Julie Steinkamp Essential Oils are becoming more and more popular and with that brings questions, why does it matter which essential oils I use? Which oils are safe to use. Are they safe for kids? Can they be used around pets? Are they safe to be taken internally? Do they really work for medicinal purposes?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is that the quality of the oils that you are using is VERY important. Don’t just use any essential oil. Do your research first. If you are using essential oils aromatically, topically or internally you want to be sure that they are quality, 100% pure therapeutic essential oils. Not all oils are created equal.
A couple things as always before we get started. I am not a doctor, I am just a Mama who loves finding natural options for her family. My education on oils is how our family has used these over the years and the benefits we have seen. You are the gatekeeper of your home and know your family so please keep that in mind while following us on this journey. Also, when speaking about essential oils, we use Young Living in our family and have for over six years. These are the oils that I have researched and feel comfortable with for our family.
Things to consider:
When using essential oils aromatically:
You are breathing in these oils when you are using them aromatically and in a diffuser. The molecular components that make up essential oils are extremely tiny. This makes them easier to disperse into the air. This also means that they are very concentrated and powerful. ONE drop of essential oil contains approximately 40 million-trillion molecules. That is crazy right! So when you breathe these tiny particles in they are dissolved into the mucus lining of your nasal cavity, reaching the brain. This is FANTASTIC when using the right oils. But you want to make sure that they are pure!
When using them topically:
Your skin is your largest organ, and it can absorb what is put on it. Did you know, it only takes 28 seconds for your skin to absorb what is applied and for it to reach your bloodstream. That is why it is so important to make sure that what you are using topically are clean ingredients and pure essential oils.
When you are using it internally:
Well, we should all want to make sure what we are ingesting is pure. No one wants to be eating chemicals and pesticides.
This is why even “Just a Little Bit” matters.
This is why what we choose to use matters so much.
There are no regulations on essential oils. This means that any company can label their oils as 100% pure when in reality only 5% has to be pure. I don’t know about you but I don’t only want to be ingesting 5% pure or breathing it in or applying only 5% pure on my kids.
This means it can be diluted making it not as effective, it can be chemically altered in the distillation process if not done correctly. They can be missing the therapeutic benefits, making them just nice smelling oils. Or they can have synthetics added to make them cheaper to make but not true essential oils. It even matters how the soil was taken care of and prepped before the seed was planted. The time of day the plant or flowers were harvested matters. It also matters on how the weeding process took place, if there were chemicals involved or not. So much goes into the process to provide a quality essential oil that has pure therapeutic properties.
So what now?
I don’t say all of this to scare you because I want everyone to know how amazing essential oils are and what they can do for your overall health and wellness. We have been on this journey for a decade and I will forever be grateful. BUT it does matter what you use. I realize you can go to any store or order online and that there are several different companies out there, but do your research, ask the questions.
Important questions that need to be asked:
- Where were they grown?
- Are they treated with pesticides?
- Do they contain any solvents?
- How were the oils extracted from the plants?
- Are they synthetically made?
- Do they contain any actual plants?
- Can I ingest them?
You won’t get the results you want with low quality oils. Those aren’t real essential oils and they can be very dangerous.
Did you know?
Did you know that it takes Cypress 24 hours in the distiller to release its 280 chemical constituents? If you distill for 20 hours, you get 20 constituents. 26 hours? Zero constituents. And guess what? Most Cypress oil on the market is distilled for 3.5 hours. You want to make sure you are getting all of the benefits of these amazing plants and oils.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
So what do I use?
This is where the beauty of choice comes in. You get to make the decision on what is best for you and your family and what you feel most comfortable with. When I started my oil journey, when our first baby was born, I started off by trying different brands and using them here and there; that was almost a decade ago. They were ok, they smelled nice for sure, but I never felt comfortable really diving into them for the medicinal aspect, definitely not using them internally and only occasionally topically. A little over 6 years ago, when I was pregnant, I was fighting a sinus infection that would just not go away. Long story short, a friend introduced me to Young Living and I haven’t looked back since.
These are the oils I have fallen in love with for our family.
They work. Gosh do they work. I have had two oily babies from the womb and all four of my kiddos thrive off of our use of essential oils. This is their normal and I am forever grateful that they know plants as their medicine. It has been a game changer to me in so many ways and when the husband asks you to refill his roller, you know you have something good. I have even used Young Living oils for our dogs as well and I know several people who have cats that also love YLs oils.
There is a lot of information out there about don’t do this, stay away from that. When it comes to Young Living I oil up our family and am generous with them when needed! I have no issues or cause for concern to oil up my newborn and kiddos and that is a huge peace of mind. I would much rather use an essential oil I am completely confident in, rather than use products that have synthetic chemicals and are toxic for their bodies. This goes for my husband and myself too! Wouldn’t you rather use Peppermint essential oil for a headache that has so many benefits for the body rather than an OTC that has a overdose warning and can cause liver toxicity?
These are some of my favorite reasons why we use Young Living essential oils and products.
Sourcing Standard
Young Living developed and lives by their Seed to Seal sourcing standard. This is a five-step process that protects our planet and provides premium essential oils that are potent and powerful. This standard ensures that the farming, harvesting, distillation, testing and the final product are all done without compromise. Young Living is able to control every step of the process.
Therapeutic Quality
The majority of oils on the store shelves smell great but are only labeled as aromatherapy grade. This means they have no therapeutic benefit. Young Living oils are potent and powerful with a wide range of benefits that include aromatherapy, but that also provides dozens of other benefits to our body as well.
First Distillation
One of the reasons Young Living oils provide therapeutic benefits is that they only use the first distillation of plant matter to produce their oils. Meaning you get plant powdered products that deliver results, instead of watered down oils that have undergone seven or eight distillations.
No Synthetics
Sadly, many “essential oils” contain ingredients that are a far cry from the pure, powerful plant based substances that real essential oils consist of. Many essential oil manufactures cut their oils with synthetics. They add floral waters to stretch the oil and save their own dollar, and use chemical solvents to extract the oils. Young Living doesn’t partake in any of these practices. The essential oils in the bottle are 100% unaltered. This is also why only a drop or two goes such a long way.
Purity
There isn’t a lot of regulation in the essential oil industry, which means we have to be extra careful as consumers. Many essential oil companies label their oils as “100% pure” when in fact, there is very little plant matter that has been used to create that particular oil. Young Living uses ONLY plant matter in their oils, and follows strict and strenuous processes to ensure top quality. They go so far as to test the soil BEFORE planting. The water is tested before it’s used to water the field and they use hand weeding techniques so the plants are not altered by chemical weed killers. They truly are the gold standard of essential oils!
Testing
Young Living goes above and beyond when it comes to testing, going far beyond industry standards to ensure top quality oil is in every single bottle of essential oil. They preform 20 quality assessments, three times each on every batch of oil. If an oil doesn’t meet their standards, they don’t sell it.
There are dozens of other things that I love about YL, and a part of why I choose them but their safety, purity and standards for my family are why we use what we use.
I hope this helps explain the importance of learning about the sourcing and how the plants are cared for when it comes to essential oils. They are amazing options to use for health and wellness when you have pure oils!
I’d love for you to follow along on Instagram @naturallychaoticlifestyle for more of our day to day!
Thanks for stopping by, see you next time!
