I get asked for my opinion on Young Living and doTERRA every time I mention essential oils. In fact, I think most people assume I’m about to hit them with a sales pitch for YL or DT the second I start talking about oils. For the record, I do not sell either and never will.
If you’re unfamiliar with Young Living and doTERRA, they’re the two major MLM companies selling essential oils. While I personally don’t want to be affiliated with either, I want to be clear right from the start of this post that this is NOT a blanked bashing of MLMs. It’s not even necessarily a bashing of YL and DT.
If you’ve found a product line you genuinely love, and have the opportunity to earn money by recommending it to your network, how can I hate on that? It’s similar to what us bloggers do with affiliate links to clothes and products we like. That being said, affiliate commissions are typically a much smaller percentage than MLM commissions. And there’s no recruiting people to sell underneath you with affiliate marketing.
While I don’t take issue with network marketing, there’s a BIG difference between recommending your favorite Tupperware to your network and recommending something with medicinal qualities and potential health hazards to your network. Especially if you’re not professionally trained in what you’re selling.
Anyone, regardless of knowledge of essential oils, can sell Young Living and doTERRA.
Essential oils are extremely potent. To give you an idea, 1 drop of essential oil is equal to about 30 cups of herbal tea. Accordingly, there are safety precautions you need to take when using them. Incorrect usage and in too high a concentration can have adverse and even dangerous effects.
To become a YL or DT rep, you don’t need any essential oil or aromatherapy training. Yes, their product info on the website does include some safety precautions and suggested uses. But beyond the information anyone can find themselves, no background knowledge is required.
That’s not to say every Young Living and doTERRA rep is unqualified to make essential oil recommendations. I’m sure there are plenty of Certified Aromatherapists and professionally trained health practitioners who sell these oils and give safe guidence based on a sound knowledge base. That’s great! But there are also YL and DT reps who are making unsafe usage recommendations, and making false health claims (knowingly or unknowingly) in the process of selling these essential oils. This is the issue I have.
*Some* Young Living and doTERRA reps make exaggerated or false curative claims to market the oils.
It’s one thing if you are purely a distributor and don’t shell out any useage advice. I.e. you are the owner of the CVS where someone buys their perscription medication; not the doctor who prescribes it. If you are a supplier of the oils without making any false health claims, and without giving any advice you’re not qualified to give, and who encourages those who buy from you to ask a professional about how to use the oils—then fine.
Far too often though (just search “essential oils” on Pinterest), I see distributors using false curative claims to market and promote their business. That’s not just irresponsible, it’s illegal. Distributors making such claims are one of the reasons why YL and DT have gotten into trouble with the FDA over the years.
Often, it’s not necessarily that the information is 100% wrong. It’s that the distributor is over-promising or the mode of application recommendations are wrong/unsafe. For example: Yes, essential oils X, Y and Z can be great for topically treating psoriasis. But no no no please don’t put the drops undiluted directly onto your skin!
Anyone can Google a list of essential oils good for just about any condition. But there’s a science (and an art) to synergistically combining them and applying them for maximum benefit, taking into account the individual’s needs. Took me a year-long course to learn all the intricacies and I still haven’t mastered everything!
Those making false health claims and sharing incorrect information delegitimize the company for those who actually know what they’re talking about.
Ok but what about those who are trained in aromatherapy and qualified to give essential oil usage advice? A company like Young Living or doTERRA could offer them a way to monetize their knowledge and even turn their passion for essential oils into a livelihood. Right?
As a Certified Aromatherapist myself, I personally actually don’t want to be associated with an MLM essential oil company. Yes, *I* know what I’m talking about when promoting these oils, but others affiliated with the company don’t. And some are even making false health claims and spreading misinformation about essential oils. I can’t help but feel that those people delegitimize the company and foster a sense of distrust around the brand (and around essential oils in general).
But is the company to blame? Or is it the sole responsibility of the individual distributors? Am I throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater? We could argue that all day, but I don’t know that it matters. In the end, the spread of misinformation as marketing is a bad look for the brand, whether it comes from the brand itself or its representatives.
Young Living and doTERRA essential oils aren’t better than all other brands.
If Young Living and doTERRA sold the absolute best essential oils on the market, maybe the opinion expressed in the previous section would be different. Maybe I would feel compelled to sell them. I’m not saying they’re necessarily worse than other essential oil brands. But there are other essential oil suppliers that sell products of equal or even better quality. If you’re interested, I talk more about finding a quality essential oil brand and share the ones I personally use in this post.
I’ve never used doTERRA oils and it’s been many years since I’ve used Young Living essential oils. So I can’t speak from personal usage experience about the quality of them. But here’s what I can tell you from researching the products:
Young Living and doTERRA essential oils aren’t organic.
I understand that depending on the plant, an organic essential oil can be hard to find or not available. And maybe the supplier hasn’t been certified organic by an outside source, but uses sustainable farming methods and is a quality grower. Organic isn’t necessarily the end-all-be-all label, but if there’s an organic essential oil option available, take it.
Some of the quality standard terminology Young Living and doTERRA use were created by … Young Living and doTERRA.
Some of the terminology and labeling that Young Living and doTERRA use to promote their oils are of their own creation. This doesn’t mean they’re bad, you just need to keep in mind these aren’t industry-wide standards. Young Living touts their Seed to Seal quality committment, for example. When you read about what the Seed to Seal program is, it says a lot about sourcing and testing that sounds great, but they don’t actually show any said test results. (Please correct me if I’m wrong, I can not for the life of me find them available for consumers anywhere on the YL site).
If the Seed to Seal program is as prestigious as it sounds, then that’s awesome! But because it was created BY the only company using it, I’m just saying the term itself is more marketing rhetoric than actual substance.
Along those lines, doTERRA distinguishes their oils with CPTG Quality Testing (Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®). This is a testing process that doTERRA created themselves, and no other brand of essential oils can use their trademarked certification label. Becaue of that, there’s nothing to compare it to, and it doesn’t really mean much. Yeah doTERRA has the only Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils on the market—because no one else is allowed to use the term.
I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean that their oils are shitty. I’m not saying they’re bad oils—I honestly don’t know! They could be great, high-quality oils! I’m saying that a lot of the terminology serves more of a marketing purpose than an actual representation of the quality of the oils. Thre is currently no recognized grading system for essential oils so terms like “therapuedic grade” don’t actually mean much.
Ok so then how do you determine the quality of an essential oil? Comparing GC-MS tests of the oils would be one definitive way. GC-MS stands for Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, and is a way to identify the individual constituents and substances within a test subject. The chemical constituents and amounts present within an essential oil are what make it interact with the human body in the way that it does. The quality of the environment in which a plant is grown, the climate in which it’s grown, the altitude, etc. can cause different oil batches of the same type of plant (Lavender, for example) to have slightly varying ratios of these chemical constituents. In other words, not all Lavender oil is created equal.
You can look up the GC-MS results for doTERRA oils, but only after you purchase them. (Thank you to the commenters who pointed this out to me.) Like I already mentioned, I can’t find any place to see the test results for Young Living oils, so as far as I’m concerned, they don’t share that information openly. I’d be more than happy to be wrong about this, so please do direct me to their results if you know where to find them.
Some other quality essential oil brands will share the GC-MS results right on the page where the oil is sold. Plant Therapy is one such brand that I love for its transparency. Not only do they let you see the GC-MS results but they have a spot in the report where an expert interprets them for you. So in comparison to a company like that, I can’t help but be a little underwhelmed with YL and DT.
Bottom Line
On the one hand, Young Living and doTERRA have created a lot of awareness about essential oils and the potential benefits of using them regularly. I think there are many instances in which essential oils can improve your quality of life, and because of YL and doTERRA, more people are using them. That’s wonderful, and for that I’m grateful for these companies.
But—and this is a big BUT—I can’t help but feel frustrated by the way in which awareness about essential oils has been raised. Many people now instantly associate essential oils with MLMs. And many people associate MLMs with pyramid schemes and distrust. I’m not saying that’s a correct association, I’m just saying it’s there for a lot of people. I experience this all the time when I start to talk about aromatherapy and essential oils with people. They tense up and wait for the sales pitch and for me to try to recruit them to my team.
If you’re selling YL or DT without spreading misinformation about essential oils, then that’s great—I truly wish you success. And if your friend is selling one of these brands and you want to support them, then support your friend! But be careful about taking advice from them regarding usage and safety if they’re not trained in aromatherapy.
I see Young Living and doTERRA as being in the business of marketing; not the business of essential oils. While they’ve succeeded in raising awareness about essential oils, they’ve also clouded them in conflicting information and confusion (whether directly or via distributors).
There’s also this hostile environment that’s brewed up around essential oil brand choice (I mean … just read the comments on this post). I think if there were a more concrete set of industry-wide standards in place that would resolve some of this, so I’m not implying the blame is solely on YL & DT. But the Young Living vs. doTERRA/Young Living vs. All/doTERRA vs. All battlefield is another reason I personally don’t want to be involved with either company.
And maybe that’s a shame. Maybe I’m missing out on a quality essential oil line that I’d love. Again, the point of this post is not to say YL & DT sell bad oils—it’s not the quality of the oils with which I have a problem. At the end of the day, I just don’t think a multi-level-marketing structure is best for such a powerful product with such potent effects on our health. This is my individual opinion on the topic and why I personally have chosen not to affiliate myself with these companies.
I know this is a hot topic, and I’m open to dissenting opinions in the comments and insights I might have missed. 🙂
xo Nicole
MORE POSTS ON ESSENTIAL OILS:
So what oil brands do you use?
I didn’t want it to come across like I was slamming YL & DT in order to promote another brand so I purposely didn’t mention alternatives here. But I did a whole blog post talking about what to look for in a brand and sharing the three I personally use: https://pumpsandiron.com/2018/08/15/eos-101-what-to-know-when-choosing-an-essential-oil-brand/ Hope that’s helpful! 🙂
I’m glad to finally hear an aromatherapist’s perspective on this, as I have thought the same way for quite a while now. I am not a certified aromatherapist but would like to become certified. I use Plant Therapy but I also use Eden’s Garden essential oils. Do you have any experience with that brand?
Some untrue statements in this junk article. You obviously didn’t do any real research.
Obviously you sell the oils referred to.
lol
I’ve researched AND used YL, Plant Therapy, Premium Nature and doterra. Each oil smells different but do not affect me the same Doterra works for me and doesn’t smell like Pine-Sol. So…I chose doterra but I say “each to their own.”
She clearly says if you have information or facts disputing what she says in this article to share them. You’re clearly just butt hurt because you sell one of these brands. If you had actual facts disputing what she says here, you’d share them.
This article is spot on and true. The only people saying it isn’t true work for an mlm
I did not read your post as slamming MLM but I do hear your preference. I use Young Living Essential Oils and I am also a Certified Aromatherapist, Wellness Coach and Licensed Mental Health Counselor. While I tend to mainly use YL oils, I teach other practitioners about essential oils and my courses are “brand neutral.” I think that the important thing is that more and more people are learning the essential oils can enhance a wellness lifestyle. And yes, there are many people “selling” oils who don’t have a clue but they could be working in the local health food store or selling through an MLM. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s all about finding balance in everything, isn’t it?
Edens Botanicals, Natures Gift are great brands.
I appreciate your thoughts on this matter, however, it would have been even more helpful if you had comments on the overall quality of the oils from Doterra and Young Living. Any adult who is going to take health advice from an unqualified individual is their own issue, as a company, I can’t speak from personal experience with Doterra, only second hand, but they are extremely generous to their customers and distributors, as is Young Living. You may not agree with their marketing, but unless their quality doesn’t match their claims, there is nothing ethically wrong with naming your practices something that speaks to the standards of the company.
I like all of the brands you also put in your link, but also like Doterra and Young Living. Each brand has their unique attributes, but I believe people with real expertise in essential oils speak to that as they educate people.
You make a fair point! Maybe I should have chosen a different title for the blog post, as it might be misleading. My intent was to explain why I personally don’t want to be affiliated with the companies—not to assess and compare quality of the product.
Thanks for sharing this! I had been using YL oils recommended by a friend. Some of the oils are really expensive, like Clary Sage, so I didn’t buy it. I did find it at Whole Foods and bought it but worried it was inferior. Much relieved!
So sorry but oils from health food stores, grocery stores, and department stores have been proven time and time again to have synthetic fillers in them and are super diluted. Just be careful!
You should do some research on these oils. You will find that 90% of the oils on the market are adulterated. One of these companies posts their test results after every single batch is tested. No other company does that. You should probably try and do some research before stating the above ✌️
That’s great to hear! I’m happy to hear they post the results, as I think all essential oil companies should. Is it Young Living or doTERRA? Please do direct me to where they post the test results — I couldn’t find them anywhere on either website. Will update the post once I see them (happy to stand corrected on this).
Doterra has a site called “source to you” where when you get an oil you can use the batch number on the very bottom of the oil to see all are the test results on the particular oil the bottle contains! I just don’t trust any other companies out there! before I started using Doterra I had a brother-in-law who reacted pretty bad to an organic peppermint essential oil I got from the store. I tested the doTERRA oil without telling him to see if he would have the same reaction, he didn’t!! I was definitely sold from that point. DoTerra hired an outside testing company to test all the major oil brands on the market. Yes, about 90 to 95% of the oils out there are adulterated or mixed with a carrier oil. Young living Doterra and one other oil company (I’m sorry I don’t know that third’s name) tested 100% pure.
Yes, DoTerra does make GCMS results available; but only after you have the oil.
Other reputable companies post those results on their public website BEFORE you purchase, so you know what you’re getting from that batch.
That was a terrible thing you did to your brother-in-law. You could have seriously injured him. This will be reported doTERRA corporate.
I agree…her BIL could have died from anaphylatic shock! Once a person has a reaction to a substance, a subsequent reaction can be much more profound! And, in medicine and other research communities, “Informed consent” IS the law…never, ever test anything on anyone without their informed consent. This person actually broke the law and it could have ended very badly for both parties concerned. I would not trust this person…a frightening scenario, for sure!
You should be in jail. You risked his health without asking or even telling him in order for you to market some sleazy MLM and make money. You are a terrible person and I just hope you don’t hurt anyone else with your selfish lust to rationalize a terrible product and malicious pyramid scheme that ruins lives.
holy shit Jeannine
Agree with you 100% !
I’d be interested in what EOs you use as well.
Big fan of Plant Therapy. They post all test results of each batch of oils and work with Robert Tisserand who is the top expert when it comes to essential oil safety. Their website is full of usage and safety information, and they even have a KidSafe line to make it easier for parents to know which are OK to use around little ones. Mountain Rose Herbs is another brand I love but maybe not as convenient as Plant Therapy (you can get most PT oils on Amazon with free two-day Prime shipping). This post goes into more detail of choosing an essential oil brand: https://pumpsandiron.com/2018/08/15/eos-101-what-to-know-when-choosing-an-essential-oil-brand/
Heard PT is good and have some too. Potent!
I have some Plant Therapy oils as well as many from Florihana and Doterra. I love the PT website but really don’t like the scent of their oils in comparison to my other 2 brands, particularly Florihana. Is PT considered high quality or just ok? I just can’t place PT in the same realm as the others.
She’s more than correct on this article. I use aromatics international and florihana both these companies share there gc/ms testing readily . This is the only true test for essential oils. I’m also going to school for aromatherapy at aromahead.
I love Florihana out of France. European standards are higher than any other because doctors actually prescribe them …like drugs are prescribed here in the US
Oh thank gosh!! I’m not the ONLY person who has a big question mark and a cringe when hearing all of the rave! I’m NOT an aromatherapist and do not claim to be, but I have used oils for over a decade and have certainly found some rather off putting ones, but have also found some I really like. I feel all of the classism that goes with these, especially YL, is ridiculous. It’s like a social status or something. “I ONLY use….” Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re SOLD! After trying to like YL and having horrendous service when I didn’t like their cheaply made diffuser, I realized they’re just anothe rbusiness making money and I’m glad to know I’ll keep putting my money elsewhere. Some of their oil blends are nice. But generally, I won’t waste my money on them. DT I have even less experience with but have a little bit of a more authentic vibe from. Overall though, I’ll keep using the ones I feel have company owners who care in the ways that feel best to me. Thanks so much for helping me feel normal! PS, does a giant PLASTIC diffuser with YL on it REALLY make people feel special? I find it artificial feeling, the OPPOSITE of what I’m using nature’s kisses for!
I’m sorry you experienced poor customer service regarding your diffuser. I always do the survey after I call them and am brutally honest, feedback is necessary. I too have had (I believe) 2 diffusers with problems, however I was within the year warranty period and they were replaced promptly. A diffuser from Amazon that went bad in 60 days was a different story, I actually had to submit a video of it malfunctioning to the company before the would refund my $ . I offered to return it but they didn’t want that, just the video. I guess it was a good thing that it at least started or else they would have gotten a video of nothing! Lol.
I would have to say that the diffusers having Young Living printed on them was a big draw for me, after looking at other diffusers I liked the features that YL had plus the price point. And we do have a nice range of diffusers, in price and make.
ACK! Where is the edit button?
RE: Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 “having Young Living printed on them was NOT a big draw for me, hadn’t even noticed, after looking at other diffusers I liked the features YL had and the price point”
Doterra’s GCMS test results can be found here: https://sourcetoyou.com/en/quality-reports-gcms. I believe YL has a similar site.
Also, doTerra has six points of testing throughout their process. Third party provided. It’s only their certification process that is labeled and trademarked. The testing is independent.
You should contact the media reps for these companies and obtain accurate information.
To imply that all oils are the same is not only factually inaccurate, it is quite dangerous. There are garbage, adulterated oils all over the marketplace. And there are non-MLM companies who do provide high quality, reliable oils that you could have recommended as an aromatherapist.
Thank you for sharing the GCMS site! I’ll update the post accordingly. I’m absolutely NOT suggesting all essential oils are created equal — quite the opposite. I have posts talking about quality essential oil brands and which I recommend (Plant Therapy is my favorite). The point of this post was to address the questions I get about Young Living / doTERRA specifically.
They will only provide the reports AFTER you purchase. If they are not openly willing to share before purchase, then what do they have to hide? That’s like not letting you try on clothes before purchasing. Nope!
Hi Nicole, I really think you for your post. pretty balanced. Full disclosure, I am a wellness Advocate with Doterra. I second another person’s feedback who mentioned about sourcetoyou.com that reveals the GC/MS testing on each batch (we do many more tests than this). Many other companies don’t reveal their tests which is problematic.
One other thing we are doing is Prime Meridian healthcare clinics, staffed with doctors and nurses. (Pmhclinics.com) These will help to validate essential oils for genuine healthcare.
You mentioned youvey never tried dōTERRA. I’d be honored to share some to you so you can experience them for yourself. Please email me at racetogoodhealth@yahoo.com and we’ll connect.
Disgusting
Steven, I’m fortunate to be alive after a trip to the ER Friday night after a well-meaning friend gave me a bottle of doTERRA DigestZen and told me to follow the directions on the label and use a drop of oil in 4 oz. of water. Hours later, I was in the ER suffering anaphylaxis. The ER doc and ER nurse said I did the right thing by coming in because it could have resulted in anaphylactic shock. They gave me epinephrine by IV, a Benadryl injection, and a Zantac tablet and kept me for several hours for observation. I was sent home with a prescription for three days of prednisone, Benadryl, and Zantac because the ER doc said the toxins from the oils could take several days to completely leave my system. I heard from an ER nurse and she said I wasn’t the first person to suffer this type of reaction from ingesting essential oils. And, two master herbalist said DO NOT ingest essential oils as they are too potent and you never know how they are processed.
Agreed! This is not a fully-researched article, in fact it’s inaccurate. Start with sourcetoyou.com. I hope you gain knowledge and update this article for accuracy!
MLMs are evil pyramid schemes that tear apart families and ruin friendships. Less than 1% of all MLM boss babes make more than 500 dollars a month with 95% losing money every single month. Do not fall into this scam and do not try to drag your friends and family down with you.
Jeff I agree with you!!!
I do love YL oils, but I couldn’t agree with you more.
A note about Young Living. “Between 2010 and 2014, a few Company employees harvested, transported, and possessed a total of approximately 86 tons of rosewood, all of which was harvested in violation of Peruvian law. ” They also illegally and unsustainably harvested and transported other woods, this information is available on the internet, look it up. I don’t support companies that are shady like that. Did your research before buying essential oil products to make sirs they are sustainably grown and produced.
Did you do YOUR research on this whole incident Patricia?
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your insight. As a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital, I would like to add that large academic medical centers ARE testing and researching doTERRA’s essential oils. All dT oils can be searched via a lot number to obtain chemical analysis GS-MS testing. While I cannot speak for other essential oil companies, nor do I make “curative” claims, I can say when an essential oil company reaches out to third party testers (academic medical centers-without any vested interest in the company) that speaks volumes for their transparency and purity.
Hi. It has been found that the 3rd party tester DoTerra uses have actually been given grant money to do their testing by DoTerra. So while they are technically 3rd party because their grant money is coming from the company they are testing, that they become a very biased and untrusted tester.
I’m curious what your source of info is on this statement you’ve made? Thanks.
It just means that Doterra paid to have the tests done. That’s normal procedure. Just like any service. When I pay to have my blood tested the lab is not biased to give me.the results i want….its the same principle.
Actually, it is not. If I get diagnosed with anemia, I am not going to take my test results and publish them everywhere as a sign that I have reason to shill iron tablets. Some people here have really drank the Kool Aid
I have been buying Young Living now for 2 years but I have a hard time because they’re so expensive. I tried another company called Revive and I have been more than impressed!!! I still purchase things from YL but I Love Revive and it’s a third of the price you dont need an account or to buy a kit you order what you want when you want
That was my experience too! Couldn’t afford the YL. I now buy Plant Therapy: 2xs the oils for half the price!
I personally avoid MLM’s at all costs. I use Plant Therapy .They are the mpst transparent essential oil brand I have ever found in my research . Their products are superior, they have a kid’s safe line, and they have certified organic oils . Young Living is a rip off at how expensive they are and DoTerra are thieves, as they stole all the blends they have from Young Loving. I love my Plant Therapy Oils .
I absolutely love essential oils! My favorite one to use is peppermint for when I have headaches. Thanks for sharing!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com
Just found your blog! I very much appreciate your kind, respectful, and humble approach, as this is such a hot-button issue (sad that we fight over essential oil brands – what a First World problem!)… But it’s always encouraging to me to find yet another aromatherapist backing up what my sister, friend and I have discovered to be true in our personal research! Keep up the good work, Nicole! I look forward to reading more of your posts!
But this article is not accurate! Sorry to say they did not do thorough research. You should for your benefit. Start here: sourcetoyou.com
Going to a company’s own website is not “thorough research.”
Why is it about every MLM babe I’ve ever known says she’s “done her research,” but when you get down to it, that means she’s read all the company’s literature?
Great article! You should check out Jade Bloom. They have all of what your criteria starts and gcms reports are posted. Great company and high quality oils for awesome prices. Lots of wonderful perks too. I just found them last year and have learned more than I ever did with one of those MLM companies.
I love Jade Bloom as well and have watched them grow into a fine and worthy company. Their educational program is excellent and I trust them explicitly. They are completely transparent, third party tested, affordable, excellent customer service and they have remained humble from the gate. I also use Aura Cacia and NOW product’s. Another is Barfut.
There is a FB group of independent chemists that do testing on many oils from many different companies that I find very helpful.
It’s BTA: The Chemistry of Essential Oils.
I second your opinion on MLM’s whole heartedly.
Thanks for the article! I’d like to encourage you to please be careful purchasing oils and suggesting they be purchased from amazon. Please go directly to whichever website you like, be it Plant Therapy, Mountain Rose, whomever. It is SO easy to adulterate an oil and then resell it on Amazon without anyone knowing. There’s no way to verify the quality of your product, and now it’s one you’re putting on your body.
Hi Jo! I didn’t mean to imply consumers should just buy any old oil from Amazon—you’re totally right, cheap adulterated oils should not be used. I mentioned Plant Therapy’s Amazon store because they sell directly via Amazon so it’s not a third-party’s Amazon store.
Hi Nicole- such a helpful post. While I do purchase a fair amount of YL (and think they are effective/quality), I certainly don’t insist on YL only.
**I’m looking for a very specific recommendation (perhaps from one of the three brands you use) on where to find a good Sandalwood!
I absolutely love the Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood from YL, but am desperately seeking an alternative for some of the reasons in your post, and also because YL charges $100 for 5mL. I purchased a fairly well-vetted Sandalwood on Amazon and do not like it. I know there are a few varieties…and if I could find a great Hawaiian or Australian Sandalwood somewhere other than YL or DoTerra I would be thrilled. I’d be grateful for any help you can give. Thanks!
I found Pure Sandalwood for $40 & it comes with a 90-day empty bottle money-back guarantee. All customers are referred by another customer though. That’s just how they advertise. You can go here to learn more about the company that offers it. http://www.melaleuca.com/mtn03
Hands down Young living is the best, you can also look up in Utah that doterra stoled everything from Young living.
Young living will let you visit all their farms they are exactly from seed to seal doterra gets third-party oils they really don’t own any land at all.
You obviously have not researched that court case. doTerra was vindicated. All the claims they made were unsubstantiated.
I find the oils to be cheap and substandard. The reps know nothing about safety. Great oils are not cheap.
I couldnt say it better myself!!!! As a clinical aromatherapist and nurse, I see the MLM companies doing more harm than good. I was once at a seminar where the use of wintergreen essential oil was being promoted for wellness and those at the “seminar” were told to “put a few drops in your water in the morning” the speaker didnt, I guess, that wintergreen essential oil (Gautheria fragrantissina) contains the natural form of salicylic acid….which we know as aspirin….and could seriously mess with someone on blood thinners. Also the lethal(YES LETHAL) dose to a child is 1 teaspoon. The speaker didnt mention those facts because she didnt know them and when I brought them up to her after the talk in a non threaten way, she refused to speak to me. Thanks for an article I can share!! I get most of my oils from European companies BTW.
Thanks for your article. My parents were with Young Living for over 25 years. My wife and all my siblings use and teach doTERRA. Two of our long time partners in the oils are certified aromatherapists. We have been very seriously involved in research and the science of essential oils for years including sourcing/expedition trips to Nepal and Guatemala (Wintergreen and Cardamom Essential Oils). I tell you all this to say that you can absolutely trust doTERRA’s oils… in fact we highly recommend to reach for doTERRA oils first. This might sound a bit snobby or whatever, but the chemistry will back my statement up completely. If you want an oil for your children or any family member or friend, seriously study doTERRA’s oils.
How are the oils from DoTerra better than a smaller retailer when Many of the oils come from the same vendors/ distillers that other retailers obtain them from?
I’m not one to usually write replies but I just could not resist! You accused these two Companies or the independent retailers of making false accusations, however you have made several yourself. As an influencer, I would just ask that you do research and provide factual information to your readers. I am a Chemist 👩🏽🔬 by trade, change of career to a teacher and a doTERRA Wellness Advocate. So I strongly believe that your information should come from reliable sources. The medication you by in the store has varying quantities of active ingredients, and you purchase it without a second thought. I’m just saying, so the GC section was to prove what???
If you have an issue with MLM companies that’s one thing and maybe you should have wrote about that 🤗.
Hi Audra! When the post originally went up, I said up front that I could not find the GC-MS results anywhere on their sites, but to please point me in the right direction if I was wrong and simply missing it. As soon as a commenter did, I updated the post accordingly. No false information being spread. 🙂 Happy to see DT shares that info!
False
I appreciate what you are saying in your article. My upline at YL have many medically trained people who are genuinely concerned with the correct usage of YL oils and research before giving advice if they don’t have first hand knowledge. I wish all reps operated in this same manner.
Sounds like you’re on a great team!
I also agree about the lack of accuracy of research in this article. This includes the amount of testing and specification to determine what will be bottled and what oils are not at the level to be sold.
The article has no inclusion of biological impact of use of oils topically or or internal, even though the research is published. To go on a rant, even though it was purported to be free of bias, is misleading and dangerous. Aromatherapists like yourself are not speaking from a biochemical point of view that would take in the knowledge from other disciples looking from a broad health view point and that makes the article suspect. It is your opinion, and your research is inadequate!
I would genuinely like to read the research you’ve mentioned, especially on ingesting oils. I would assume your references were not done by or funded by either of the 2 MLM companies so that it is unbiased. I also assume that this research encompasses the relatively large quantity, frequency, and widespread uses that these companies recommend.
Totally agree with the exaggerated claims of these companies. And I appreciate your perspective as someone who has taken the time to study aromatherapy. I trust your content that much more knowing that you’re not affiliated with one of those brands. I went to a workshop about essential oils and cleaning. I was genuinely interested since we were going to making our own cleaning spray and learn about different ways to use EOs in cleaning. However, the workshop quickly turned into a sales pitch for Young Living (I didn’t have to pay for a ticket but if I had I would’ve asked for a refund). The sales rep for Young Living went on to make a ridiculous claim. She was at a conference and accidentally ate something she is allergic to. She started to exhibit symptoms of anaphylaxis. One woman at her table was concerned and tried to offer her an epi-pen. The sales rep tried to make out this concerned woman to be crazy, saying that “she tried to give me the epi-pen and I stopped her. She really wanted to stab me with that pen. Instead I just swiped a few drops of lavender oil in my mouth and I was fine.” If she feels comfortable treating a life-threatening allergic reaction with lavender oil, that’s her own choice. But to present it to a group of people who have no knowledge of essential oils is dangerous and negligent. Imagine if someone tried that out themselves.
This is what inevitably happens in all MLMs. The goal is to get more people to become sales reps, not to sell the product itself. You have to wonder, if the product is so good, why would they need an MLM business model to sell the products? Wouldn’t the quality speak for itself?
Plant Therapy is a great company. They’re in Idaho, online and social media. They’re the only brand I use. I switched over from YL. The quality is great, in fact, I like PT better. Prices are awesome, free shipping unless you want to pay for quicker shipping. The have perqs points and have an oil of the week that is 15% off for that particular week. There’s also the oil of the month club, it’s a surprise oil sent to you each month if you subscribe. PT customer service is awesome!
Yikes friend! Im saddened that you have not done any research by the looks of this article. You have misinformed your readers unfortunately and that really is a shame. Let me shed some truth light on the misinformation you have given:
Essential oils are often adulterated and its really important that if we are putting such a concentrated oil on our skin and into our respiratory system that they are 100% Pure and the plant material used in the distillation process is farmed correctly, organic, and never ever comes in contact with pesticides or contaminated soil. Unfortunately the link you posted sharing what oils you do use contain companies that are far less superior to YL and Doterra and if you sent those oils off for a purity test, im afraid the results would be saddening. First, try freezing some of those other oils you mentioned. If it freezes then its not pure. It has ‘added’ adulterated ingredients. A 100% pure oil can not freeze. Its like putting junk into your body. In reference to your comments about MLM reps oily claims to a curative measure, you have elaborated a little there. I know YL has extensive training and education available to all members and distributors. YL oils have a safe suggested use instruction on every bottle and if a consumer wants to use their oils in a manner outside of the suggestion then that is up to their own discretion. As to curative claims, the FDA does not allow YL and Doterra members to claim an oil cures and many posts out there sharing the power of essential oils have been dumbed down due to this mandated regulation. Besides, essential oils are a personal journey. A consumer is given a suggestion on how to apply, mix, and use oils and they are also given access to help lines, leaders and YL research and product information. Affiliate Companies like Life Science Publishers has a plethora of books and informative guides on how to use oils beyond what YL suggests on the bottle. Like any product anywhere in the world….. it is up to the consumer to decide how to use it appropriately and in concordance with their own health matters proceeding with their own caution.
Moving forward friend, I hope that your wellness journey is great and hopefully you will find that making false claims in order to produce an article “worth reading” is not the way. You are beyond and better that. Essential oils are such a precious gift from our Creator and myself, like millions of others, are very happy and pleased with the wellness YL and Doterra has brought into our lives.
I would like to see unbiased proof that the oils from YL are more pure than others since YL doesn’t publish any of their test results that I am aware of.
Why doesn’t Young Living share their Certificates of Analysis (CAs) or their gas chromatography/mass spectrometery (GC/MS) reports openly online like every other company?
Young Living is the best and their oils are different than everyone else’s. That’s a fact. While you can go to any of their farms and photograph current reports from current batches they are working on, they won’t readily give them out online. Giving out their GC/MS reports would be like the most famous chef in the world giving out his or her recipes. The report is the exact fingerprint to their oils and their success. The moment Young Living openly gives their reports out, other companies will modify and adulterate their oils to match Young Living’s reports by adding synthetics and molecules from other species to make them look the same. Then you’ll see companies staying “Look! We sell the exact same oil as Young Living at a fraction of the cost!”
Young Living is the only company that uses frequency in the cultivation process and the only major company in the USA that doesn’t fractionated or rectify their oils. Every once in a while we get an oil batch that smells different. The rain was different, the sunshine was more or less, crop rotation caused there to be more nutrients in the soil, all these things add to the way the final oil smells and responds to us therapeutically. That’s an excellent thing, because it allows the oil to dynamically work in our dynamically changing bodies. Sadly, many customers get upset and say, “This doesn’t smell like the last bottle I got!”
Gary Young, the founder of Young Living, was not concerned with fractionating or rectifying his oils. He cared that they worked, not that his customers liked how they smelled. You would not go to a grocery store and give back an orange because you’re upset that it tastes different than the last one you ate. It’s the same thing! Oils are from nature so they should be different batch to batch.
Fractional distillation pulls molecules out making it smell more pleasing. Rectification adds molecules from a different species or from a synthetic to make the aroma and CA match from batch to batch. Gary wanted nothing to do with this. Fractional distillation and rectification are commonplace in every single large essential oil company in the United States. Young Living will hopefully never allow other companies to have their recipes for success. Young Living Essential Oils are different, and in my humble and educated opinion, the best in the world!
Copyright 2019 by Jen O’Sullivan
Jen O’Sullivan is a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist. Her information is always spot on in my opinion.
Thank you!!! Really interesting to read an aromatherapists thoughts on these companies. I’ve always been skeptical of both (I’m skeptical of all MLMs) and the limited research I did on the brands support that skepticism. I’ll continue to purchase PT and a few others I like!
Your article is lacking in many areas. I can’t speak for lots about doTerra, but YL doesn’t label any bottle organic because they have farms all over the world and organic practices are different in many of them so labeling becomes a huge legal issue. In fact, their oils go beyond organic methods. As far as testing results, you can see any testing results at any of their farms. There are other reasons beyond “hiding something” for why a company won’t reveal results on the Internet.
YL provides so much training to distributors. Much of the training comes straight from the chief scientific officer himself. Almost all uplines teach as well and have been well trained. Most have doctors, chemists, nurses, and tons of certified aromatherapists… in their downline who help contribute. YL oils are used in hospitals too.
Telling people to get oils elsewhere is scary when so many oils out there are adulterated. You said there are better oils out there too. If you don’t know about the quality of YL or doTerra oils how can you say there are better oils out there? Why didn’t you tell your readers a few ways to tell if an oil is not real? That would have been helpful. Why didn’t you tell your readers how to read the ingredient label and what to look for? I’ll tell them, the label should ONLY have that specific oil listed, period!
So many are hung up on costs. What do you pay for a ground beef? A t.v.? Clothes? Jewelry? Quality accounts for much of the price. 73% beef is much cheaper than 80% or 90% because it’s full of added fat-a filler, so they can sell it cheaper. A blouse at Ross or Rainbow… is very cheaply made and won’t last as long as blouses sold at many other stores. Quality counts. A t.v. with remote, surround sound… sells for more than a plain jane one. A diamond necklace sells for more than cubic zirconia. Frankincense for $12 and Frankincense for $70 are vastly different in quality, frankly (see that pun), the $12 Frank is adulterated and probably doesn’t even have any real Frank in the bottle. Most EO companies out there use inferior oils that haven’t been distilled properly, certainly not low temperature, first distillation. They add fragrance, which you know fragrance is nothing more than toxins. They add fillers. It’s not going to have any health benefits and in fact does more harm than good. Oils that are more expensive at YL or doTerra are the ones that are hard to source, require labor intensive harvesting, are rare…
To the person that said he “had” been in YL for 25 years before he left raises a red flag for me. YL celebrates their 25th year this year, 2019.
As for claims about oils, you’re correct, some reps from both companies AND many other companies and companies themselves, were making big claims. You know some of the claims are very true and some were irresponsible. The FDA simply said that because oils are not labeled as a drug, you can’t claim they can do XYZ. However, if you search Pubmed, you can read all day long about the various scientific studies that have been done on oils and the fantastic health benefits they provide. The other issue the FDA had was that you can’t claim oils can solve any specific disease because not only are they not classified as a drug, but a distributor has a vested interest if they are selling the oils. It’s a conflict of interest. I will tell you that about 95% of distributors from YL and I imagine doTerra as well are honest people and honestly want to show people the health value of using oils. It actually surpasses the money issue.
All YL bottles have specific safety instructions, dosage amounts, and dilution instructions on each and every bottle. It is up to the buyer to follow those instructions. When you buy a box of Benedryl at Walmart, nobody from Walmart instructs you how to use it. You are expected to follow the instructions on the bottle.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few points I wanted to address, but hope this lends more clarity to some of the issues stated.
All that I could think while reading this was “YESSSS!!! Someone is finally saying it!!! “. I have my Master Aromatherapist Diploma from ACHS. Been studying EO’s and practicing aromatherapy for almost 6 years now. This is the example that I use when people ask me about these companies. I use pharmaceuticals so I know how to be a pharmacist. I know quite a few reps and none of them have any sort of training. They read the pamphlets and info on the internet, but they have no idea as to what it means to make an educated suggestion. By educated suggestion i mean one that takes into account things such as the person’s ailment, any medications that they are on, the ability to explain proper suggested uses that are pertinent to what’s being treated, and so on.
Not only do I know alot of reps, I know alot of people who use the oils. I have heard the most bizarre suggestions but the worst has to be “Put a few drops of oil in your water bottle! “. This is aromatherapy 101. Do NOT consume essential oils unless recommended by an aromatherapist. Quite a few oils out there can burn. Second, water and oil don’t mix! The oils stay on the inside of the bottle which means that you are wasting them.
Please please please take it upon yourself to get as much education as possible. People have been seriously harmed by using EO’s incorrectly.
Say it louder for the people in the back!
great post! yes yes and more yes!
Re: doterra lab results if its already been addressed sorry, but the reason you can’t a test result without a batch number from a bottle is because each batch is tested and has a correlating report, not like others that will give you one test report for every bottle of say lavender they have in supply line (another company has in the past used 1 report for a pure sample for every batch and it was then found out they were selling adulterated oils under said report that got people sick, im glad for the many reports). As you pointed out in your article chemistry can vary from season to season and from one farm to another. Each batch is given a number, tested and a report is generated so asking for a report on an entire supply won’t work. I can give you several batch numbers if you like and you can go to website or call and ask if you choose. I would think the fact that they use more than one type of test not just gcms (this test only shows part of the picture) would lay to rest the question of purity as the presence of chemicals, impurities and pesticides would show up (not to mention they would never sell such a thing). Plenty of organic labeled foods, products etc have been found to contain impurities or are nowhere close to being organic. I believe in education, i am always looking for ways to learn and teach and i am not an aromatherapist nor were there such people thousands of years ago, medicinal info was shared mother to child, parent to parent neighbor to neighbor for thousands of years until government got involved. Theres more danger in pharmaceuticals than essential oil usage. I never say not to use pharmaceuticals because there is a place for them, but i believe in trying the least invasive safest mode of treatment first, ie pt before surgery, oils and counseling before antidepressants etc. I know that God led me to eos got me off of lots of meds for lupus n fms yes i still use some, sometimes more than others but nowhere near what I used to. I also dont get sick like i used to (from monthly with borderline pneumonia to 5 mild times in 5 1/2yrs). Educating myself and my friends and family was important, everyone i know stresses that. I did much research and prayer before my choice i didnot go into this for money, i joined for my health and my familys and others saw my health change for the better drastically and they joined like me to get them discounted. Im not a diamond or even a silver im low on the ranks and its not about that for me it’s about my health (thought I would mention in case anyone thought i was saying these things because I profit financially, trust me i dont).
God bless
I’m currently working on my certification & really appreciate this very well-written article. Lots of very good info that I plan on sharing. Thank You!!
Thank you for this article! I run into the same scenarios myself. And while I USED to be a DT wellness advocate, I will never, ever purchase theirs or YLO again. For the very reasons that you mention. 1.]One cannot look up the tests until AFTER an oil is purchased (on the Source to you test results link). 2.] Blends are blanket formulated and they will not disclose dilution strengths. You know, as well as I, how important dilution strengths are! Their reason being, proprietary knowledge. 3.] I’ve been to a conference where one of the founders (Emily), states their oils are so pure they can be used NEAT. If this were true, how much processing did the oil undergo in order to obtain said purity, and at that point is it really that pure? (My take was that it was just a marketing tactic). 4] seed to seal is just more marketing verbage. Some of their farms are domestic. Which if you know aromatherapy you know that doesn’t result in optimal beneficial constituents.
Plant Therapy, RMO, and Florecopia are my go to companies for oils. All of which are non mlm. I’m with you 100% and while I might sound a little aggressive, I promise I’m not – just really just overwhelmed. And at times discouraged to keep up with my vision (next paragraph).
I am going through classes as I can afford them through a NAHA accredited program. I’m really just calling, for all the real Aromatherapists to please stand up!
So thanks again, for this article. Your timing is a godsend. Now excuse me while I go study. 🙂
Well then what oils do you use
BAM! ♥️ this post! I have felt this way for YEARS! Thank you for saying this!!
Why are you writing about oils you have never actually tried? I literally wasted 3 minutes of my life…3.3 after writing this and reading this horrible poorly research column
Awesome post❤
I didn’t take the time to read through all the comments, so perhaps it’s already been mentioned. I just wanted to point out that with doTERRA you do not have to sell the oils to buy the oils. In fact the majority of the users are just customers. There are 2 ways to buy – retail, directly through their site and unless you specifically go through a wellness advocate only doTERRA reaps the monetary benefits of that purchase. If you’d like to get 25% off retail pricing you can open a wholesale account, which is similar to Costco ($35 for the first year and $25 for subsequent years). There is NO ordering obligation and certainly NO sales obligation (you have to specifically sign up to sell with the company). Also, as you’re aware of the CPTG standard, that yes, is a registered trademark. That standard that they created wasn’t for comparisons to other companies (although they would encourage others to raise their bar), but rather so that they would have a specific guidelines for their oils. They are tested multiple times and third-party tested to ensure their quality standards are met. Plus they are extremely transparent with the testing. I’m happy to take pictures of bottles with the codes, if you’d like to see. They can’t be any more open because each bottle may come form a different batch and how would you know which test vs. bottle you were looking at if they just broadly posted their testing? They will not deviate in their quality or standards and only source from the countries where the plants grow naturally. All of this is to provide the purest, most potent and highest efficacy oil from bottle to bottle and drop to drop. The company chose the MLM model for one reason, the education and hands on learning experience it provides, which is also what your post is really about – the misinformation that you feel is being provided. I agree that MLMs have a bad rep and totally understand why you wouldn’t want to be associated with either company, but you were also right in that you might be missing out on good oils. I know you would absolutely love doTERRA. The company is solid and stand for way more than just the purest oils, they give back to our country and world in HUGE ways.
I have tried YL, Plant Therapy, Premium Nature and finally settled with DT for 2 reasons: 1) doterra does not have that Pine-Sol smell that the others seemed to have and 2) doterra oils actually help me where the others do not. Not trying to sway anyone…just saying we each have to go with what works for us. Good article you wrote!
I have done years of research and education on essential oils. I’ve used many different brands. I’ve been happy with several in regards to quality and cost. However, there are simply no other companies on the market who’s oils can go head to head with YL. I love Plant Therapy and have many of their oils. However, when comparing, I never got the results I got work YL. So, I researched further and deeper. What I eventually learned was that yl is the ONLY brand that does not double it triple distill their oils. When you double distill (to stretch the product further), you lose most of the middle layer constituents. PT double distills. doTERRA doubl distills. Eden double distills. Etc. Etc. Etc. They all do. That’s not to say they dd every single product in their line, but MOST of their products.
So, if you want to talk about superiority/inferiority, you have to mention the points that really matter. Are you receiving a product that has as much if the healing/health properties (constituents) as possible and therefore paying for a potent product or are you still paying a higher price for 2/3 the benefits? Regardless of your feelings on MLMs, it is not responsible to NOT provide information on what makes a good oil a good oil. As others have stated, the purity of product is extremely important and I feel you’ve failed your readers with your judgement of these 2 companies. I hate MLMs too. I am technically a yl distributor because I want the pricing. I will teach a class if a friend asks me to, but I didn’t ignorantly join hoping to strike it rich.
You are the only other YL user that I’ve met that is a distributor for the same reason I am! I suppose that’s because we aren’t trying to push oils on our friends and acquaintances 😉 I am curious tho.. where did you learn about the double and triple distillation information? Also if one was using an oil only for its scent and not any health properties would you consider using say a Plant Therapy oil in that instance?
I have read you post. I do use Doterra oils, I’m no aromatherapy certified but I do read and research all products before I tell anyone which oils that could help them. I don’t know to much on YL but I have been treated with no pressure from anyone to sell something I don’t believe in. As far letting people know what mixes with what before you put it on your skin, well that come with commonsense and reading. It does tell you and I have always recommend it to my buyers.
I am an aromatherapist and the problem is that most people do not understand that aromatherapy is a subsection of herbalism. If you don’t study biology or botany along with chemistry, you don’t understand the full potential of the oils.
We also don’t look to learn the history of aromatherapy, which is NOT American. It is in France, a country that has a tradition of herbalism for centuries. France is more Latin/Roman in it’s beliefs, did not become an industrial superpower during the 19th century and was considered rural up until the 1940s. You are looking at a every different culture than ours. The aromatherapy movement was in opposition to the German model of pharmaceutical medication that came out in WWII.
If you get any of the old French aromatherapy books that have been translated into English they are very different than our very chemistry laden focus. And if you don’t understand the history of chemical medicine and the big culture difference between France and Germany, you are not going to get it either.
We also don’t study how aromatherapy came to America and our cultural bias of plant medicine and people seemingly “uneducated” giving out medical advice. We are always trying to “legitimize” things and it has to follow scientific medicine beliefs onowhat makes an effective treatment. Things that cannot be scientifically validated will not be accepted even though it actually does work. But again, you would have to understand the origin of modern medicine in America as well and how we want things cheap/subsidized and we don’t actually pay the full cost of medicine.
We are so used to medicine costing pennies on the dollar, that we think the same should apply to oils. Also we use oils like we use OTC medication for evety day aches and pains, so yes, the objection to buying expensive oils is warranted. In France, oils are a part of the medical practice and they look at us a little strange on how we do things over here. They know only the best quality will work for medical treatments and they don’t solely rely on chemistry to dictate purity.
So a lot of things complicate the picture. It is all going to depend on how your society defines health.
YL & doterra are overpriced crap, period.
Your article is correct and great but I cringe at the facts of YL, like many, I’ve done thorough extensive research and I used to use young living until I started questioning things, then I found out so many horrible things about young living and the deceased “dr” Gary young. Needless to say, WOW! just wow, I’m shocked to say the least, I’m
Not putting out in the horrible things about these companies in a comment thread, but it’s deeper than the misinformation and proper safety usage of oils.
Can’t believe these butt hurt MLM “entrepreneurs.” Don’t you guys have old high school acquaintances to be messaging on Facebook? As a medical student it really makes me mad when I see people who have taken a weekend long course or read some marketing pamphlets recommending essential oils, weight loss shakes, energy supplements etc etc. Consumers should be talking to *certified* professional like certified aromatherapists, registered dietitians, doctors and other upper lever providers.
Analytical chemist here. I was asked to work on YL’s spearmint vitality oil and DoTerra Lavender Oil. When working on YL spearmint oil I believe that this is adulterated with synthetic Carvone. There is a very noticeable compound eluting right before carvone (base peak 132) that is not present in 3 other spearmint oils tested (Vigon, Berje, and Global Essence). All three of these companies provided both Natural Statements and Organic statements. When trying to get one from YL they responded with “that is proprietary information,” which it isn’t. This issue has come up in the past, and YL responded saying they had an outside lab test their product and found no trace of this compound (Chemtech-Ford was the third party lab). However, the independent report only identified peaks that were >0.50%. The compound in question is present at about 0.10%. Therefore it wouldn’t show up in this report. In my experience when a company acts like this it means they have something to hide. The report can be found online with a little digging.
When testing the Doterra Lavender oil I didn’t find any sign of adulteration. This doesn’t mean that this oil is 100% natural, it just mean I could not find any sign of it. These signs include looking for both Dihydro linalyl acetate and dihydro linalool acetate, percent of key compounds in accordance with AFNOR, and addition of other sources of linalool and linalyl acetate (ex: Howood oil as an additional source of linalool). I did find elevated levels of Lavandulol and lavandulyl acetate which was strange. They were much higher when compared to other lavender oils. I have no affiliation with these companies, and these two examples should not be used to justify natural claims for other essential oils they sell. Just stating some facts about the results I found.
Thank you for commenting, my vote for most valuable and unbiased information on this entire page that doesn’t require additional research to determine its accuracy.
I would like to ask, have you done any testing for an EO company that didn’t have strange or unexplained findings? If so, would you be comfortable sharing which one(s)?
Greg, the explanation for the higher levels in the DoTERRA lavender *might* be because of the dedicated source of the plants – I believe they use a subspecies of lavender that is unique and not able to be sold to other companies? Don’t quote me but I saw that they are working towards 100% proprietary plant sources so as to set their oils apart and are at 90%+ last update?
Just a thought. Thanks for sharing those results! Very fascinating and in line with other chemists findings.
Are you willing to share where you got certified? I’m interested & found online Arrowhead I think was the company.
I went through the Institute of Integrative Aromatherapy — you can read more about it here: https://pumpsandiron.com/2018/09/12/my-experience-with-the-iia-aromatherapy-course/ 🙂
If the oils are indeed so potent, then why mention that there are better companies out there ?
Excellent article. I buy so many of my essential oils from amazon. Great brands you’ve listed. Many in my oil cabinet. I have a few DoTERRA but I’ll boy the cheapest. As for YL I own Valor. I have to admit this mixture has really wonderful effects for my anxiety and depression. But I’m with you on Plant Therapy, Mountain Rose Herbs and Aura. Myself and my family use our oils for head ache, acne, moods, rest, itching, wrinkles, tummy aches etc. really a wonderful alternative to medicine from the doctors. Better for your liver too.
I’ve been using YoungLiving oils since I was a young girl and I just want to say thank you. Your article was full of really great information and I was happy that early on you mention how dangerous oils can be. Lots of people underestimate how potent oils are and can hurt themselves easily by not doing proper research. My only addition to your article would have been to caution buying oils off of Amazon.com.
Anyways, I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for taking the time to write out this article. I really enjoyed it. I found your information to be straight forward and unbiased and I really appreciate that 🙂
After reading this article yesterday, I was excited to order some Plant Therapy EOs. I went to the Plant Therapy website to shop and realized that their ICO showing that they sell USDA Certified Organic products was dated Dec 28,2018. It has expired! Now, I’m not so sure that I want to buy their products. I contacted a PT rep via the Chat function on their website and he told me that they did not realize that their ICO had not be updated and that they would post an updated one. I just lost a level of confidence in the company due to this important information being expired on their website.
From what I have been informed, Young Living is 100% pure in their essential oils while Walmart or some other cheaper line may say 100. They are not, because in our country there is no true set standard – if there is at least 5% of the oil in your product you can claim 100% pure. Also there is no standard guideline to what therapeutic actually means in essential oils. If a brand such as Walmart’s touts 100% pure but has, let’s say 10% of the essential oil in the product, what chemicals are making up the other 90% of the product. We may think we are doing something that will help our health but may be adding to our body’s toxicity. Seed to seal is that they own the farms that they grow their plants for the oils. They do not just buy from random plant growers. So they can ensure the products cleanliness, so to speak. They dont use pesticides etc. and you, as the average person can go to each and every one of their farms for a tour. They grow their plants in most cases, where the plant is native (for instance the wolfberries are antivirals to Ningxia, China- so that’s where their farm is. They have several farms in Utah and other states that you can visit locally as well. I looked into several types of essential oils when my son began telling me about the benefits and young living really seems to meet all of my needs. They are a little more expensive but I believe it’s worth the extra. #myopinion
My phone corrects words and I try to always read before I post, but it did t work where it says antiviral to Ningxia, it is supposed to read Native* to Ningxia.
Just wanted to point out that Plant Therapy oils failed testing in Consumer Advocate’s testing, 2019 I believe? Easily searchable.
A very interesting article. It exactly describes what I think! Try Bonnie House and Eden Botanicals. I love their oils.
Can anyone suggest a good diffuser please?
I use YL oils for 3 years now, the therapeutic results are absolutely stunning. Maybe some more expensive than others. Also is not true, for the most oils, I have compaired some oils with prices. The oils I use the most are priced the same and even less. I’m from Netherlands and compared Farfalla from Switserland. Everything they say on the quality is true. It is really seed-to-seal. They are the best, no other company works the way YL does. I have been on a farm in Kroatie and also saw the hole distilling proces. Everything is transparant. I used other oils before, but never want other oils than YL anymore. And MLM is not a bad thing. What other companies puts in media for attention and so on, YL puts it in their members. I have a 25% of on each product every month, and also 24% off by just be a member, and free products as well. I hope my point is clear, English is not my basic language. Have a great day you all