Before I even get deep into this topic I want to bring to the table personality styles. Some of you LOVE research, some of you don’t. Some of you make decisions with fear as your base, some of you don’t. Some of you see problems with everything (this is a gift by the way- I’ll do another post on this soon). Some of you don’t. Understanding how you form conclusions will help you as you read the difference in opinions with literally everything… but today we will stick to essential oil usage.
If you are a research junkie or even a casual google searcher you will quickly find vastly different opinions on several essential oils and their safety. The reason for this is that there are 3 methods of study with Essential Oils. Before I dive into the different methods I want to share an analogy so you grasp this immediately. When I make my Grandmother’s Gluten-free Apple Pie recipe, I use exact ingredients in the exact order that when baked make an amazing pie that tickles your nose with its delicious smell, your taste buds explode in happiness and your tummy smiles as that bite enters for digestion. Now if I put in 3x as much salt, the entire experience changes. If I leave out the apples… same. If I put in plastic crust…ick.
- French Method of Training Uses pure essential oils, nothing added or taken away, nothing enhanced. Stays true to Grandmother’s recipe. As nature intended.
- British Allows for synthetic (recreated), fractionated or chemical selections of oils- can be very toxic hence because they chose to enhance certain aspects of the oils. Much like adding too much salt or plastic crust, it alters the entire package. This research cannot be applied to the French or German method as they are not the same oil, even if they have the same name.
- German which allows for inhalation only. So, you made that delicious pie, but you can only smell it. It’s still absolutely AMAZING.
Much of the information you find online about oil safety is based on studies done using British methods that can use synthetic or adulterated oils. For that reason, you see these oils listed as unsafe, and that is 100% accurate. You must dilute heavily or skip all together with pregnancy or using it with children.
So how do we know what to use or where to go with all this new information?
1. Know the farms and the farmers.
What are their soil standards? What are their weeding practices? What is their supply train? Can it be traced every step? I use Young Living for this very reason. Check out Seedtoseal.com. Young Living began on the farms. They don’t just have one farm for members to visit, they have tons of farms worldwide that we can all visit, dig in the dirt, and shake hands with the farmers.
2. Know how they are distilled.
Are they using steam or chemical solvents such as Hexane? Are they using first distillation only or “total” distillation? Another analogy. I brew a cup of tea, set it aside, and then put the same tea bag in another mug pour hot water over it again and set it aside… repeat 3 or 4 more times and then at the end add all the teacups together for a “total distillation”. Now let’s go back to that teabag… is it still together or has it broken down allowing the tea leaves to float in the tea? Is that last cup as strong as the first? But when I add them all together I have TONS more material, just not as strong and certainly not as pure as the first cup.
3. The label states 100% pure oil but then states do not ingest, do not apply to skin, diffuse only, or then have other ingredients listed that you don’t recognize.
Stay away.
4. Finally KNOW the team that you are getting your membership from. Do they have solid education on what, when, and how to use the oils? Where did that education come from? Do they teach you how to restore your health through multiple methods or do they say just slap an oil on it and you’ll be ok?
Check out this page for more information (Why OEL?) Healthy navigation in today’s world can be difficult in the beginning. It’s hard to know who or what to trust. It was this exact reason I created Our Essential Life. I wanted a community of learners, thinkers, moms, families who desired to be healthier and a community to link arms and grow with. I invite you to link with us! (Why OEL?)