Learn About Essential Oils #8 - What's Pure?

My 2nd class meeting was on April 26th.  We are only meeting once a month for about 2 1/2 hours and doing the rest of the studying on our own.  In the 2nd class we learned about "purity" of EO's.  This is how to tell the quality of an oil.  Remember, you only want to use a good quality EO for therapeutic or medical purposes. 

There are many factors which determine the quality of an EO.  It's important to know how the oils you are choosing are treated.  Some important factors include:

1) Growing condition:  geographical area, soil, climate, altitude, types of fertilizers, grown organically, usage of chemicals, etc.

2) Harvesting: does the harvester use the best practices, how close is the distillery (the quicker the plants get to the distillery, the fresher they are), which parts of the plant is used.

3) Distillation:  this is probably the most important aspect in determining the quality of an oil.  Distillation is a complex and magical art and there are not very many knowledgable distillers left in the world.  You would want to know as much as you can about the distillation process, for example; what type of distillation is being used (water or cold pressed is the least harmful to the oils, low heat is better, longer with low heat is good), are they taking time to get all the complexities of the oil, are harmful additives added to make the distillation quicker.

4) Purity:  Are the oils adulterated in any way?  Are there any extenders, additives, solvents, etc.  You want your oils pure with no additives.  Some distillers refer to this as a "complete" oil. (More on this later.)

5) Transportation and Storage:  how are the oils transported and in what conditions, how are they stored.

6) Energy:  All of the above factors will contribute to the energy of the plant being transferred to the oil.  Where is the oil coming from?  Are the plants treated lovingly and with gratitude.  Are the people dealing with the oils loving and caring, or are they just in it for the money.  Remember, there is a greed factor that can energetically spread to the oils as well.

 

Learn About Essential Oils #7 - Organoleptic Testing

One of the most important things we are doing in this course is Organoleptic Testing.  This is a process of using our senses to test each oil so that we have a personal experience with it and get it "kinesthetically".  I purchased smell strips from Abundant Health http://www.abundanthealth4u.com/.  You put one drop on the smell strip and begin smelling the oil, first at 5 minute intervals and then 1/2 hour intervals, then 1 hour, 2 hour, 4 hour and so forth to 48 hours. 

The proper way to smell an oil is to put the strip down by your waist and slowly move it in circles up to your nose.  Inhale deeply.  You can cover one nostril, and then the other to get another impression.  Also, coffee grains are good to use inbetween to cleanse your nose, not unlike eating a cracker to cleanse your palate while tasting wines. 

Have you ever had to write a description of a smell?  For me, and probably many others, it is quite difficult.  I will be sharing with you my impressions of each oil we study.  We also taste the oil, look at the color of it, the feel of it and we learn its latin name (family name), genus, species and parts of the plant used.  We will also be studying the chemical constituents. Fortunately for me, I have a study partner, which is making this whole experience much more fun.  If it wasn't for my study partner, I don't think I could do it.

Further, we learn recommended daily dosage and the cautions and contraindications, as well as some of the uses for the oils.  This is what I refer to as the "practical applications" of the EO, which, for me, is the most important part.  I know it's important to know whether an EO has phenols or phytoestrogens or linalool or monoterpenes, but what is most important to me is HOW and WHEN to use a particular EO.