Not All Essential Oils Are Created Equal....

There are 4 Grades of Essential Oils:

Grade A oils are pure therapeutic quality and are usually made from organically grown plants distilled at the proper temperatures using steam distillation.

Grade B oils are food grade; they may contain synthetics, pesticides, fertilizers, extenders, or carrier oils.

Grade C oils are perfume grade and may contain the same type of adulterating chemicals as food grade oils. They usually contain solvents which are used to gain a higher yield of oil per harvest. Solvents are highly toxic and contribute to cancer.

Floral Water is a byproduct of the distillation process, a very high quality if it comes from a Grade A distillation process. Accordingly it is of low quality if it comes from poor quality raw materials and or poor distillation processes. It is usually found in skin and hair products.

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A Reader Asks....

Recently an Oils For Wellness follower (and a top commenter I might add) asked some great questions. I thought it would be helpful to the other readers to answer them as a post rather than just a comment so here goes.

PJ at PJ's Prose says:

I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind. =)

If I read correctly, you can use essential oils in many different ways, including ingesting them. Is it just as effective inhaling them as it is ingesting them?

OFW: ONLY therapeutic grade essential oils that are labeled as a dietary supplement are safe to take internally. Look for a white box that says "supplement facts" on the label. Young Living Essential Oils is one of the very few aromatherapy companies in the world that grow, test, research, and distribute these pure plant oils to use as medicine.

Inhalation of oils is particularly useful for respiratory and emotional issues, as well as cleansing environmental air. Spinal or muscle injuries benefit the most by topical application to the spine, reflex points of the feet, or specific injured area. Internal use of essential oils is extremely beneficial for digestion, boosting the immune system, and in the case of a major health crisis like infections, cancer, and parasites. In some cases, all three methods of application of essential oils (topical, inhalation, and ingestion) are interchangeable and may produce similar benefits.

Do you use a diffuser or can you use an oil burner or does it matter?

OFW: A cold air diffuser, preferably an ultrasonic one, is the best way to disperse the essential oils into the air with the therapeutic molecules intact. Heating essential oils in ways such as an oil burner can destroy the delicate chemical make up of the EOs which gives them their healing properties.

Wouldn't the size of the room affect how much of the properties of the oils were getting into your system?

OFW: Diffusing in a smaller room does concentrate the number of molecules that are inhaled in short time period, however the molecules can remain suspended in an indoor environment for several days and are still beneficial even if diffused in a larger area. If there is respiratory congestion, for instance, it would be a good to get a larger concentration of EOs into the system quickly to break up the mucus/phlegm and fight infection.

Would the actual herb/flower be just as effective if brewed into a tea?

OFW: Essential oils are the therapeutic properties or "life essence" of a plant. When herbs are dried 30-90% of the essential oils evaporate. So when EOs are distilled, it makes them very concentrated. An acre of lavender can be distilled into one bottle of essential oil. One drop of peppermint EO is equal in strength to 28 cups of peppermint herbal tea! While herbal teas are certainly still useful, essential oils offer a broader spectrum of therapeutic properties that work in synergy to affect body, mind, and spirit.

The ability of essential oils to act on both the mind and the body makes them truly unique among therapeutic agents. The fragrance of some essential oils can be very stimulating- both psychologically and physically while the fragrance of other essential oils may be calming and sedating, helping to overcome anxiety or hyperactivity. On a physiological level, EOs may stimulate immune function and regenerate damaged tissue. Essential oils may also combat infectious disease by killing viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. All of these things can occur simultaneously, which makes the use of clinical aromatherapy so exciting and fascinating!

Subscribe to my free e-newsletter to learn more about how essential oils can benefit your health everyday!

Yours in wellness, purpose, and abundance,

Jen

Young Living Therapeutic Grade: The Preparation

To achieve the amazing healing benefits of essential oils, they must be of the highest therapeutic grade. There is a huge difference between oils that smell good and therapeutic-grade essential oils. The quality of Young Living's pure and potent oils has established credibility with eminent scientists and medical professionals who continue to research and validate the effectiveness of these timeless natural wonders. Below are the Four P's that help explain the Young Living Therapeutic Grade difference.

Plants

Preparation

Purity

Potency

We covered the importance of plant selection in the last YLTG post, now let's take a look at the meticulous preparation.

Once the optimal soil, plant, cultivation, and harvesting conditions have been adhered to, the plants must be distilled properly in order to meet YLTG standards. Young Living uses a gentle, proprietary technique for steam-extracting the most potent essential oils, which remains unmatched throughout the essential oils industry. This stainless steel distillation process uses low temperatures and pressure to preserve all plant properties and therapeutic constituents.

Using a low, slow distillation process captures the pure essence of the plant and preserves the quality of the essential oils.

To meet Young Living Therapeutic Grade distillation standards, proper temperature must be maintained throughout the distillation process, and pressure, length of time, equipment, and batch size are strictly monitored.

Reported effects of essential oils such as the ones that I post about here on Oils For Wellness are based on results that occur when using pure, unadulterated products. So, do not expect cheap copies that smell similar to natural plant oils to have the same effects. If you do not experience the results you seek, it is not because the oils don't work, but is more likely due to using an adulterated oil, chemically created substitute, or an improperly distilled product. Young Living Essential Oils produces and sources only therapeutic-grade essential oils for inhalation, topical use, and dietary supplements.

To learn more about Young Living and their premium products please visit my website !

Marketing, Magical or Medicinal?

Did you know that they make "aromatherapy" TRASH BAGS??? Sadly, these commercial advertising schemes have created a whole lot of confusion about what the difference is between "scented" versus "aromatherapy". Hence the reason why I often get THE LOOK when introducing myself as an aromatherapy practitioner.The only way to attempt to describe it is a combination of puzzled amusement and skepticism.


Aromatherapy....the definition is so murky these days! Those beautiful packages decorated with a twig and a leaf in the "wellness" section of the store may not even contain a single drop of pure essential oils yet it is touted as aromatherapy product. Nope, those candles don't have any therapeutic benefit either. In fact, they can be more polluting to our bodies and atmosphere than we realize.


History is a great place to find clues about true aromatherapy. It is certainly NOT a New Age idea, but has been the medicine of many cultures since ancient times. Mysticism and magical attributes have been assigned to herbs and essential oils over the ages. As one browses the internet sites that come up with a search for "aromatherapy", there it can be found alongside the tarot cards, magic rocks, and Goddess t-shirts. In fact, a teacher at my massage school initially turned me off to aromatherapy by encouraging the female students to brew up potions to cast evil spells on the men in their lives!

Later on when I was introduced to therapeutic and medicinal essential oils, I started focusing on WHO made the plants that produced these oils with healing properties. As I delve further into botanical chemistry, I am in awe at the sheer complexity of these created molecules which were so compassionately designed to work in perfect synergy with the human body, enabling the innate healing process we all possess.

Pagans and saints alike used essential oils for healing, much like we understand the common use of toothpaste today. The Egyptians utilized oils and spices for their temple rituals and mummification processes and the Levitical priesthood were given this instruction to appoint makers of ointments for the Tabernacle in 1 Chronicles 9:29-30. "And some of them were appointed over.....the oil and the incense and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests made ointment of the spices." What an honor to be an aromatherapist in the LORD's service!