Testing. Testing. 1. 2. 3. and more??

A couple of weeks ago, I said that I would write a post all about the quality testing and standards that plants and essential oils deemed worthy of the sacred dōTERRA name must pass and meet in order to be sold.

If you haven't figured it out already, this is that post.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME SCIENCE!?

I am kidding, a little bit. I will keep it simple and I won’t use too much technical jargon.

FIRST! Not all oils are created equal

If you are just starting out with essential oils, purity should be the number one thing on your priority list. There are very few companies that sell pure essential oils. This means that there are no fillers, no synthetics, not adulterated in any way, just essential oil, straight from the plant material. This is honestly a lot harder to come by than it should be. Essential oils are easily tampered with and most of us would never know the difference.  Essential oils that have been adulterated can be toxic, unsafe and ineffective, so be sure that you are purchasing your oils from a company you trust.

(cough cough)

So why choose dōTERRA?

In simple terms: Their company and their products are superior to anything else you can find on the market.

In more complex terms: That’s what the rest of this post is about.

dōTERRA is committed to having only the purest, highest quality essential oils that our Earth has to offer.

Did you know that dōTERRA actually means, ‘gift of the Earth’? Yep. Because that is what essential oils are. They are remarkable and do not need to be tampered with, only preserved.  Many other things are gifts from the earth too, in my opinion, but here, I’ll focus on essential oils.

Before we get into the testing of essential oils, we’ll start at the beginning, with the plants.

Finding a proper location for each plant to grow

dōTERRA sources plants from all over the world for their essential oils. This is amazing to me and something that I never really thought about, but it makes so much sense!

Think about it in terms of food. I prefer to buy food grown in locations where the plant that food comes from thrives over buying food from a greenhouse or the wrong climate. There is a difference!

That logic transfers into getting high quality essential oils as well.

If the plant we are getting the oil from is the very best plant it can be, the oil is going to be the very best oil it can be. Or it has the potential to be, as long as shortcuts are not taken.

Anyway, each plant is different. Each plant thrives in a different climate. Each plant requires different care. dōTERRA sources from responsible, passionate farmers from all over the world to be able to find plants in their indigenous locations.

Check out this video about cō-impact sourcing

Many lives benefit from these oils and I love that!

The plants are grown in the correct location and climate specific to each plant. Check. What else? The plants are also planted, cultivated and harvested at the right time for each plant that produces the highest quality oil. Caring for the plants and harvesting them properly is important to the quality of the oil. Again, think of it in the way of food. When you pick fruit too soon, or don’t let it ripen, it can be the wrong texture or flavor. You want to wait until it is just right before you eat it. Same thing applies to essential oils. You want to be sure the plant is at its best to supply the best essential oil.

These practices ensure that we are getting the highest quality and very potent essential oils.

Obtaining essential oils from the proper part of the plant is also very important to the quality and composition of the oil. Arborvitae for example comes from the sawdust of the Giant Arborvitae tree. The sawdust is distilled and produces a wonderful oil that has a great aroma and is safe to use topically and aromatically. However, if you were to obtain an essential oil from the leaves of the same tree, the chemical composition of that oil may be toxic to humans.

It is important that skilled, knowledgeable people are the ones caring for the plants and obtaining our essential oils. It may seem like a simple process but there is actually a lot that goes into ensuring our essential oils are safe, pure and potent.

Now that the plants have been carefully planted, cultivated and harvested, the essential oils may be obtained. Most essential oils are obtained through steam distillation. Another common practice is expression/cold pressing. Again, it is important that skilled individuals who know the trade do this for the highest quality oil. Many factors come into play when obtaining essential oils. Too much or too little heat/pressure affect the quality of the oil.

Once the essential oils are obtained, then the testing can begin. Phew! That was a lot of work before even getting to the testing part of this, huh? Yep. It was. No shortcuts at dōTERRA. That’s not their style. 

Now for the testing! 

Here are the 5 tests that essential oils must pass in order to be sold as a CPTG® dōTERRA essential oil. (not necessarily in order)

1.Gas Chromatography

During this test, the aromatic compounds of an essential oil are analyzed to see what chemical constituents are present and at what level. Each essential oil has its own complex chemical structure, and this test is to ensure that each component present in the oil is supposed to be there and in the right amount.

2. Mass Spectrometry

This test is done to see if there are any non-aromatic compounds present in the essential oil, such as heavy metals, that may not show up on a GC test.

These two tests usually go hand in hand and are often known as GC/MS analysis.

Here is a video by Dr. Robert Pappas talking about GC/MS testing with Dr. Hill, dōTERRA’s Chief Medical Officer.

3. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)

Light travels through all things at a different rate. This test is to ensure that light travels through each essential oil at the proper rate. This helps identify components present in the essential oil.

4. Microbial Testing

This test makes sure that the essential oil doesn’t contain any biohazards like bacteria, fungus and mold. The oil is put into dishes and then placed in incubation, then tested for microbes.

5. Organoleptic Testing

These essential oils are tested on and by humans (the horror!). Don’t worry. They’re willing. Organoleptic testing is where humans check to see if the essential oil has the right color, texture, taste, and other things that may apply to individual essential oils.

Each essential oil must meet all of these standards and pass each of those tests before it can be deemed worthy of dōTERRA’s sacred 

trademark. Did you hear the choir sing, “aaahhhh!” When you read that?

I hope you did. That was my intention.

That is why the trademark CPTG® is impressive. Because of what each oil has to go through in order to be worthy enough to have that label.

Any company could set the same standards and label it something different, but they don’t. No other company goes to the lengths dōTERRA does to ensure that we are getting not only the purest essential oils, but the safest, most potent and sustainable oils as well.

I love that. It is awesome to know the oils I use are safe and pure. I love that I know I am taking care of my family and self with amazing gifts from the earth. I also love all of the other great things dōTERRA does for our local community and all around the world. For more information on that, check out this post or head to www.doterra.com/healinghands

As always, if you are interested in getting started with dōTERRA, please contact me at aubree.kovatch@gmail.com. I would love to help you get started on your journey to a better life!

*I use dōTERRA’s CPTG® essential oils. Any suggested use many not be suitable for use of other brands of essential oils. Always use your best judgment when using essential oils.

**These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. dōTERRA essential oils are not meant to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure diseases.

Lavender, The Queen of Oils.

Oh Lavender, how I love you so!

If I had to choose one essential oil to use (gasp! the horror!) I would choose Lavender.

I use Lavender every single day on myself and on my children in multiple ways!

Most of us are familiar with Frankincense being deemed the King of Oils, which is true, it is an amazing oil! Check out some more information here about Frankincense.

While I am betting that some people would argue that Melissa would be the Queen of essential oils, I have to beg to differ. I pair Lavender and Frankincense together quite often, so it would only make sense that if Frankincense is King, Lavender would be Queen, right?

I use Lavender for everything. Here is what the book Modern Essentials: Sixth Edition, says the common primary uses for Lavender essential oil are:

Phew! That's a lot, right? Here are some things that I use Lavender for on a regular basis:

• In my hair. I straighten and blow dry my hair so I have really dry ends. I spray Lavender (and sometimes Geranium if I can stomach the smell) on my hair. It helps keep it smooth and silky with less dead ends!
• As a perfume. I love the way Lavender smells! So after I'm done spraying it on my hair, I'll continue spraying on to my clothes. BONUS: Lavender is great for relieving stress and helping keep you calm. Not only does it smell wonderful but it makes me a nicer person AND it makes those around me nicer as well. I'm doing a public service here, really.
• In a bath. I love baths. Add some epsom salts and some Lavender oil (Some times I step it up a notch to Serenity oil, doTERRA's calming blend that contains Lavender and other relaxing oils) and I am one happy mom!
• Before bed. I use lavender oil on my kids every night before bed. I either massage it onto their feet, chest, back or diffuse it in their room. I mainly put it on the bottoms of their feet, but I do the other options as well from time to time.
• Teething. Oh. My. Lord. This oil has saved me some stressful nights with a teething baby! It seems like my youngest daughter (who is about 1 1/2) has been teething constantly since she was about 6 months old. I just rub it on her cheeks/jawbone and it helps with the pain as well as helping relax her! Such a win. Also consider peppermint oil for teething babies who have high fevers. Peppermint oil helps lower fevers. Amber necklaces are also great for teething babies!
• First-Aid. Cuts, scrapes, burns, bumps/bruises, bug bites/stings: Lavender. Taken care of. My children are extremely accident prone. They may get that from me but I am not admitting to anything. I am constantly putting Lavender on them (and maybe myself too) for first aid reasons. Lavender is an analgesic, anti- fungal, anti-infections, anti-inflammatory, regenerative and sedative, among many other things. This means that it can help reduce pain, bring down swelling and prevent infections. However, be careful using it on deep cuts or anything that you want to stop bleeding. It is also an anticoagulant so it can prevent the blood from clotting. This can be good in some cases but on deep cuts, you'll want to wait until the bleeding stops before applying Lavender. Helichrysum oil is great for stopping bleeding, in case you'd like to know.
• Sunburns. I felt this should be separate from the first-aid notice because a lot of people don't think of sunburns in the same way as burns from fire, touching something hot or spilling hot liquid on yourself. I didn't for a long time either. Lavender is great for relieving pain associated with sunburns and helps your skin recover faster. The sooner you can get Lavender on a burn after it has happened, the faster it is going to work. I have put Lavender on burns and sunburns immediately after they happened and they went away so fast, I barely remembered that a burn had occurred. I've also waited multiple days after the burn. It helps speed up the healing process either way.
• Stress Reliever. Lavender is calming and relaxing. It helps me keep a level head when I am too overwhelmed with everything. Especially at night. You know when you lay in bed and you remember everything you were supposed to do that day and everything you're supposed to do tomorrow and you're contemplating the world and the meaning of life when all you want to do is sleep? Yeah, Lavender helps with that.

Here is a dōTERRA blog about Lavender Essential oil.

Lavender is great for so many things and those are just a few of the reasons I use Lavender on a regular basis.

So three cheers for the Queen! I bow in your greatness, Lavender.

How do you like to use Lavender oil?

Did you see something here that caught your eye and now you want to try it?

If you need a sample of Lavender, contact me! I'd be happy to get you hooked on this wonderful oil :)

*These statements have not been approved by the FDA. dōTERRA products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease

**Some of these statements may be based on opinion and personal experience. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your physician before starting the use of essential oils.

The Difference

I want to take a minute to tell you guys why I chose dōTERRA to be the essential oil company for my family.

When it comes to choosing a company, especially in network marketing, you are always going to be bombarded with a ton of information on why this company is the best and why you should choose them. What you need to do is find the company that identifies with you the most. For me, that was dōTERRA and I want to tell you why I love this company. No, let me rephrase that, I want to tell you why I am passionate about this company!

When I was trying to find an essential oil company or brand for my family and I, I did a lot of research. At the time the thing that was important to me was purity. I knew that it was hard to find pure essential oils and that was what I wanted.

I found dōTERRA. They are committed to having only the purest, safest oils on the market. Not only that, they go a step further insuring that they are the most potent as well. They do this through ensuring that their oils are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG®). At first, this didn’t mean much to me. CPTG® is a trademark to dōTERRA so at first I thought that it didn’t really mean anything. Most essential oil companies have a trademark grade of what their oils are. The FDA, or any other governing source, does not grade essential oils like other things such as meats. There isn’t much monitoring when it comes to essential oils at all actually, so let me explain to you why CPTG® started meaning something to me. It is because of the standards and tests that the oils have to pass in order to be labeled CPTG®. So, it’s not so much the label that is impressive, to me anyway, it is the road that leads to the label that is impressive. I will write another post all about the testing standards that dōTERRA’s oils must pass before they are sold, and when I do I will link that here. But that is just a reason on why I fell in love with dōTERRA and we’re talking about what made me passionate about this company, remember?

Another thing that dōTERRA is committed to is having potent, high quality oils on top of being pure. They ensure that the plants that produce these essential oils are well taken care of. Meaning they are planted, cultivated and harvested at the right time to ensure that the highest quality of oil comes from the plant materials. If you are a gardener, or understand how fresh produce works, or have done some homework on plants, you get why this is important. Most of us understand the difference of eating a peach (or any other type of produce) that isn’t ready to be eaten or is past it’s glory days. This stuff is important! And it is important that the growers take care of their plants in such a way that a new crop can grow after they harvest. Sustainability guys, it matters. Yet, again, we’re getting off track. Just another reason why I love dōTERRA.

Do you want to know why I am passionate about this company? Have I dragged this out long enough with all this goodness that I just can’t keep to myself? I think so.

dōTERRA became my essential oil company because of their purity. I fell in love because of their standards for testing and sustainability. They earned my respect and passion because of their integrity and compassion for others.

I purchased an enrollment kit, I got an introductory packet telling me all about the company and its founders. I loved my oils, I started purchasing more and more and I was impressed. I loved how they made me feel, I felt good about my choice of company, but the moment I knew, I mean I really knew that I had become a part of something so great, was at my first convention.

I was sitting there in a stadium with over 18,000 other people and some presenters came on stage who did a great job. They got us really excited, talked about some awesome things that the company was doing and that was all great. Then Emily Wright came on stage. She is one of the founders of dōTERRA. She tried to start talking but she could not contain her tears of joy and she was fighting for words. I mean this guys, she was a mess. A beautiful, honest, squeeze you right in the feels, make you want to cry along with her, mess. She did eventually get through those tears enough to tell us how grateful she was for each and every one of us and how she never could have imagined these things coming true and the impact that we as Wellness Advocates were making in the world. She kept thanking us for that and the opportunity we were all creating and it was HONEST. That is really hard to come by nowadays. This was really the first time I had heard much about the Healing Hands Foundation and what they do. This is dōTERRA’s charity organization and after this convention I went home and did a little more research on what they do. I loved everything I saw and read. I came down with the Emily disease and just cried because of how grateful I am to be apart of something so great. Even if my part, right now, is extremely small.

“Healing Hands seeks to bring healing and hope to the world, for lives free of disease and poverty, and to ultimately empower impoverished communities with the tools needed to become self-reliant.” -excerpt from the Healing Hands Mission

dōTERRA does something they call cō-impact sourcing. In short, cō-impact sourcing provides a steady, high quality oil for us as the consumers and a steady, fair paycheck for the growers. dōTERRA works closely with their growers to ensure that not only is the oil being produced is the highest of quality, but that those who are growing and caring for the plants have a better quality of life as well.

Here is a video about sourcing Vetiver oil and how the improved the lives of the growers in Haiti by helping them get clean drinking water for their village.

https://youtu.be/pFYFgNSxYxk

Right now, in the month of May 2015, the Healing Hands Foundation is raising money for relief in Nepal and dōTERRA is going to match those donations up to $500,000. Every cent going to those in need.

The Healing Hands Foundation is an amazing charity from a wonderful company who truly cares about people. If you would like more information about the Healing Hands Foundation or about other projects that they have done and upcoming projects as well, check out www.doterra.com/healinghands. I suggest having tissues ready and maybe not be wearing mascara that gets all in your eyes and all over your face when you cry. I may be speaking from experience here. From the link you can find more information or donate if you do not have a wholesale account. If you do have a wholesale account and are not sure how to donate, please contact me! I'll show you the many ways of how you can donate.

The love, the caring, the support, the commitment to making this world a better place that dōTERRA has is what makes me so passionate about this company. I am proud to be a part of such a positive movement, even if my part is small right now. dōTERRA is changing the lives of so many every day in such a positive way. From providing us as consumers with high quality products that work, to giving financial freedom and allowing us to accomplish our dreams to it’s distributors, to providing help and care to those who need it to become self reliant, and in so, so many other ways, dōTERRA is changing lives, and that is a movement I can get behind. I have loved every step on this journey. That, to me, is the dōTERRA difference.