Location, Location, Location

Soil, water, weather, farming techniques, and harvesting are all variables in the plant kingdom.  It makes sense that different strains or species can exhibit different qualities.

Without getting into the sometimes heated debate over where the "best" plants are found or how they are harvested and processed into essential oils, here are some thoughts from Kurt Schnaubelt, a chemist, author, co-director of the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy, and essential oils retailer with global sourcing:

"Often we are asked by customers, which Lavender should I buy. A legitimate question considering the significant price differences between sauvage, population, clonal and hybrid Lavenders. Generally the subtext to these questions is, whether or not the more expensive oil packs a bigger therapeutic punch. The honest answer, in a first approximation, is probably ‘no.’ A Lavender Maillette should calm down a mosquito bite just as well as a population Lavender.


"But at second glance there are probably some subtle but still significant differences. The best way to explore these less tangible qualities is to use the different Lavender oils for a few days in a row, as described in the Lavender Journey in 'The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils.'

"The most obvious qualities of population and wild Lavenders clearly are their complexity (broader range of components) as well as their elegance, reflected in the less intense but round fragrance.

"Using these fine Lavenders over time often leads to a closer and more intuitive relation with these classic essential oils. The substantial contributions they provide for our physical and emotional well being become ingrained in our experiences."  http://www.kurtschnaubelt.com/  Aug. 3, 2012

Schnaubelt's blog last month delved a bit deeper into the price conundrum:

"As aromatherapy adopts an increasingly globalized style, Lavender now comes from Kashmir and German Chamomile from India. The real reason for all this is of course price. Essential oils are presented as products that are fully interchangeable, no matter from where they originate. So we can buy fairly inexpensive oils from corporate producers in low wage countries as long as a more or less random set of analytical data can be presented that somehow promises ‘no adulteration.’ "  http://www.kurtschnaubelt.com/  July 22, 2012

For more detailed reflection on how essential oils' origins can be helpful in the battle against bacteria and viruses, read "Resistance," in Chapter Two:  The Bioactivity of Essential Oils ("The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils," Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph. D., Healing Arts Press 2011).

Schnaubelt's Ph.D. is in chemistry and he is the co-director and founder of the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in California.