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.

Define "Pure"

Lots of confusion is expected for the beginning buyer, student, or dabbler in essential oils when it comes to price and quality.  What is therapeutic grade?  How pure is pure?  When is an essential oil "authentic" or adulterated?  What does "organic" mean?  Testing terms such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GS, MS) sound imposing, but what do they mean?

Purity is a red herring in the world of essential oils.  Basically, you don't want additives or synthetic stretchers or fillers.  Just the good stuff, and each producer or retailer has a different way of describing their particular goodness.  This is an unregulated industry, for better and worse.  Sure, you can buy just about anything that smells good or seems affordable, but will it ease arthritic pain?  Soften a flare of fibromyalgia?  Clean your kitchen without adding toxins to the environment?  Treat acne?  End a week of insomnia?  Scent your skin with lasting delicacy?  You get the idea.

There are thousands of years of wisdom awaiting the careful beginner and prudent practitioner of essential oils.  Avail thyself.  This blog includes time-saving direct links to many sources that in turn offer a wealth of selection and information about essential oils and blends.  

If you want to jump right in, visit any of the companies profiled so far in this blog and do these things:

1. Read and adhere to the disclaimers that always appear on more trustworthy websites about diagnosis or treatment of ailments. 
2. Read each description of an essential oil or blend, including what it's meant to do or when it shouldn't be used. Respect safety and caution statements. 
3. Look for country of origin or batch numbers.  That's a clue about production quality.
4. Check for availability of material data sheets or product support information. 
5. Test every product on a small patch of your hand before slathering.  Be sensible and safe.
6. Keep a log of what you use and how you feel.  Experiment.  Test.  Record.  Compare. Evaluate.  Enjoy!

If the purity conundrum intrigues you, read on.  There's plenty of debate over authenticity and testing that really doesn't settle who has the "best" product for the price.  It helps to have a general idea of how the industry processes plant materials for their essential oils, and how different companies try to distinguish themselves from one another. 

First, read "Essential Oil 101" by Edens Garden, a small California producer of essential oils and blends.  You'll get a pretty clear picture of how plant parts can be processed into potent essential oils.

Second, digest these observations about "therapeutic grade" oils from Essential Oil Exchange, a very new membership cooperative launched in 2012 in New York.  Here's the introduction:

"For the most effective aromatherapy purposes, essential oils should be therapeutic grade… but what does that really mean? Since there is no organization that oversees therapeutic quality like there are for organic standards, the Essential Oil Exchange (EOX) has its own position and standards for the oils we offer. It is our premise that essential oils should be therapeutic-grade in order to have true aromatherapy benefits."

Next, consider this viewpoint from Original Swiss Aromatics, an essential oils firm doing business in California since 1983. 

Original Swiss Aromatics
"We maintain that knowing the producer is the best safeguard against adulteration. While we also analyze our essential oils by GC/MS, we do know that analysis alone has not kept adulterated oils out of aromatherapy. To the contrary, analysis hype is often used to sell cleverly adulterated oils. However, a specific essential oil from a specific producer and a given batch, can be matched against the fingerprint of the original. It's authenticity can be established without a doubt." http://originalswissaromatics.com/eofaq.asp

It all boils down to shopping with your eyes open and trying different products that seem to meet reasonable standards.  I'm currently using products from Edens Garden, DoTerra, and Mountain Rose Herbs.  I like them all.  DoTerra makes some products I can't get elsewhere, and likewise for Mountain Rose.  Edens Garden makes their own essential oils and sells direct, for prices considerably lower than DoTerra.  Is there a discernible difference?  I'll keep you posted!

Original Swiss Aromatics

Informative, top-notch science, highly respected experts and products.
http://originalswissaromatics.com/

This company was created by Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D. (a director of the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy) and other experts in the field to answer a need for reliably pure, superior essential oils.  Browsing the website is fun, fascinating, and remarkably educational.

Schnaubelt posts infrequently, but with worthwhile depth, in this blog.  If you can find a subscribe link in his blog, please post here!  
http://www.kurtschnaubelt.com/

Schnaubelt's book, "The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils," is great reading and an invaluable resource.  If you please, purchase it using the product link found in this blog.  Thanks!