Essential Oils Supply Tips

During this passionate quest I saw many "mistakes" if you will from reading these websites. One even changed overnight from mainly "certified organic" oils to all oils being non organic. They initially had organic certification for a previous essential oil business and were trading off that certification across the board on most of the product range within the new entity. A couple of weeks later I went back in for a read and all for the most part all mention of the word organic had disappeared!

The common things mentioned on the web regarding essential oil supplier trust are:

Common Name, Latin Name, Region or Origin, Parts of the Plant or Tree Used, Method of Production, Safety in Labelling & Documentation (if needed).

This post for the most part will not be about that but will bring up some things you may not have considered. It will touch on to a small degree regional specifics and why that may be important and also labelling but some other points not often thought about will be explored.

• Many citrus oils are folded. This creates a wonderful smelling citrus oil but it is not a true representation. Ahimsa Oils does not stock folded Citrus Oils. They have their place in the market but not with us.

• Are products that fall under the Poisons Standard (the SUSMP) with regards to packaging and labelling mentioned and respected? Is this done for Wintergreen, many Australian oils, the Rosemary chemotypes, White Camphor, Myrtle to name a few.

• Are contraindications mentioned? For example, do not use this blend if pregnant or if you have high blood pressure. Do not use this oil around babies or infants? Please do not use this blend in conjunction with alcohol or if driving? The list goes on and is not limited to but includes kidney disease, epilepsy and skin conditions. Does the supplier mention these contraindications? Please see my contraindicatons FAQ for more information.

• Geographic region is important. Vetivert oil for example, is totally different depending if it is from Indonesia or Haiti or somewhere else. Both are excellent however!

• Chemotypes- Do they mention what chemotype their Basil, Rosemary or Thyme is? For example, Basil Chavicol chemotype is much, much cheaper than Basil Linalool or Basil Eugenol chemotypes. Each has extremely different therapeutic qualities. Many (most) retail suppliers stock the much cheaper chemotype and only sell this to maximise their profits. Always compare "apples to apples".

• If their product pictures for the essential oil and latin names do not match up RUN! I have seen many retailers with the beautiful picture of Star Anise Oil placed on their site when they were talking about Aniseed Oil. Another popular mix up is Blue Tansy for Wild Maroc Chamomile, I guess they are usually from the same country after all. Please be very concerned if they have chosen the wrong picture for the wrong oil.

• When the essential oil is mixed into a carrier oil do they use almond oil or sunflower oil? These carrier oils are much cheaper than jojoba oil but not nearly as stable. Jojoba oil is also generally used in Aromatherapy and has many wonderful qualities other than its stability.

This now brings me to my Melissa Essential Oil test. Melissa oil has a wonderful, enticing aroma. It is often called "lemon balm". Melissa oil is also extremely exotic and expensive due to the amount of flowers it takes to distill the oil. I love Melissa oil and bring it in from around the world in small amounts. To cut a long story short Melissa oil is extended and adulterated (faked) with Citronella Oil & Lemongrass Oil as they are hundreds of dollars per kilogram versus tens of thousands dollars per kilogram. Melissa oil does not smell like Lemongrass or Citronella, once you smell a true Melissa oil it is forever in your memory. Once again, RUN if you order a small amount of Melissa Oil and it is not correct. The suppliers desire for higher profits has taken away from the suppliers integrity or the suppliers knowledge is not great enough and they have been deceived. The Melissa Oil test is a great definer of a great supplier.