What grade of essential oil are you purchasing? Essential oils can be classified into four categories which you can discover below: Therapeutic Medicinal-Grade, Organic (Non-Therapeutic Grade), Perfume Grade, and “100% Pure” Grade.
Thanks to Nancy, Young Living Diamond Leader, for contributing this article.
1. Young Living Essential Oils: Therapeutic Medicinal Grade Essential Oils
- Pure Therapeutic-Grade Essential oils
- No synthetic ingredients added
- No chemicals added
- Steam-distilled on a Young Living Farm at the correct time and temperature to naturally capture the therapeutic-grade essential oils
- Pure, medicinal substances containing ALL desired therapeutic compounds that are found in the oils!
- FDA-approved food labels. Safe for internal ingestion; dietary supplements. (Editor’s note: The Young Living Vitality Essential Oils are classified as dietary supplements.)
- Young Living has been the World Leader in Essential Oils for over 20 years!
When you become a member to order products, your Enroller/Sponsor trains you how to use your products, and you can also attend training that Young Living does around the world.
As you can see, when distilled, you only get that small amount of pure Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oil which is at the top (gold color tip). With the rest of the oils shown, you get more and more oil which makes them more cost effective but they do NOT have the properties of therapeutic-grade essential oils. Manufacturers extend or alter and add synthetics to make it look like the oils have the compounds that the Pure Therapeutic-Grade essential oil have.
Take a look below at the other grades of oils and see what is in them:
2. Organic Essential Oils: These Are NOT Therapeutic Grade
- Some essential oil companies are called “Organic” but are not 100% pure.
- You can NOT ingest the oils internally.
- Brokers that sell the oils do not grow, test, bottle or distribute themselves.
- Natural oils (organic) and certified oils pass oil-standard tests but may not contain any or may just have a few therapeutic compounds.
3. Perfume Grade Essential Oils: Fragrance-Grade Oils
- Found in most Beauty products
- NO natural medicinal compounds
- Contains synthetic ingredients
- Extended or altered oils (fragrance grade)
4. 100% Pure Essential Oils: Contain only 27% Essential Oils
- Found in health food stores
- Contains synthetic chemicals
- Contains synthetic extenders
- Synthetic or nature-identical oils are created in a laboratory
Dr. David Stewart* said this: “As we begin to understand the power of essential oils in the realm of personal, holistic health care, we will appreciate the necessity for obtaining the purest essential oils possible. For this reason the entire process of obtaining oils must be carefully watched over from the beginning to the end. No matter how costly pure essential oils may be, there can be no substitutes.”
Just as chemists can synthetically “copycat” the constituents of a pure essential oil, many essential oil companies today label their oils “therapeutic,” even though they buy from anonymous brokers and have no experience in meeting any standard at all. Young Living was the first to establish guidelines that define what a therapeutic essential oil is and to create oils that met or exceeded any known medical standard.
“Why I know our oils are pure!”
“Because I have been around the world with Gary, I have been to the farms. I have helped prepare the soil and planted the plants, I have helped with the distilling. Young Living has the most advanced laboratory ever, and Young Living has the world’s greatest consultant and authority [on essential oils, from Seed to Seal process] — Gary Young!
We know how much oil Gary rejects every year because it does not meeting Young Living’s standards. Let the world hear from our voices so others will know we do have the very best!” —Nancy Sanderson
*Author of Healing Oils of the Bible, Chemistry of Essential Oils and other books; former Professor of Chemistry, Indiana State Univ., Founder Of CARE.