Diana Hooper
2644 Moonshine Park Road
Logsden, OR 97357
diana@essentialsoflife.net
EssentialsOfLife.net
 









 

An Introduction to Young Living Essential Oils Part 3
Commitment to Quality


In 1983 I began to study tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia), but early results were disappointing. It was then I learned that there are many grades of essential oils and that most essential oils available in the U.S. are of the lowest grade and quality. When I began using a pure, pharmaceutical-grade tea tree oil in my clinic, I began to see significant results.

Because slight variations in the distillation process of essential oils can produce a dramatic reduction in the quality of the oil, Young Living goes to great lengths to ensure that our essential oils are of the highest quality.

Young Living Organic Herb Farms

Young Living cultivates 1,700 acres of farmland in Idaho and Utah. We control every phase of organic herb production to bring you only the best:

Species Selection -- We select and cultivate only the species of herbs that will produce the most active and widest array of constituents. For example, the lavender we grow is an authentic Lavandula angustifolia, which yields an oil low in camphor and rich in lavendulol and lavendulol acetate (believed to be one key to the therapeutic action of lavender).

Site Selection -- We grow herbs on land uncontaminated by chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides. We irrigate with pure mountain water and use an advanced mix of enzymes and trace minerals to build and maintain the soil. Plants lacking certain minerals and nutrients yield oils low in therapeutic value.

Harvesting -- Because our distillation process is on the farm where the herbs are grown, the herbs are distilled fresh. We monitor the percentage of the plant in bloom, the time of day for cutting, and many other factors critical to top-grade therapeutic oil production. German chamomile, for example, must be harvested in the late afternoon to maximize its level of azulene and bisobolol.

Distilling -- We distill our own essential oils under low pressure and low temperatures to preserve the healing constituents of the oils. Our distillers are made with food-grade stainless steel, which does not react with the oils.

 

Organic Farming

We practice strict organic farming in our fields in Utah and Idaho, as well as on the research farms in France and Spain. To build and maintain the soil, we use a combination of minerals, organic mulch, manure, and enzymes. Even the manure from the exotic animals in our petting zoo is composted with the plant straw taken from the cookers after distillation and recycled back onto the fields. We use absolutely no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or agricultural chemicals of any kind in the cultivation of our crops. A natural blend of essential oils, including pine and cinnamon, is used to keep the weeds in check.

Proprietary Distillation

All of our distillers are built in our fabrication shop at the Utah farm. They are made from food-grade stainless steel to ensure the highest quality essential oils in the industry. Moreover, the distillers are based on a state-of~the-art design that uses very low pressure and low temperature, which is critical for preserving all of the fragile therapeutic constituents of the essential oils.

I learned from Marcel Espieu, the president of the Lavender Growers Association in Southern France for 21 years, that the highest quality oil would be produced when the pressure was zero pounds during distillation.

Temperature also has a distinct effect. At certain temperatures, the oil fragrance, as well as the chemical constituents, may be altered. High pressures and high temperatures seem to cause a harshness in the oil. Even the oil pH and the electropositive and electronegative balance are greatly affected.

In France, lavender that is produced commercially is often distilled for only 15 minutes with a steam temperature of up to 3500 F and up to 155 pounds of pressure. Although the oil is easily marketed and sold, it is of very poor quality. Some people are more concerned about price than quality. You can easily sell inexpensive lavender oil if you can produce a pound of oil in 15 minutes instead of a pound of oil in an hour and a half.

In the larger fields of the world at distillation time, you can see chemical trucks hooked into the distillers pumping solvents into the water already in the boiler. This increases oil production by as much as 18 percent. However, when you put a chemical in the water and force it with steam into the plant, it causes a fracturing of the molecular structure of the oil, altering its fragrance and constituents. You cannot separate the chemicals from the oil after they come through the condenser.

Today most of the lavender oil sold in America is a hybrid called lavandin, grown and distilled in China, Russia, and Tasmania. It is brought into France, cut with synthetic linolyl acetate to improve the fragrance, added to propylene glycol or SD 40, DEP, and DOP (solvents that increase the volume), and then sold in the United States as lavender oil. Oftentimes lavandin is heated to flash off the camphor, and then synthetic linolyl acetate is added so that it appears as lavender consumers do not know the difference and are happy to buy the lavandin for $5 to $7 per half ounce in health food stores, beauty salons, grocery stores, department stores, and through mail order.

Frankincense is another example of an often-adulterated oil. The frankincense resin, or gum, that is sold in Somalia costs between $30,000 and $35,000 per ton. When steam distilled, it is very expensive, requiring 12 hours of distillation. However, frankincense that is sold for as low as $25 per ounce is distilled with alcohol. These synthetic and adulterated oils can cause rashes, burns, or other irritations. We wonder why we do not get the benefits we were expecting and conclude that essential oils do not have much value.

When synthetic fragrance constituents are added, the essential oil becomes weaker and weaker with each stage of distillation. Many people have jumped on the bandwagon because of the money making potential they see in essential oils. They buy cheap oils, rebottle them, label them as 100 percent pure essential oils, and market them without ever knowing their origin or who was responsible for distillation.

Advanced Steam Distillation

Young Living takes extraordinary preserve all the fragile chemical constituents in our essential oils. Plants are steam distilled in small batches for extended periods using a special low-pressure, low-heat vertical steam technology developed by D. Gary Young. No solvents or synthetic chemicals of any kind are used or the cookers are constructed from costly stainless steel alloys to minimize the possibility of the essential oil chemically altered by more reactive metals, such as steel or copper. The results are masterpieces with subtle fragrances, distinctive textures, and unique therapeutic properties.

Essential oils are rich tapestries of numerous chemical components, some of which-even in small quantities- contribute important therapeutic benefits; Cypress,for example, requires 24 hours of distillation at 2450 F and 5 pounds of pressure to extract all of its active ingredients. If distillation is shortened by only 2 hours, 18 to 20 of the oil's chemical constituents will be missing. To cut costs, some processors increase pressure and heat and cut distillation times dramatically. Throughout the world, most operations distill cypress for only 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Even though the oil is considered pure, it may only contain a fraction of its possible complex chemistry and therapeutic value.

AFNOR Standards

Most of the essential oils that we do not produce ourselves are imported directly from the distilleries. I travel several times a year throughout the world to personally inspect the growing conditions and distilling operations of outside essential oil producers to guarantee that the oils we purchase are of the highest and purest therapeutic grade possible. Before purchasing, oil samples are sent to one or more independent laboratories for testing to be sure that they conform with the ISO (International Standards Organization) and AFNOR (French Association of Normalization) standards for therapeutic-grade essential oils.

AFNOR standards state the percentages of certain chemical constituents that must be present for an essential oil to qualify as true therapeutic grade. As a general rule, if two or more marker compounds in an essential oil fall outside their proper percentages, the oil may not meet the AFNOR standards. Young Living Essential Oils labels our oils with the AFNOR mark to guarantee their purity and high quality.

How to Be Sure Your Essential Oils
are Therapeutic Grade

  • Are the fragrances rich, organic, and delicate?
  • Do they "feel" natural?
  • Do the fragrances of your oils vary from batch to batch as an indication that they are pure and painstakingly distilled in small batches rather than industrially processed on a large scale?
  • Does your supplier send each batch of essential oils it receives through up to five different analyses before it is released?
  • Are these tests performed by independent labs?
  • Does your supplier grow and distill its own grown herbs?
  • Are the distillation where the herbs are grown so they are freshly distilled, maintaining their potency?
  • Does your supplier use low pressure and low temperature to distill essential oils and preserve all of their fragile chemical constituents?
  • Are the distillation cookers fabricated from costly stainless steel alloys to reduce the likelihood of the oils chemically reacting with metal?
  • Does your supplier have representatives traveling worldwide to personally inspect the fields and distilleries where the herbs are grown and distilled?
  • Do they scrutinize the facilities to check that no synthetic chemicals are being used in any of these processes?
  • If your answer to all of these questions is yes, you can feel confident that your oils are therapeutic grade, the purest available.

 

 

 Testimonial

Some years ago I had a very painful health challenge. My doctor diagnosed me with ovarian cysts. If you have ever experienced this you know that the pain is over whelming and all my doctor could offer was surgery, and an 80% chance that they would return ! I left his office in anger and despair and never returned. I set out on a mission to find an alternative to surgery. My friend recommended the Young Living Essential Oils and suggested a few that might help. I used Frankincense and Melrose and rubbed it topically over my ovaries 3 - 4 times a day. Within a few days the pain had subsided and within 4 months the pains were totally gone ~ ~ and no surgery !

I also want to tell you that for 7 years prior to my use of Young Living Essential Oils each and every winter I developed Bronchitis, often so severe that I was home from work for 2 weeks ! The very first winter after I started using the oils I did not get Bronchitis and have not gotten it since.

This next story is about my beautiful niece Jennifer who was just 20 years old at the time. She was spending the weekend at the home of a friend when a fire broke out. Jennifer was on the second floor and managed to get into the bathroom. When the firemen finally got her out she had inhaled a lot of hot smoke and was badly burned inside. She was rushed to the hospital and then to a burn center to put her into a special chamber to get more oxygen into her lungs. There the doctor determined that her lungs were too fragile to undergo this treatment. He called us all together to tell us that we should prepare for the worst. We gathered together by her bed in prayer and to offer words of encouragement.

When my Mother called to tell me about Jennifer I grabbed the Essential Oils of Lavender and Frankincense. When I got to the hospital Jennifer had so many tubes in her and machines around her that I could not find a place to apply the oils to her skin except for her feet. I took her feet in my hands and gently rubbed in the two oils. I did this every time they would let us in to see her. The prognosis was grave, but I knew the power of these oils and had faith that Jennifer would not leave us and I told her so. As I rubbed her feet I told her how much we loved her and that she should continue to think of her future and of having fun with her friends again and driving her new car, which she loved.

4 days later Jennifer walked out of the hospital ! She had a slight cough which with time has left. The doctors and nurses were amazed at her recovery. I was not.

Ahrisha

This information is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided in order to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any illness or disease of the human body.

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5 : Part 6 : Part 7 : Part 8
Diana Hooper, Independent Distributor of Young Living Essential Oils Member #378910