Some
of you may be shocked or offended but the title of this post (and
it's gonna be a LONG one) but there is so much mis-information out
there and I am hell-bent on educating the public about safe use of
essential oils, so this post has been a long time coming. What has
put me over the edge was reading a blog post from a YL rep about
natural eye drops using essential oils. Please read this! I
have years of training and experience with using essential oils
safely and what I know is scientific. I get none of my information
from a multi-level marketing company that only cares about making
money from the gullible. Many of the reps for Young Living (and Do
Terra) are like brainwashed cult members who receive all of their
"training" from the company.
The oils are drastically overpriced. Yes, good essential oils are going to cost more money but in this case you are NOT paying for better quality. You are paying for layer upon layer of commissions for the reps and recruits.
They claim to be the only company with pure therapeutic quality essential oil, therefore making them safe to be used undiluted on the skin. I'm not even sure where to start with this BS! First of all, there are LOTS of companies who sell pure, high quality essential oils and even have them tested to prove it. Second, there is no such thing as "therapeutic grade".Who is grading them? There is no certifying body for essential oil quality. As far as using oils undiluted, or "neat" on the skin-well, that depends on the oil. Very few can be safely used this way (lavender, tea tree, rosalina, MQV and not much else). Their claims with this are all over the place. They say if you experience burning with anybody else'soils it's a sign that they are contaminated. If you experience burning with their oils it's a sign your body is detoxing. Well, how convenient. Sorry to burst your bubble but if an essential oil burns your skin it's because of the chemistry of the oil. If you put straight cinnamon or oregano oil on your skin itWILL BURN. I say if it doesn't THAT is a sign it isn't pure, no matter whose oil it is!
Young Living claims that their steam distilled Frankincense contains boswellic acid. No it doesn't.That molecule is far too heavy to be carried over in a steam distillation. If you bother to do any honest research on essential oil chemistry you will find out that diterpenes are the absolute heaviest molecule that can be carried over in steam and even at that not many oils contain diterpenes.
Young Living promotes dangerous practices. He recommends all of his oils and blends for internal use. I am NOT opposed to internal use of essential oils but, here, you need to understand the chemistry and what you are ingesting. Some of his blends contain Tansy oil. Which one? The safe annual kind (AKA Blue Tansy) or the very toxic perennial? I can't emphasize enough that a substance isn't safe just because it's natural. Petroleum is natural-would you drink oil? Poison Ivy is natural-would you roll naked in it? Would you let your child eat all the pokeberries they want or let your dog chew on the Christmas poinsettias?
We live in the age of the internet and we have more information available to us than ever before in the history of our species. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are too lazy to find information for themselves. I absolutely believe in the power of aromatherapy but I also understand it has its limits. It is NOT a magic bullet for all of your problems. And you certainly MUST learn how to use them SAFELY and with RESPECT. You shouldn't put straight orange oil on your wood furniture and you sure as HELL shouldn't put rosemary oil IN YOUR EYES!
Here are some important links I want everyone to look at.
The oils are drastically overpriced. Yes, good essential oils are going to cost more money but in this case you are NOT paying for better quality. You are paying for layer upon layer of commissions for the reps and recruits.
They claim to be the only company with pure therapeutic quality essential oil, therefore making them safe to be used undiluted on the skin. I'm not even sure where to start with this BS! First of all, there are LOTS of companies who sell pure, high quality essential oils and even have them tested to prove it. Second, there is no such thing as "therapeutic grade".Who is grading them? There is no certifying body for essential oil quality. As far as using oils undiluted, or "neat" on the skin-well, that depends on the oil. Very few can be safely used this way (lavender, tea tree, rosalina, MQV and not much else). Their claims with this are all over the place. They say if you experience burning with anybody else'soils it's a sign that they are contaminated. If you experience burning with their oils it's a sign your body is detoxing. Well, how convenient. Sorry to burst your bubble but if an essential oil burns your skin it's because of the chemistry of the oil. If you put straight cinnamon or oregano oil on your skin itWILL BURN. I say if it doesn't THAT is a sign it isn't pure, no matter whose oil it is!
Young Living claims that their steam distilled Frankincense contains boswellic acid. No it doesn't.That molecule is far too heavy to be carried over in a steam distillation. If you bother to do any honest research on essential oil chemistry you will find out that diterpenes are the absolute heaviest molecule that can be carried over in steam and even at that not many oils contain diterpenes.
Young Living promotes dangerous practices. He recommends all of his oils and blends for internal use. I am NOT opposed to internal use of essential oils but, here, you need to understand the chemistry and what you are ingesting. Some of his blends contain Tansy oil. Which one? The safe annual kind (AKA Blue Tansy) or the very toxic perennial? I can't emphasize enough that a substance isn't safe just because it's natural. Petroleum is natural-would you drink oil? Poison Ivy is natural-would you roll naked in it? Would you let your child eat all the pokeberries they want or let your dog chew on the Christmas poinsettias?
We live in the age of the internet and we have more information available to us than ever before in the history of our species. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are too lazy to find information for themselves. I absolutely believe in the power of aromatherapy but I also understand it has its limits. It is NOT a magic bullet for all of your problems. And you certainly MUST learn how to use them SAFELY and with RESPECT. You shouldn't put straight orange oil on your wood furniture and you sure as HELL shouldn't put rosemary oil IN YOUR EYES!
Here are some important links I want everyone to look at.
The
FB page for Essential Oil University is run by Dr. Robert Pappas who
has an actual PhD in chemistry. Not a mail-order degree, and actual
degree and he is an actual college professor and works as a chemist
in real life. He tests essential oils for various companies,
including Young Living. He is currently testing samples of
frankincense to prove the boswellic acid thing.
In
short, I won't use Young Living oils because they are MASSIVELY
overpriced, and no matter how good they are, I will not put one penny
in the pocket of a man who I consider to be unethical and dangerous.
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