About Essential Oils

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are naturally occurring aromatic compounds found in the seeds, roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers and fruit of plants; they can be both beautiful and pungent fragrances and give plants their distinctive smells. The specific aromatic properties of essential oils are what makes plants attractive to insects and animals so they play an important role in plant pollination. The smell of essential oils can also act as a natural deterrent and, as they contain antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties, they also play a role in protecting the health of plants.

But the benefits are not confined to plants; essential oils have been used in health care, food preparation, beauty treatments and religious ceremonies since 4000BC. In ancient times plants were the only available medicine and they were used in a wide variety of ways. So making use of nature’s own “medicine cabinet” is a no-brainer for someone like me, looking for natural solutions to health care whenever possible!

The benefits of using Essential Oils

I have been using essential oils for a number of years now and just love how versatile they are. I use them in my personal care routines, for repelling insects, to help clear airways, in my house cleaning products and even in my cooking amongst many other uses. I particularly find essential oils to be helpful with seasonal threats and infections making them a powerful asset indeed.

Essential oils can aid digestion, lessen pain, boost mood and memory, decrease inflammation and support a healthy immune response, and they do all this - naturally. 

So you can see there are many beneficial uses of essential oils, which is why I use them and advocate their use.

These are my top five uses:

1) A natural sedative to help promote better sleep

2) A natural chemical free insect repellent for my dog

3) For chemical free cleaners in my dogs feeding area

4) For cleaning my house – which includes my toilets

5) For helping with both physical, mental and emotional support 

Not all essential oils are are equal

The essential oil industry is not as it should be, with between 80-90% of the essential oils available on the global market regularly being found to be either contaminated or adulterated. That means there is other substances in these bottles of essential oil that do not belong there - and therefore will dramatically impact the therapeutic value and benefits of that oil. So how can you be sure you are buying the 10-20% of essential oils that are a true therapeutic grade? 

Dr Scott A Johnson quotes in his book ‘Medicinal Essential Oils’ some helpful questions to ask that will guide and direct you: 

• Check the company has the expertise to extract the essential oils from the plant matter. This is the vendors and suppliers and not the retailers

• Check the company utilises published research and data, and takes a clinical approach 

• Check the company’s relationship with the farmers and cultivation process, and who inspects them

• Check the company has third party testing facilities plus in-house educated scientists to read and understand the test results

• Check what tests the company uses, you need more than GC/MS to determine purity and clinical value

• Check the oils smell similar to the natural plants themselves, slight variations are expected from batch to batch. It the oils don’t smell exactly like the plant but smell exactly the same as the last bottle you bought, this is an indication it could be adulterated. 

• Lastly, if the company is legit they will openly share all the above information with you, better still reveal the test results for each and every batch they produce before you ask for it! 

If they do not openly share all this information - they may be hiding the fact that their product isn’t the high stand you require for clinical use. dōTERRA Essential oils tick all these points! 

* Medicinal Essential Oils (Dr. Scott A Johnson, 2017, p. 20)

Obtained copyright permissions to use for Oil of Eden

Sourced where plants thrive most

Instead of growing essential oils in the United States (where dōTERRA is based), we grow our oils across the world to ensure the best growing conditions.

Our Vetiver is from Haiti. Our Wintergreen is from Nepal. Our Lemon and Bergamot are from Sicily. Our Tea Tree and Eucalyptus are from right here in Australia. And the list goes on!

How do you use Essential Oils?

Essential oils can be used a single oil or as a blend; blended oils are normally combined with other, compatible oils for a specific therapeutic purpose. The three main ways of using essential oils are aromatically, topically and internally.

Download doTERRA’s free eBook, 100 Uses for Essential Oils, and get answers to all your questions about essential oils. Learn everything you need to know in order to naturally transform your life with the power of essential oils.

Are essential oils safe?

Essential oils have a long history of safe and effective use, for everything from personal hygiene and cooking to emotional benefits and health benefits. When you use appropriate amounts of pure essential oils, they are absolutely safe enough to use at home for yourself and with your family. High-quality essential oils go through extensive purity testing to ensure safety.

Like anything else you’d use in your home or with your children, essential oils are safe when you adhere to recommended dosage amounts and use them within proper parameters. Among the many benefits of essential oils, one major advantage is that they offer peace of mind to those who worry about using chemical-ridden products for cleaning, cooking, and other daily tasks. Essential oils are a safe alternative to many of the products you see on supermarket shelves that contain synthetic toxins or chemicals that could be harmful.

Learning about proper use and dosage will allow you to safely use essential oils at home and with your family, while enjoying the benefits of a natural product.

Why doTERRA?

The essential oil industry is not as it should be, with between 80-90% of the essential oils available on the global market regularly being found to be either contaminated or adulterated. That means there is other substances in these bottles of essential oil that do not belong there - and therefore will dramatically impact the therapeutic value and benefits of that oil. So how can you be sure you are buying the 10-20% of essential oils that are a true therapeutic grade? 

doTERRA’s vision, when they founded in 2008, was to supply the purest, most potent essential oils in the world.  To ensure this, they rigorously test their oils to guarantee they are Certified Pure Tested Grade (CPTG); meaning they are undiluted and pure; free from artificial ingredients, fillers, contaminants, pesticides or other chemical residues.

Being able to completely trust not just a product but also a company is massively important to me and doTERRA definitely tick both boxes. doTERRA Source 130 oils from more than forty countries worldwide, ensuring that the oils come from plants that are grown where they are meant to grow and managed by experienced farmers and distillers. doTERRA works with many developing countries and has developed long term, mutually beneficial partnerships; creating sustainable jobs and providing reliable income in underdeveloped areas. Find out more here.

What Makes doTERRA Different?

When you use a bottle of doTERRA essential oil, you’re using an oil that is pure. There are no contaminants, fillers, or adulterations. The essential oil industry did not have standards to ensure purity, so doTERRA created one. 

Every batch of doTERRA essential oils goes through a rigorous testing process—well beyond what would be considered “good enough.” After that, each oil is sent to an independent third party for further testing and validation.

Pure Essential Oils Pass Tests

If the oil passes the tests, it’s labeled as it's labeled as CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade.™ When you see the CPTG® label, you know you’re using the purest essential oils on the market.

Learn more about doTERRA Essential Oils

To help you learn more about essential oils, I run various types of workshops, either as live workshop, or possibly as a custom live workshops set up for you and a group of your friends. Alternatively, I run online webinars where you can simply log in to the virtual classroom from your own home, and watch and participate in the workshop online.