Why Is It Important to Use High Quality Essential Oils & How To Spot Fakes | Top 15 Essential Oils Questions Learn more about Plant Therapy Essential Oils:
We're going to answer your top essential oil questions so you can get the most out of your oils.
This is the second video in this series and is about why it’s important to use high quality essential oils, and generally help you understand what to look out for when shopping for essential oils. In the previous video we discussed what essential oils are.
Essential oil grades explained/Food Grade oils explained
Lots of people ask us what the difference is between food grade and therapeutic grade essential oils. The answer is that since there isn't an official grading process...there is no real difference! It might sound counter-intuitive, but there is actually no official grading of essential oils in the United States.
The term “Therapeutic grade” is a marketing term in the essential oil industry! So instead, when you’re deciding where to buy your essential oils you should be looking for quality and purity.
The FDA doesn’t actually do grading for quality of essential oils. The FDA does have a list of herbs, including some essential oils, which are “generally recognized as safe” (or GRAS for short). This applies to food items, and assumes oils will be used for flavor only and not nutrition, but that is as far as it goes. This is a food grade standard for food flavoring and not a standard for taking essential oils internally for medicinal purposes.
Some essential oils can be used in cooking! But like all other ways of using oils, the oil you choose to use will dictate what is safe. To learn more about cooking with essential oils, email our aromatherapists or leave a comment below.
How to spot fakes, and what to look out for when buying essential oils
So we keep talking about quality, but what should you look out for while buying essential oils? And how do you spot fakes?
Well, for starters, high priced essential oils don’t always mean high quality. However it’s important to be careful of oils with prices that seem too low to be true.
No matter where you’re purchasing your oils from, make sure you check for these five things:
GCMS reports: A GCMS report is an analytical chemistry technique allowing for separation, identification and partial quantitation of individual volatile molecules present in an essential oil. In other words, a GCMS report tells us exactly what is in that oil.
The company you’re purchasing from’s quality standards and transparency.
Customer service! How quickly does the company you’re purchasing from respond to customer concerns? That’s a really good indicator of quality, because companies willing to skimp on good customer service are likely to skimp elsewhere as well.
The essential oil’s label should list the full botanical name so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Your oil should be stored in an amber glass bottle or any glass bottle that will protect the oil from light.
Which company has the best essential oils?
Hopefully we've answered all of your questions about the importance of essential oil quality! Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to see our latest videos.
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