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With essential oils gaining in popularity and becoming more mainstream I feel it’s important to share some of the knowledge on the topic that I’ve picked up in my years as a massage therapist. Let me start by saying I have been a massage therapist for 9 years this June and have been using essential oils for just as long. I have had aromatherapy training and have done A LOT of research on essential oils.
Here are just a few things you should know as you consider use of essential oils:
-Not all brands are equal. A lot of the “essential oils” out there aren’t even derived from the plants they are named after but are synthetic fragrances. With time and experience one can tell the difference between the real deal and a fake by the way they smell, I know I can. Be sure you know what you are getting. Some brands don’t even try to hide it, the description may even say “fragrance” or “perfume” but other’s might not be so open.
-Not all companies, regardless of purity, share proper safety information. Ingesting essential oils without professional guidance, using them in the eyes or using them directly on your skin without dilution are not safe practices. These uses can be harmful, have lasting health effects and can even be deadly. Certain essential oils are not at all safe to be used in the aforementioned manners, the company/brand name of the essential oil does not matter. For instance, Eucalyptus, should never be ingested. If you want to add grapefruit, lemon or mint to your water or a drink use the fruit or muddle a mint leaf from a mint plant, don’t use essential oils. It is so important to do your research and have knowledge. I don’t recommend these practices at all, with any brand, regardless of how “pure” or “therapeutic grade” they claim to be. Read this section regarding the term “therapeutic grade” from an essential oil company website:
“There is no such grading system for essential oils. Companies sometimes use this term in marketing to try to differentiate aromatherapy oils from essential oils used in flavoring and food. Aromatherapy oils should be pure, complete and unadulterated high quality oils. But because the term “therapeutic grade” isn’t based on established standards or regulation, it can be — and often is — used without regard to the quality of the oil.”
Aura Cacia Safety
-Beware of the sales rep for some of these EO companies. They are more than likely NOT doctors, nurses, aromatherapists or any other health care professional that is legally allowed to determine what is right to take for health issues. Just the other day I read a scary post on Facebook, regarding a sales rep giving an individual a sample of a “digestion” essential oil and told her to put it in her water and drink it. Thankfully the individual exercised some common sense by researching the ingredients of the sample, because the sales rep gave them no info, ingredients list or dosage information along with the sample. The individual found out this “digestion” blend contained an ingredient that they are highly allergic to and had they ingested it as the sales rep told them to it would have put this person in the hospital.
-MLM (multi-level marketing companies) have elevated pricing. Just because an essential oil is labeled “pure” and highly priced does not mean it is any better than a less commercialized brand. In fact other brands are going to cost less because they don’t have to provide incentives for all the people who sign up to sell the companies products to their friends and family.
My intentions of this post are not to deter or scare anyone off from essential oils, but in fact the opposite. I love essential oils, they are from nature and have some great benefits. I just want everyone to be informed and exercise caution and safety when using them. Do your own research. And be especially careful using them on children! Always dilute with a carrier oil. Here are some great sources with good information on essential oils:
–Aromahead
–Aromaweb – Recipes/dilution info, Blends for various uses
– Facebook Group: Using Essential Oils Safely
-And this image from Plant Therapy:
Here is my stash of essential oils:
You can see that majority of them are Aura Cacia. I love these oils. They’re of good quality, they passed third party testing when others didn’t and they are affordable. They share great safety information and awesome recipes on their website. I also like Mountain Rose Herbs and Plant Therapy brand essential oils.
If you have any questions you can always ask me. If you would like to place an order for Aura Cacia or Plant Therapy I can help you with that and help you save on shipping costs.
Again, just do your research, be smart and stay safe!
