FAQ | healingoils

These are the common FAQs about essential oils.

Many people who start out on their journey to living, thriving and healing by God's Design do not know much about therapeutic-grade essential oils. Oftentimes, what most people are used to think of when it comes to essential oils is the many aromatic/perfume-grade oils sold in many beauty/salon stores today. This page will help you learn more about therapeutic-grade essential oils, specifially Young Living's Essential Oils.

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What are essential oils?

Plants contain complex and powerful substances known as essential oils. These are aromatic liquids derived from shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. They are oftentimes referred to as the plant's "life force." These distinctive components defend plants from insects, harsh environmental conditions, and disease. They are also vital for a plant to grow, live, evolve, and adapt to its surroundings. Referred to as the essence of the plant, pure essential oils not only protect the plant but also determine its aroma.

What is therapeutic-grade essential oil?

There are many factors that make therapeutic grade essential oil, but all of them really fit into two main categories.

Environmental Factors – Where the plant is grown; the soil type; fertilizer (organic vs. chemical); altitude, etc; and
Physical Factors – How and when the plant is harvested, how it is distilled and even how it is bottled!

Most of the essential oils you will see in stores are low in quality and full of adulterations. Therapeutic essential oils have chemotypes. It is a designation that tells you that the species has different chemical constituents. This usually occurs because the plant is grown in a different area of the world or a distinct climate that alters the chemistry of the plant! Essential Oil chemistry will tell you what is in the plant or oil and then that will help determine what medicinal properties your oil has!

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What is essential oils chemistry?

The chemistry of essential oil is determined by a piece of laboratory equipment called a gas chromatography or GC. If we take Thyme essential oil and analyze it by GC during the fall season it will contain 60-70% thymol and therefore it is called Thymus vulgaris CT thymol.

If we test the same thyme oil harvested during the spring the constituents are different and it is actually called Thymus vulgaris CT p-cymene! So, it is a different oil and has different properties!

If you have a backyard Thyme and don’t send the distilled oil off to a specific laboratory that tests for essential oils to find out what is in it, you will really have no clue what the chemistry is! This is very significant because many companies, do not test their oil and the oils are not labeled with genus species or chemotype information either.

Are there standards for testing essential oils?

Unfortunately in the United States there are no standards for testing therapeutic grade essential oil. The FDA has very loose standards on even labeling oils. So labeling is unreliable and in fact can be deceptive. Thyme can be simply labeled generically with no scientific name or chemotype, and you won't know what is in it really!

However, the Europeans, Asians and the Middle Eastern cultures who have been using essential oils and botanical extracts for thousands of years do have some guidelines! And the companies who are serious about providing real therapeutic grade essential oil to their customers test their batches and use those standards.

The Association French Normalization Organization Regulation (AFNOR) standards or ISO certification (ISO standards) has the most reliable chemical constituent indicators of whether oil is therapeutic or not. However, no organization regulates whether a company is meeting those standards or not; so it is up to the company to test each batch of distilled oil to make sure that it meets the standard!

As you can imagine testing is very costly in addition to the harvesting and distillation costs. As a matter of fact, the GC equipment isn’t standard equipment either. It must have a column length of 50 or 60 meters to accurately determine the oil constituents according to the certification process!

Did you know that most Laboratories in the United States use a 30 meter column for most Standardized Testing? Yes, and this is absolutely acceptable for testing water, soil and sediment samples, but it is not good enough for analyzing essential oils.

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How are essential oils extracted?

There are many different ways to extract essential oils and again these help separate the therapeutic grade essential oils with perfume or aromatherapy grade for sure.

Carbon-dioxide extraction and distillation methods where solvents are used are commercially manufactured processes that use chemicals to enhance or quicken the distillation process. It is a less expensive process and the oils are considered adulterated (changed). These oils will still contain a portion of the solvent and can be dangerous when used for therapeutic reasons, so please be careful! This is how 98% of the manufactured essential oils including the perfume quality oils are made!

Distillation through steam is a very slow process and is carried out at low temperatures to maintain the quality and therapeutic benefits of the oil. Distillation temperatures, length of time the oil is distilled and the type of condenser used all have an enormous impact on the quality of the oil!

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Essential oils SAFETY must always be considered. What are Aromatherapy Models?

There are three models or schools of thought for Aromatherapy: German, British and French. They differ in how the oils are applied to the body and used (application methods). And essential oils safety is definitely approached very differently.

The German aromatherapy model emphasizes the inhalation of essential oils. Studies have shown that just inhaling the oils can help us on an emotional and physical level. And this model alone is very effective.

The British aromatherapy model is very conservative and they support a high level of dilution. Essential oils safety seems to be overemphasized in my opinion; however, they also do not emphasize the use of therapeutic grade oils.

Therefore based on that point alone, I can understand being on the cautious side of things, especially with the amount of fraud that goes on in the essential oil department.

The French aromatherapy model is very proactive and they support applying essential oils NEAT (undiluted) to the body. They also support using the oils internally and for rectal and vaginal implants as well.

The essential oils safety is not compromised and certainly the ones that absolutely require dilution are diluted and the ones that are not for internal use are not used in that manner. But, the French do rely on strong scientific studies an emphasize the use of therapeutic grade essential oils. This is important because once again there really is not a safety concern when using the correct oil that is of therapeutic quality. Most of the problems come in when we use adulterated oils.

The United States doesn't really prescribe to one method and we really haven't led the charge when it comes to Aromatherapy, so sorry there isn't a "US school of thought" for the moment.

These different models because many of you may read books that are written by British Aromatherapists and they will tell you not to use certain essential oils that are written about on my website. You may also find the approach is more conservative. And that is fine.

Many of the oils that the British model considers dangerous, or should be used with extreme caution, many people use every single day. You will have to make your own choice on this matter then.

Again, oils that are adulterated with solvents, are perfume quality, or used incorrectly will compromise essential oils safety. So its about the quality of the oil that is most important, not whether to use the oil or not.

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What other SAFETY precautions I should need to keep in mind?

There are basically two other areas of Safety to consider. They are:

Storing Essential Oils, and
Essential Oil Use

How Should My Oil be Stored?

Keep the bottles of oils tightly sealed. Store them in a cool location and out of direct sunlight. Refrigeration is not necessary.
Keep essential oils out of the reach of children and animals.
Do not store essential oils around flammable materials. Keep away from flames, sparks or electricity. Oils such as fir, orange, pine and peppermint are flammable!

If your essential oils are contained in dark glass and you follow the storing recommendations then you shouldn't need to worry about shelf life. However, exposing it to the air can oxidize the oil and the quality can degrade so that is why it is important to keep the lid on tight.

How Should I Use my Oil?

Always keep a bottle of V-6 or other pure vegetable oil blend with you in case you need to dilute oil if you experience any discomfort.
Read through the individual essential oil page files that has a section for essential oils safety. This will tell you the cautions of the oil. For instance, if you have epilepsy or are pregnant this information is very important. Also it will tell you whether children can use the oil or not.
Remember that certain oils are photosensitive and can cause dark pigmentation or irritation if exposed to sunlight. Again, the individual essential oil files has a section for essential oils safety. So be certain to read through that section.
Keep essential oils out of the eyes. And if you do get it in your eye use vegetable oil not water to rinse it!
Epileptics and those that have high blood pressure should consult their health care professional. And again read the essential oils safety sections. High ketone oils in particular should be used with caution.
Pregnant women should consult their health care professional. And read the essential oils safety sections. Do not use fennel, hyssop and sage essential oils. There are others that should be used with caution.
Essential oils for infants, babies and children should be used very cautiously. Follow the essential oils safety sections. Dilute oils at least 1-2 drops of pure essential oil with ½ to 1 tsp of pure vegetable oil if the recommendation is to use it NEAT. More for those oils that need dilution to begin with!
Do not add essential oils directly to bath water. Add them to Epsom salts, a gel base or other dispersing agent first. Especially with babies and children!

These are just some of the essential oils safety considerations. If you are unfamiliar with essential oils please make sure you read through the various specific files so you have an understanding. Or if you are unsure please consult a health professional

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader.