So I found myself in this oil world where there are a lot of questions and honestly a lot of passion. Some believe others don't, arguments get heated and insults are thrown. I find all that useless. I want to see proof and I want to know real people who experienced good or bad. Sometimes I feel it is nature against man And company against company with no regard for what is actually the best answer.
I decided first I needed to order several different brands of oils. I ordered from several companies that had good reviews to begin with. Then I started reading and learning more. Organic, non GMO, self owned farms, grown in USA, testing and on and on it went. Let me tell you now that there are at least three other companies that if DoTerra was not here I would go with however there are some things I like about DoTerra and the people I have had communication with from DoTerra.
I will not be talking about other companies specifically here as I picked mine and I believe in the one I picked. If you choose another I just ask you spend the time to read past all the surface stuff and dig in so you make a decision yourself and not be lead by others passions and opinions. Pick one by oil quality, mission, and people you connect with best. In the oil world there is a lot of sharing of ideas so feel comfortable with those you might be using as your resources. Do not get stuck thinking that the company you decide to buy your core products from is the only place you can buy from. It does not matter if you sell it or not and it is not about loyalty it is about making the right decision for yourself.
Now what helped me decide what oil company I choose as my main supplier. And yes I do order from others if they have something I want and I feel the quality is good. Now this area could get all scientific with resources listed but I am gonna just tell you in my simple words.
Lemons can be found in many countries however some are different then others. In fact you can even grow lemon trees where they have never been grown before by grafting, mutating, sheltering and other methods. However you do not have the tree that is going to carry the original properties in most cases and even trees in different areas of the world will produce fruit that has different properties.
The soil, nutrients, seeds, water, air, growing methods, and environment all contribute to what ends up in the plant. Organic just isn't good enough. Just like a tomato grown out back, one grown on the family farm, and one mass produced will all taste different and will hold different nutrients even if all are organic beefeater tomatoes. So to begin with indigenous growing location was important to me as that is where the original essentials came from. HOWEVER I do sometimes check into non-indigenous based on several factors including what exactly I am needing from the oil. And yes I will address the own the farm or not own the farm issue lower down.
The next thing I looked into was harvesting. Now this area really has very little room to switch around. Either the plant or the plant part is harvested correctly and at the right time or it is not. First lets discuss that essential oils are from the whole plant comments makes no sense sometimes. You do not process an entire Boswellia tree to get frankincense as the resin is what holds the essential oil frankincense. Meaning the right part of the plant needs to be processed to get useful essential oils. Now let's look at the banana. A green banana has less sugar than a yellow banana so harvesting at the right time is important. With a banana we also know that if we buy a green banana it will ripen over time however if we pick lettuce leaves they do not ripen anymore. Harvesting a plant to get the right constituents requires for the right part of the plant to be harvested at the right time by the right method and handling.
So we have our harvested plant or parts of a plant. Now what? No we are not there yet. Next there is the processing to get the oil. Which broccoli has the most nutrients? Which broccoli is the healthiest? A. Broccoli grown correctly, harvested correctly and eaten raw or B. Broccoli that was grown correctly, harvested correctly and then boiled for an hour or C. Broccoli steamed and then smothered in butter, cheese, and salt? Oils work the same way. If you heat them they lose constituents and the chemical makeup changes and if you add anything you can counteract their healthiness and effectiveness. Some oils such as those coming from many citrus fruits are cold pressed from the rind/peel where the oil pockets are located. Other oils are processed through a steam distillation that uses a low heat to boil the water which is then infused or run into the same chamber as the plant parts then since oil and water do do mix the oils separate from the water in a third chamber. Heating oils should be avoided when possible as this changes the chemical make up. Oils are volatile meaning they evaporate quickly so you lose the benefits by heating them.
Now let's address the markings of 100% pure oil or oraganic oil on the packaging of oils. Sounds good doesn't it? But is it? I can raise organic plants harvest them early or distill them in heat or cold press from a moldy rind/peel and still have my oil marked 100% pure and organic. I can also have a completely correctly processed oil that I add organic carrier oils to that I can label organic but you still end up with a less potent mix. So you see our regulations at this time do not meet our needs. As I researched I did find that some other countries do have more regulations on oils and yes some of their oils I find excellent.
Some companies choose testing their oils. They test by third party, themselves, or random, or every batch. There are many different choices of how a company chooses to test and what tests they run. Different tests could show if there are any additives, if the oils have been adultered, what constituents and what percentage of each constituent is present, if there are contaminants. This also is up to whether the company chooses to test for these differences. I will discuss this more below but please if the oil says not for human consumption or for fragrance only or do not ingest please just leave that oil where it is when you first saw it as these type oils can be dangerous to place on skin or inhale or of course ingest. They will not give you the benefits you are looking for and could harm you.
Now one of the things that causes some heated arguements. One company runs tests themselves and through third party and once they feel that the batch is pure and contains the correct constituents and no contamanints they mark their oils therapeutic grade. Some people get upset because they feel betrayed because they had the impression this was given by some outside regulatory group. Is it good for marketing? Ummm yes of course! Very few people are in business for no profit! Could they cheat by not living up to the high standards they set for themselves? Yes however to what purpose? If the oils do not work or cause harm when used correctly they would go out of business. I personally like the fact that they set a standard. And yes it is trademarked. Why not trademark it otherwise their own testing system would mean nothing because anyone could use their seal.
Next is the passionate arguements of owning ones own farms or not. Sounds good because it lets the company control a lot of what goes into the plants. Now let me make this very clear because this is where I hear a lot of people say "but it is not grown in the right place, the right soil, the right environmental conditions". The farms do not necessarily have to be in the same country of the company and several companies that own some or all of the own farms do own them in the areas the plants are indigenous. I think it is great they own their own farms. I also know that this does not mean the growth and harvesting is completed correctly any more than not owning the farm it only allows more control if the opportunity is taken.
An alternative to self owned farms that I personally like and appreciate is a program in which the company goes in and helps the community around where crops are grown to become self staining as many of the crops needed are in under developed areas. For instance the area much vetiver is grown is under developed and vetiver crops were inconsistent and quality was inconsistent. One company went in and set up training for farmers, removed unneeded brokers, setup up payment programs so that farmers and their families received money in a more consistent and timely manner. This helps provide a solid crop more often and a community that can work towards taking care of themselves along with teaching volunteers what is happening out there in other parts of the world. For me this is important.
This is basically the pattern I followed while researching and making the decision to use essential oils and where to buy essential oils and what company I would feel comfortable to recommend and sell essential oils from. I do have one last subject I want to talk about.
Ingesting essential oils. First and foremost please research the subject and make your own decision based on the facts. Many people say ingest and many people say this is dangerous. It gets very ugly. It is your personal decision. I based my decision on the above research, that the FDA actually does have a list of essential oils that are GRAS,FA,and FL. Lemon is on that list and is usually one of the oils that start the passionate arguements. Many many companies put out lemon essential oil and many many companies do not have the quality of oil that is safe to ingest. Now many trained and untrained people feel it is safe and many trained and untrained are horrified that anyone would even consider ingesting. I myself find it horrifying some of the medicines people choose to ingest and don't start me on food. I also find it ironic that medicines are ingested without checking their side affects but oils are called into question instantly on mention of ingesting. Do I ingest? Yes as a matter of fact I made a personal decision based on the research I did and consulting with many trained people educated in the world of oils, science, medical and medicine. If you read my two first blogs you know already I must work with a team to make medical decisions. I also reach out beyond that team because they admit some things they are not sure about. Also I want to point out that your individual health affects what you choose to put in your body whether it is medicine, food, oils, herbs, etc. if your digestive system is damaged maybe lemon is not the thing to put in your body but neither is BC Powder. Or maybe one or both these would help you. My instincts say no and my brain says if I consider it I should get advice from someone educated beyond what any oil company tells me. Warning though you must understand the medical profession is just now being reintroduced to oils and that these oils were used throughout history and modern medicine started with plants being used to treat ailments.
Sorry one last notation on picking a foundation for my oil buying. The more I read and communicated with others I found the company rhetoric coming from followers and consultants tiring and useless in most cases because I was getting answers from people repeating what they had been told however they seemed to be clueless in understanding the details and meaning of the information. As I observed this I found that some groups were more nasty about their communication when talking about other companies. I find that detrimental to the oil world and just a repeat of political and religious arguements. I did not feel that I would work well with people that competed and instantly argued that their product were the best no matter what was being questioned. This is not a sports game or a question of vanilla vs chocolate. This was about health and quality of life which I find worthy of listening to all information and deciding for myself what was best for me and those I will share with in the future. I feel this world has enough negativity without adding it to my studies of essential oils. It only clouds people's opinions and creates a shallow senseless following with no knowledge which feeds to the idea that the oils world is nonsense and for people who are not knowledgable which is very far from the truth. And by the way world renowned so and so for supporting any company does not make that person better then the world remowed for another and a person does not need to be the worlds renowed expert to have useful correct knowledge on a subject. Many unknowns have discovered and invented some wonderful things throughout history. Throwing names around to back a claim is only a portion of the proof needed to make a well informed decision.
Just a reminder I am not educated in science, medicine, medical, alternative medicine or anything else that matters. My formal education has no relation to my health so please make sure you research and make decisions based on what you learn. My words are only here to tell my personal story.
