Superior quality pure essential oils are complex volatile aromatic substances distilled from specific species of plants, trees and roots. The reason why fungus, bacteria and viruses cannot mutate in the presence of therapeutic-grade essential oils is due to their complexity. With that in mind, I’m going to share with you a few of the easy things I know that will help you buy the best essential oils like a pro.
Have you ever noticed someone wearing perfume, aftershave, or perhaps scented laundry products (detergent, dryer sheets, etc.), soaps, or any other type of scented product always smells the same no matter if it’s 2 inches away from your nose or 20 feet away?
There is a reason why. It’s because it’s a chemical fragrance and there’s nothing natural about it at all, it is ‘one’ scent or a combination of chemicals that make this one scent.
Another reason why the scent stays the same is because the essential oil complex compounds have been destroyed in during processing – heat is always a destroyer of essential oil compounds and the reason why we shouldn’t use heat-type diffusers when diffusing our superior quality essential oils.
Over the years, I have been to many health food stores and when I’m in the mood for entertaining myself I will stop by the aromatherapy section and do some sniffing. While doing this never fails to make me feel like a detective sniffer dog, I at least walk away knowing what’s being sold out there… as you probably know by now, all man-made chemicals are toxic and are a significant contributor to allergies and other sensitivities.
Essential oils are NEVER distilled from:
Strawberries, blueberries, lilac, melon, papaya, ocean or sea breezes, coconut, chocolate, gardenia, banana, springtime, the beach, linen, and the list goes on and on… imagine sitting in a room with me with the TV on and an air freshener commercial comes on! These and many others, are always created from chemicals. Always!
Additionally, you can be 100 percent certain that any air freshener sold in any store contains the worst possible quality of essential oil. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) consumer demand for cheap products, and 2) shareholders demand for more and more profits. They could care less about the quality of the ingredients going into a product.
4 Steps on How To Smell Test an Essential Oil
This is one of the easiest ways to help the novice determine if an essential oil is really what it claims on the label. If you have a bottle of aromatherapy or fragrance oils go get it now and follow the instructions below and see what you discover.
- Open the cap and hold the bottle down near the navel, and inhale. What do you smell? Take note of what it smells like.
- Move the bottle upwards about 3-5 inches and inhale again. What does that same bottle of essential oil smell like now? Take note of what it smells like.
- Move the bottle upward another 3-5 inches closer to your nose, What does it smell like now? Take note of what it smells like.
- Move the bottle upwards another 3 inches or so, now it should be about 2-3 inches away from the nose. Inhale. What does it smell like now? Take note of what it smells like.
What did you discover?
Did the scent change a lot every inch of the way? Or, did it pretty much stay the same?
If the scent changed a lot every inch of the way that means the essential oil that you’re smell testing has more than likely been distilled properly and contains its complex properties.
If the scent pretty much stayed the same, or stayed exactly the same, you can now be 100 percent certain the essential oil is in fact NOT a 100% pure and unadulterated essential oil.
I only use and recommend the highest quality essential oil I have found to date, Young Living Essential Oils. It over-shadows all brands on the market. I have been so impressed by the quality that I became a distributor and this is what I do full-time. I would use and recommend the Young Living brand even if I wasn’t a distributor.
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February 9, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Doneta
I just did the test with YL lavender and peppermint, and they both smelled the same at every step. Maybe my nose isn’t as discerning?
February 9, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Evelyn Vincent
Hi Doneta, I just did it with my peppermint, there’s a big difference. So much so that it doesn’t even smell like the same scent that I smelled prior to moving it up a bit. But yes, you are right, we each do have different sense of smell. I’m sure my nose isn’t nearly as good as Gary Young’s or other people who specialize in scents, like a sommelier for wine. I don’t really know if ones sense of smell can be heightened to obtain the experience or not. I do know that those who do have a good sense of smell can ‘train’ so they become experts. Sorry that you didn’t have the experience, it’s a fun one! ~ Evelyn