I have used pretty much every single essential oil brand out there. My journey started young with essential oils. Using lavender on cute little satin sleeping masks to sleep because that’s what my mom did, and I wanted to be just like her.
Fast forward to my young adult years. I was stressed out, not sleeping, and suffered a mental breakdown (for a lack of better explanation). If you want the full story on that you can go to this blog post. I was seeking medical attention and even admitted myself to a psychiatric facility because I was that scared, I was losing my mind. I was in a constant state of fear which is not only exhausting, it’s very confusing and lonely. All the doctors wanted to do was shove meds down my throat. Medications that were not meant for me. And had they taken time to talk to to me to give a real diagnosis then they would’ve seen that.
I was fortunate enough in this time of darkness to still have the opportunity to listen to my gut. The intuition was still there, or maybe it was just desperation to figure out what the hell was going on with me. And I decided to seek help elsewhere. I moved from a psychiatrist to is psychologist, someone the specialized in anxiety (even though I wasn’t convinced this was anxiety). She reassured me that I didn’t need the strong anti-psychotics I was on. I knew they were just making the horrible and scary thoughts worse. She recommended that I try more homeopathic options like essential oils and adaptogenic herbs. So, like any normal person I went to my local Whole Foods and got lavender oil. I of course loved the smell because it brought me back to my childhood. That’s the beauty of the limbic system and power of smell.
But something funny happened when I used those oils. What was it you ask? Nothing…. Absofreakinglutly nothing changed. I for sure thought I would be able to calm down and all would be well. And it didn’t change. What changed was hard and deep self-work. And it wasn’t until I started to dive deeper into myself that the doors would open to waking up and understanding why all essential oil are not created equally.
Fast forward a year later, I was out of my deep depression. I had my second child, the daughter we worked so hard to have. And I had a massive hernia popping out of my belly. I looked like an alien coming from my belly button. As if child-baring didn’t mess me up enough (insert giant sigh accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll). I was scheduled for my hernia repair when I got hit with bronchitis bad. I was a mother of two, sick as hell, not sleeping. You could imagine how my body was not functioning. I went to the doctor where they prescribed me antibiotics. Now, I’m not one to jump on the medication bandwagon but I felt like crap! And mom has no time to feel like that. Plus, not to mention they wouldn’t do my surgery until I was 100% healthy.
I took that antibiotic for about a week when I called back up and said, “This antibiotic isn’t working.” The doctor prescribed me a new set of meds which by the way shouldn’t have been prescribed that close to taking the meds that were prescribed previously. When I mentioned this to the doctor, he reassured me it would be fine. So, trusting the “PhD” I took them. It was 24 hours after taking these meds that I started to notice my heart. I was having palpitations. I took the antibiotics for another day and was not feeling any better.
So, one night while I was woken up from my 14-month-old who typically woke up 5-7 times a night regularly, I was searching “homeopathic sleep for babies”. I started to take note. I came across an article on Pinterest for essential oils for bronchitis. Yea I know it’s not compliant but that’s what it said. It was referring to an oil that was similar you Young Living Thieves, but it wasn’t. In fact, I had no idea what Young Living even was at the time. So, I bought it. I over nighted it and took it internally and applied it topically. I did this for two days without any success.
I was defeated and over it. I called my surgeon to just cancel the surgery. Until, yet again another night woken up from the screaming baby. On that night’s Pinterest hunt I found a modality for Roman Chamomile and Lavender for easing a baby with the joys of growing teeth. As I looked into it further, I started to realize that there was an option for a kit of oils that bundled pretty much everything I needed into a few hundred dollars of savings. As I started to educate myself on the functions of the oils, I realized I could support my immune system as well as my emotions with this kit. So, I said, “screw it” and I did it. I was super skeptical but desperate. I was desperate to feel better and to get my baby to finally sleep through the night. As any decent human being does, I rationalized this in my brain by saying “If it doesn’t work, I will dispute the charges on my credit card.”
I purchased the Premium Starter Kit and added some Roman Chamomile to my order. And of course, like any decent mother does I tried the oils on my child first. I added 10 drops of the Roman Chamomile and 10 drops of the lavender into a 10ml roller bottle and topped it off with a carrier oil. I rolled it on my daughters jaw line before bed. I woke up yet again at 3:32 am I remember it vividly. I didn’t wake up because she was crying; I woke up because she was silent, and I was sure I poisoned her. I went to go check on her and she was happily and peacefully asleep. I was so happy and filled with ease. I immediately went back to my kit and tried the Thieves blend for my immune system. I made myself some tea with the Thieves, applied it topically with a carrier oil, and diffused it and went back to bed. We woke up at 9:30 am the next morning! And I kid you not, I woke up feeling 70% better. This was the best I had felt in months!!! I continued to use the oils all day for the next few days. We were sleeping and healing, and I was able to re-schedule my surgery.
I started to question why Young Living oils worked and all the other oils that I had used never has these successful outcomes. And it’s because not all oils are created the same. But why is it that Young Living is so different? Well, without getting all into it because they have a Seed to Seal promise. You can read more by going to SeedtoSeal.com
But here are some things to consider when choosing your essential oil company:
- Do they distill their own oils? If so, do they distill on site.
This is important because if a company doesn’t own their own farms then they do not have control over what goes onto their soil and crop. You don’t want those herbicides and pesticides in your oil! Most companies buy from 3rd party farms or have co-op farms which do not allow for full control. Remember it all starts with the soil! And most companies do not distill onsite. This is an efficacy issue because once a plant is cut it has only a certain amount of time that you can extract those therapeutic properties and bottle them up to be most effective.
- What kind of seeds are they using?
Are they using GMO Free seeds? Are they providing seeds from the previous harvest or are they purchasing hybrids?
- What’s in their soil?
Is there soil free of toxins? If so, how long? Most companies that I have called will say that their farm is organic for 4-7 year. However, to be truly organic the soil must be a virgin to chemicals for at least 50 years!
- Do they still bottle less than effective product?
Young living has a high standard of product over profit. If a batch of oils does not meet their standards of effectiveness, they will toss it. Not many companies do this. It is a huge loss to a company, so they usually end up selling that batch regardless. You dont deserve half ass oils.
- What is their testing process?
You want a company to test their oil batches using above standard testing. Using certified labs that have chemists to analyze and test. Most companies will tell you they do batch testing. But, realistically and factually the just get a certificate of analysis from a broker. Also, something to consider, is their testing in house or 3rd party? Keep in mind some companies say they 3rd party test, but they actually own that 3rd party facility. This is super sneaky.
- Do they distill at peak harvest?
Typically, if they don’t distill onsite or themselves then this answer is no. But, it’s a massive part of the distillation process and providing the consumer and effective therapeutic oil. Again, there is a very sensitive and scientific art when it comes to distillation and manufacturing these oils that quite frankly not a lot of companies understand because they are just concerned with pumping out a product to make more money. This business was built on helping people holistically, but like anything popular that works well, people try to capitalize on that.
- Can you visit their farm?
Young Living will allow anyone to come and visit their farms. In fact, you can grab a shovel and gloves while you’re there.
These are just a few of many questions you can ask. It’s important to know that just because a bottle is labeled 100% Pure Therapeutic Essential Oil doesn’t mean that it is. The FDA doesn’t regulate the labeling of essential oil bottles. And it doesn’t mean that what you are buying is 100% essential oil. You don’t want something anything less than that! So, don’t let the play on words or clever marketing fool you. You deserve better!
