The history of these oils is old. Very old. Many civilizations before us have discovered and used them as instruments of healing and life improvement.
My guess is that 90% of the knowledge associated with therapeutic essential oils was lost over time. The reasons are many, but I believe that humanity has always found a way to rediscover what is really never lost. Real knowledge is found in Akasha, the planetary consciousness archive. The right person will access it when he is ready and when the need for that knowledge arises in his life and in the lives of those around him. Essential oils are able to fully replace the synthetic pharmacy that we are so used to nowadays. One single drop of essential oil contains millions of molecules of therapeutic substances. Most essential oils contain phenols or phenol-propanoide, terpenes (monoterpenes, diterpenes, sesqvinterpenes, etc.) and some unique compounds that are found in smaller proportions. Some oils can be the equivalent of more antibiotics altogether, by having an extremely broad bacteriological, fungal or viremic spectrum. There are documented cases where nothing has worked until they started using essential oils.
Life always gives us what we need, not what we want. This is how everything works: our life, the planet, the universe. I am thankful to those who have guided me on this road and that opened my appetite for this lost art.
You find a multitude of essential oils manufacturers nowadays. Unfortunately, most oils are not produced ethically correct. They are counterfeit or diluted (chemically identical compounds of synthetic origin is added to them). A very small percentage of oils is organic and, of this percentage, an even lower one is represented by therapeutic grade oils.
Let’s shed some light on this subject.
Volatile oils. I do not recommend using them even for aromatherapy or perfuming the room. Everything that is chemical or synthetic is bad for human beings to a lesser or greater degree. Any chemical compound that our bodies come into contact with represents danger. Soon we will all understand just how great this danger is. In other words, pay a great deal of attention on what is packaged under these labels. Cheap oils are usually volatile oils or essential oils diluted with all kinds of synthetic oils. In this moment our technology has reached a point where almost any compound can be synthesized.
Essential oils (100% pure, organic). They are quite hard to find in their real, pure form. However, these oils represent just a small fraction of the oils found on the market (because they are expensive and hard to be produced) and are generally purchased by large companies (perfumery and cosmetics) for different purposes or in order to be diluted for commercial purposes. Few essential oils reach the final buyers in their original form, without any additions or changes. These oils are extracted in different ways: the traditional method is through steam distillation, but often distillation is performed several times for the same batch of plants or, at the final distillation steps, petro-chemical compounds are added. They don’t change the look or the smell of the plant, they just extract what’s left of the plant from the first distillations (hexane is a good example). Of course this cannot be called an 100% pure essential oil. Some oils are good, some not so good; it depends on our luck. Testing the purity of these oils is almost impossible for the untrained. The surest test is with the help of chromatographs, but this is a very expensive method.
An easier test, that anybody can do, is using a white sheet of paper. Place a drop on it and allow the oil to evaporate. The pure the oil, the unstained the sheet of paper will be. (For example lavender oil is colorless, neither blue nor purple. It doesn’t leave marks and is excellent for burns, among many other uses. The counterfeit one causes more harm if put on wounds and burns).
Another test that you can do is in the sauna. Place a drop of oil in the water bowl and stir. Then throw the water on the fire (never throw the oil directly on the hot stones as it goes on fire). Any person with a sensitive nose will feel any unpleasant, rancid odor, a smell of burned oil, which indicates the presence of additives in the oil (either chemically identical or carriers). It’s not very hard to figure it out. High or disturbing aromas do not belong to pure, organic essential oils.
Therapeutic essential oils. They are the purest oils with very complex molecular formulas and effects to match. They are obtained very hard, in small quantities. You need tons of plants to extract a few liters of essential oil. In the old days the infringement of essential oils was inconceivable. They were sold as they were, after distillation. These oils can still be found in the world nowadays, but few can state that they are extracting authentic therapeutic essential oils. Of course there are pros and cons, and to be kept in business, compromises, abuse and slander are made. But what is exactly a therapeutic essential oil? Let me give you some details.
- The oils are produced from own crops. A special type of land is used for these crops: organic soil, on which no chemicals or fertilizers have been used and on which no other plants have been cultivated.
- These crops are constantly monitored: soil, air, water (water comes from springs, mountains, deep wells, etc).
- Plants are harvested in the right time (the exact period and time of the day). A few hours difference in harvesting can give you a different concentration of the constituent oils. It’s a whole science.
- The plants are immediately taken away for distillation by special trucks. The distilleries have been built near the plantations and they are fully equipped with ultra-computerized upgraded systems which are used for monitoring the distillation process: as slow as possible, at optimal vaporization and condensation temperature, with the sole purpose of keeping intact the molecular structure of the THERAPEUTIC oils.
- These molecular structures are very fragile and therefore only through a careful distillation process that takes place only once, therapeutic essential oil may be obtained.
- The oil obtained is tested in different ways and on different devices, especially with the help of spectral chromatographs (on gas or other types of spectral chromatographs).
Therapeutic essential oils have a long documented history of positive effects in areas or conditions where anything else didn’t work. The complexity of each oil is very high. There are oils that have dozens or even hundreds of compounds in their molecular structure. It is exactly these complex compounds that work synergistically in order to induce the healing effect observed by researchers, physicians, naturopaths or healers.
Some of the producers that I have tested:
Cozac Plant – Essential oils produced in Romania by some very passionate people. Distilled with great attention and care, using only water as a solvent (also for washing the extraction tanks). Unfortunately I do not think they’ll be on the market for long, since marketing, presentation and promotion is not something they put their attention to. I would like to support them because their oils are very good and clean. They don’t have a wide range of oils, but the ones the have are worth it. They have my vote.
Fares – They are a Romanian company, but I don’t know exactly which is the source of their oils because it’s not written on their website. The extraction method appears to be distillation. From what I have personally tested, they have very effective oils, for internal use as well. I’ve used them internally with moderation, of course. The use of the oils is presented in detail on their website.
Young Living – They have perfected a patented technology process (TM) that ensures the therapeutic quality from seed to seal, being the only company that I know of that certifies the internal use of oils (Each type of essential oil can be used internally only in very small amounts or diluted with vegetable oil and only in certain quantities and conditions).
They say that their oils are the best in the world and that they meet all the quality conditions listed above.
Some agree to this statement, some don’t. I say that their oils are good and worth using them. The degree of purity is high, but so is the price. I think this is partly because they have a multi level marketing system, but if they really are as good as they advertise them, then at least 75% of the price is justified. However, they do have some oils that are unique in the world, such as Sacred Frankincense and some very interesting blends. You cannot find these oils anywhere in the world, so they are the source.
Moksha Lifestyle – A very interesting company that I have recently discovered, but which has earned a place of honor in my classification. Founded in Austria, with its headquarters and organic crops in India, Moksha attracted my attention from the first oil testing. They are producing 100% pure therapeutic essential oils (80% of the materials used come from their own culture), they have good prices and the quality is good. How good? Time will show it, because I don’t have a chromatograph in my back yard and I have stopped believing what anyone is saying, unless I don’t test it. I like them very much. You can feel that they are pure.
They also have interesting Fragrances, for those of you who want something else than pure therapeutic grade essential oils.
There is a lot more to be said on thi s subject, but the purpose of this article is to provide some general information and some clean and reliable sources for those of you who want to use therapeutic essential oils.
I am waiting for your suggestions and opinions, of those who have experienced or studied this field that is gaining more and more confidence in people’s hearts.
Nature can give us everything we need in order to heal. Essential oils represent the medicine of the future, or at least an essential part of it, alongside with vibrational medicine. And this is how we went back to our roots, but in a different way.
1 comment