I mentioned a week or so ago {anyone else feel like September was one big blob? I swear I have no idea where time is going} that I have hopped on the essential oil bandwagon. I had heard of them of course, and read some posts {like this one and this one} from some of my favorite bloggers but I didn't really get it until my friend {and awesome health coach} Danielle gave me a couple samples. I was hooked instantly and now I can't get enough.
If I'm being completely honest, doTerra is the only brand of oil I have tried because, well, that is what Danielle gave me. But, now that I have spent quite a bit of time researching essential oils and doTerra as a company, I know that there is no other brand that I would use. I'm not going to speak ill of other oil companies because frankly, I don't know enough to plead a case as to why one brand is better than the other. One thing I will say for sure is to be very wary of oils you purchase at health food or beauty stores! The FDA doesn't have regulations on the purity of oils so much of what you find on the shelves {and at a cheaper price point} is diluted and it's hard to say diluted by what because ingredient lists aren't required. The oils you find in stores may be nice for aromatherapy or to use in a bath {but who wants to breath and bath in fake junk?}, but for any kind of medicinal benefit you want to be sure you are buying PURE oil...and that is what doTerra works tirelessly to achieve.
I was going to try and explain doTerra's quality control in my own words, but really, doTerra does a great job of explaining their standards, so I am taking the lazy road and sharing with you the information from their website.
Essential Oil Quality Grades
There are a growing number of products claiming to be or to that contain essential oils. They range in price and quality and are found in skin care, cosmetics, aromatherapy, and other products. However, many of these products do not use pure essential oils and often use fragrant synthetic chemical substitutes to dilute or replace more expensive essential oil extracts. Furthermore, there are no current regulatory standards for the descriptive use of the "therapeutic grade" for products labeled as essential oils.
The CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®* mark represents dōTERRA's own internal standards for sourcing and testing pure aromatic botanical extracts using independent testing laboratories. The dōTERRA brand and registered CPTG mark represent dōTERRA's guarantee of pure essential oil extracts that meet high standards for both purity and material composition and accurate product labeling.
dōTERRA's therapeutic-grade essential oils are pure natural aromatic compounds carefully extracted from plants. They do not contain fillers or artificial ingredients that would dilute their active qualities. Proper extraction and quality control methods also ensure that dōTERRA's essential oils are free of any contaminants such as pesticides or other chemical residues. In addition to being pure and natural, dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are subjected to further quality testing that ensures the correct composition of the active natural compounds found in each oil. Even though an essential oil may be pure, if the right species or part of a plant has not been used, or if the plant has not been grown in the right environment or harvested at the right time, or if it has not been distilled under the right conditions, the natural chemical makeup of the extraction will not provide as predictable and powerful a benefit. In some cases, the wrong plant harvested at the wrong time may result in an extract that contains harmful levels of some constituents.
dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are guaranteed to be pure and natural and free of synthetic compounds or contaminates. They are subjected to rigorous mass spectrometry and gas chromatography testing to ensure extract composition and activity. dōTERRA's pure essential oils represent the safest and most beneficial essential oils available today.
The amount of testing these oils go through really gives me piece of mind when using them on myself and my family and I particularly love that the oils are extracted from plants grown in their ingenious region...I'm sure I could grow an orange in Minnesota but I'd be willing to bet an orange grown in Florida is going to look better, smell better and taste better!
If you have any questions feel free to email me any time! Otherwise, hit the button to browse, shop & learn more!
