and Lavender oil
which can be used “neat” or undiluted on adult skin. How to dilute?
It can be a carrier oil (Olive, Jojoba, Evening Primrose, etc), Milk for
a bath (whole is best, but not skim, you need the fat), Bath Salts,
Lotion, etc. Look up the dilution ratios for the amount of carrier you
wish to use. As a rule, 1 Tablespoon of carrier should have 3 to 6
drops of essential oil. If you wish to use undiluted essential oil on adults, a drop or two can be massaged on the bottom of your feet.When using on children or the elderly, you need to use caution!
With infants or children, use a .05% dilution at the MOST. For older
children or elderly, up to 1%. I make a bath oil that can be used on
infants and children to prevent diaper rash with 12 drops of essential
oil to 4 oz of Jojoba oil – that’s a .05% dilution ratio.“What about the Multi Level Marketing (MLM) companies out there? Are they any good?”
I get asked this a lot. With any company, certain oils will be better
and stand out than others. I find oils from MLM companies to be on the
expensive side. Can you find a better deal, absolutely! Are they the
best out there? Probably not. Don’t forget there’s a bunch of people
in that chain making money on you. I also don’t find the information
coming out of them to be that reliable and accurate, but that’s your
call.Essential oil companies need to have knowledge of the distillery they purchase from or rely on reputable suppliers who do. You need to know the distillation methods are safe.
Essential oil distillation should be done with low or medium pressure
steam to respect the integrity of the plant oil. No chemical additives
or dilution with alcohol or other oils should take place, nor should the
essential oils be decolorized. A good aromatherapy company tests their
oils regularly using gas chromatography or mass spectrography to ensure
purity and quality.“I bought the same oil from the same company but it doesn’t smell the same!”
This is actually good! If the oil consistently smells exactly the same
then chances are that company is adding chemicals, many times
synthetic, to achieve the same smell profile. While the chemical
constituents of an oil may remain the same, the ratio of each will not.
There are many things that will influence the scent. The amount of rain
the crop received, the air temperature, length of the growing season,
the soil content, etc. Think grapes and wine….from year to year the
same grape varietal, grown in the same location, from the same producer
may yield a vastly different tasting wine.What to do if you are having a skin reaction to essential oils? Essential oils are not water soluble so reach for the olive oil and rub that on your skin. Don’t try to wash the reaction off with water because it won’t have any effect.
