
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are naturally occurring aromatic compounds found in the seeds, roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers and fruit of plants which are volatile, they can be both beautiful and pungent fragrances and give plants their distinctive smells. The specific aromatic properties of essential oils are what makes plants attractive to insects and animals so they play an important role in plant pollination. The smell of essential oils can also act as a natural deterrent and, as they contain antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties, they also play a role in protecting the health of plants. The reason that they are considered to be essential is because they really do contain the essence of a plant’s fragrance. Therefore, the use of the word essential here is not to be confused with the common meaning that the oil is indispensable.
Essential oils have been used in health care, food preparation, beauty treatments and religious ceremonies since 4000BC. In ancient times plants were the only available medicine and they were used in a wide variety of ways. Making use of nature’s own medicine cabinet is a perfect natural solution to our own health care whenever possible!
Why Purity Matters and Why dōTERRA?
As a naturopath and herbalist working with essential oils, it was important for me to find the purest essential oils that were safe and effective for my family and clients, and also sustainable and ethical. I did a lot of research and found dōTERRA, I tried them for myself and I was blown away by them! I have never looked back. The oils helped considerably with my back pain and had such a positive impact on my emotional wellness. These beautiful oils have allowed myself and my family to live a completely toxin-free life, and they work!
1. Purity
Not all essential oils are alike and not all are pure. Often they are diluted with synthetic fillers, they are adulterated or contaminated and important testing can often be skipped to save time and money during production. This doesn’t just make poor quality essential oils it can actually in some cases make them harmful.
The essential oil industry isn’t regulated by any governing agency. The only requirement is to have at least 8% of the active ingredient inside of a bottle that is labeled 100% pure, and other ingredients do not have to be listed. An essential oil can be labelled as ‘pure’ and still legally contain up to 92% fillers and synthetics. According to the experts at APRC approximately 80% of commercially available essential oils are adulterated in some way.
dōTERRA has from the very beginning in 2008 made it their mission to ensure their oils are pure, even going to the level of protecting the chemical compound of the plant so that we can enjoy the full benefits of the oil. From developing their own definitive standards for purity, to introducing third-party testing (APRC), each batch of dōTERRA essential oil goes through a battery of rigorous tests (dōTERRA have developed 54 different tests for every batch of oil) to create essential oils that are Certified Pure Tested Grade® (CPTG). Every bottle of dōTERRA oil comes with a unique quality ID. you can enter each bottle of dōTERRA essential oil’s unique Quality ID to view GC/MS test results from an independent, verified third party lab by visiting this website Source to You.
2. Sustainable Co-Impact Sourcing
With every purchase of dōTERRA essential oil, you are purchasing so much more than that. dōTERRA puts great value into the science and research needed to identify the best source of the different oils they produce, this way they can be sure that their oils provide the maximum benefit in every bottle.
They also understand that to source high-quality pure grade essential oils from all across the world that dedicated farmers are needed to nurture and produce exceptional quality plants. To enable this dōTERRA commits to make a positive difference to the lives of farmers, harvesters and distillers throughout the production chain. Sourcing from over 45 countries (many of these are developing countries) their Co-Impact Sourcing® scheme develops long-term mutually beneficial supplier partnerships, creates sustainable jobs, providing reliable income in underdeveloped areas, and they always pay fair prices.
In our privileged society we are starting to wake up and pay attention to where the products we use come from and how they are made. This is an area that I am becoming increasingly passionate about so when I learned how dōTERRA uses only ethical and sustainable practices I knew I could stand proud in choosing them.
3. Ethical Healing Hands Foundation
From the very beginning dōTERRA established a not for profit foundation called the Healing Hands Foundation. Funded by money built up through company initiatives, this foundation was created to invest in development projects and give back to the sourcing communities. The dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation seeks to bring healing and hope to the world, for lives free of disease and poverty, and to ultimately empower impoverished communities with the tools needed to become self-reliant. Healing Hands invests in community projects that include improving infrastructure, providing clean water systems, building health clinics, schools; any investment that provides the most significant and beneficial change to the community. From benefiting humanitarian projects that benefit the hard-working community members in the areas of which co-impact sourcing has developed relationships to stopping human trafficking to efforts in providing every girl in the world the education, safety, and dignity that they deserve through direct distribution of sustainable feminine hygiene kits, dōTERRA gives back in so many ways. You can learn more here: Healing Hands Foundation.
If anyone is interested in learning more about the uses of essential oils, have any health concerns or wanting to try them for themselves then please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always here and happy to help ♥