What are essential oils? They are highly concentrated compounds found inside many parts of the plant such as the bark, roots, seeds, and flowers. They are usually extracted through water distillation or a manual process of pressing to obtain the oils.
Where can you buy essential oils? Essential oils can be found for sale from grocery stores, drug stores, department stores, new age shops, independent consultants, etc.
What should you look for in picking a brand?
The healthy benefit of essential oils is that you can get health benefits from their purest form.
Many over the counter products are full of chemicals. The beauty of essential oils is that no additional chemical compounds are needed to get the benefits of the oil. However, the pure oil is often times expensive to obtain or available in small quantities, so manufacturers use chemical fillers to dilute the oil. Look at the ingredients on the bottle to make sure it is pure oil. Select a brand who not only owns or leases the fields where the plants grow, but also do their own distilling this way they can control exactly what is going into each bottle.
Why do you have to pay more to get the “real” thing? doTerra claims it takes 8,000 roses and Young Living reports it uses 22 pounds of rose petals in one 5ml bottle making it one of the most expensive bottles of oil on the market. When you go to a supermarket to buy a dozen roses for $9.99 and then see a bottle in their essential oil section for the same price or maybe a little more you have to assume it’s not pure oil. A manufacturer couldn’t cover their cost when pure oil takes so many roses to make. Another method and thought process I like to introduce people to is regarding peppermint oil. Most people assimilate the smell of peppermint to that of a peppermint candy, however, that scent is actually manufactured and made through a chemical process of synthetic compounds. Buy a bottle from a brand who doesn’t distill their own product or have third party testers to insure its purity. When you open the bottle, you will smell what we have come to believe is the smell of peppermint. Then open a bottle of Peppermint from a company who has their product tested and guaranteed to be without chemical additives. Most people don’t even recognize the smell of real peppermint. If you buy a bottle of Peppermint which smells like the candy it could be used in things such as candle making. However, without using the pure form of Peppermint you will not get the medicinal properties and are exposing yourself to unwanted chemicals.
I personally recommend one of two brands: Young Living or doTerra. Both have strict sourcing principles and harvest the oils from wherever in the world that plant thrives most to get the highest quality of oils. If you have more questions about oils or about Young Living in particular, then feel free to contact me at brandy@purrfectlypeacefulyoga.com.
