Producing the purest of oils can be very costly because it may require several hundred pounds, or even several thousand pounds of plant material to extract one pound of pure essential oil. For example, one pound of pure melissa oil sells for $9000 – $15,000.
Although this sounds quite expensive, one must realize that three tons of plant material are required to produce that single pound of oil. Because the vast majority of all the oils produced in the world today are used by the perfume industry, the oils are being purchased for their aromatic qualities only.
High pressure, high temperatures, rapid processing and the use of chemical solvents are often employed during the distillation process so that a greater quantity of oil can be produced at a faster rate.
These oils may smell just as good and cost much less, but will lack most, if not all, of the chemical constituents necessary to produce the expected therapeutic results.
AFNOR (French Association of Normalization) standards for therapeutic grade essential oils 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 AFNOR standards.
How to Be Sure Your Essential Oils are Therapeutic Grade
Are the fragrances subtle, 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 organically grown herbs? Are the distillation facilities part of the farm 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.
In beginning your journey into the realm of aromatherapy and essential oils it is very important to use only the purest oils available. Anything less than pure, may not produce the desired results and can, in some cases, be extremely toxic.
PLEASE NOTE: The information in this article is based solely on the use of 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils due to their high quality and tested purity.
The use of a brand of uncertain quality and/or purity will provide you with potentially dangerous, if not lethal, results.
The statements about these oils have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These oils are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Essential oils were were mankind’s first medicine. From Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts, we know that priests and physicians have been using essential oils for thousands of years.
Today modern science is rediscovering the wisdom of the ancients. Essential oils are able to reach deep into the recesses of our brains, cross over the chemical barriers, and open the hidden channels within our minds and bodies.Essential oils fragrances pass on to the limbic system of the brain without being registered by the cerebral cortex.
Within the limbic system resides the regulatory mechanism of the innermost core of our being. Here is the seat of our sexuality, the impulse of attraction and aversion, our motivation and our moods, our memory and creativity, as well as our autonomic nervous system.
Because the limbic system is directly connected to those parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormone balance, essential oils can have some very profound physiological and psychological effects.
Also present in the limbic system of the brain is a gland called the amygdala. In 1989 it was discovered that the amygdala plays a major role in the storing and releasing of emotional trauma.The only way to stimulate this gland is with fragrance or the sense of smell. So now, with Aromatherapy and essential oils, we are able access the amygdala to release emotional trauma.
What Benefits do PURE Essential Oils Provide?
Essential Oils are regenerating and oxygenating. They are the immune defense properties of plants and are so small in molecular size that they can quickly penetrate the tissues of the skin.
Essential oils are lipid soluble and are capable of penetrating cell walls, even if they have hardened because of an oxygen deficiency. In fact, essential oils can affect every cell of the body within 20 minutes and are then metabolized like other nutrients.
Essential oils contain oxygen molecules which help to transport nutrients to the starving human cells. Because a nutritional deficiency is an oxygen deficiency, disease begins when the cells lack oxygen for proper nutrient assimilation. By providing the needed oxygen, essential oils also work to stimulate the immune system.
Essential oils are very powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants create an unfriendly environment for free radicals. They prevent all mutations, work as free radical scavengers, prevent fungus, and prevent oxidation in the cells.
Essential oils are antibacterial, anti-cancerous, anti-fungal, anti-infectious, anti-microbial, anti- tumorial, anti-parasitic, anti-viral, and antiseptic. Essential oils have been shown to destroy all tested bacteria and viruses while simultaneously restoring balance to the body.
Essential oils may detoxify the cells and blood in the body.
Essential oils containing sesquiterpenes have the ability to pass the blood brain barrier, enabling them to be effective in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.
Essential oils are aromatic. When diffused, they provide air purification by: removing metallic particles and toxins from the air, increasing atmospheric oxygen, increasing ozone and negative ions in the area, which inhibits bacterial growth; destroying odors from mold, cigarettes, and animals.
Essential oils help promote emotional, physical and spiritual healing.
Essential oils have a bio-electrical frequency that is several times greater than the frequency of herbs, food, and even the human body. Clinical research has shown than essential oils can quickly raise the frequency of the human body, restoring it to its normal healthy level.
What Enables PURE Essential Oils to Provide Such Incredible Benefits?
Essential oils are chemically very heterogenetic; meaning they are very diverse in their effects and can perform several different functions. Synthetic chemicals are completely opposite in that they basically only have one action.
This gives essential oils a paradoxical nature which can be difficult to understand. However, they can be compared to another paradoxical group – human beings.
For example, a man can play many roles such as father, husband, friend, co-worker, accountant, school teacher, scout master, etc…and so it is with essential oils. Lavender for example can be used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress, and so forth.
In beginning your journey into the realm of aromatherapy and essential oils it is very important to use only the purest oils available. Anything less than pure, may not produce the desired results and can, in some cases, be extremely toxic.
PLEASE NOTE: The information in this article is based solely on the use of 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils due to their high quality and tested purity.
The use of a brand of uncertain quality and/or purity will provide you with potentially dangerous, if not lethal, results.
The statements about these oils have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These oils are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.