When I decided to get started with essential oils I chose Young Living. Not only are they known to be the best of the best in terms of quality, but I also find their prices to to be very fair and love their business model.
Here is some background into why I chose Young Living Essential Oils (and why you should too!):
Essential Oils Are Not New
Despite the barrage of recent media coverage that make essential oils seem like the latest, greatest trend, essential oils have been used for thousands and thousands of years - even back in biblical times. Remember the three wise men?
If you would like to know more about how essential oils were used in the bible, I highly recommend checking out the book Healing Oils of the Bible.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. John 12:3 (KJV)
Not All Oils Are Created Equal
Almost every bottle of essential oil that you'll find on the market boasts the "pure essential oil" claim, but what does that really mean? Believe it or not, that claim can legally be made as long as there is 5% of the actual essential oil from the plant in the bottle. Whaaaaaat?! That certainly not very "pure" in my book!
I have purchased a few oils here and there from Whole Foods and Sprouts. At the time when I purchased them I fell into the "organic pure essential oil" claims and honestly would have never known the difference until I tried Young Living Oils. Really there is just not comparing the two...the small, the potency...the quality is immediately recognizable with Young Living. Now that I'm much more educated on the different processes that are used to extract oils, I'm so glad that I've found a brand that I can trust.
Unfortunately there is no regulation on how essential oil is extracted, so it can be difficult for the average consumer to tell high quality from low quality. That differentiation though, can be extremely important to be aware of. Check this out...
The potential danger of an essential oil is generally relative to its level or grade of purity. Many essential oils are designed exclusively for their aroma-therapeutic quality; these essential oils generally should not be applied directly to the skin in their undiluted or "neat" form. Some can cause severe irritation, provoke an allergic reaction and, over time, prove hepatotoxic. Non-therapeutic grade essential oils are never recommended for topical or internal use. {source}
Companies are free to use high-heat, high-pressure, and even chemical-solvents to extract more from the plants, and still place whatever label they want to on the oil. Not good. In fact, the majority of essential oil companies buy their oils from an oil broker. That means that the company isn’t actually involved in the process of cultivating the plants or extracting the oils at all.
What I Love About Young Living
Young Living was the pioneer in the therapeutic essential oils market. They have their own farms and therefore can absolutely guarantee that no pesticides or herbicides were used in the growing of any of their oils. They even use essential oils for pest control and they do all of the weeding by hand. Um, wow!
Young Living carefully monitors the production of their oils from beginning to end, ensuring the purity of each essential oil. There is no "middle man" that has to be trusted to produce a quality product, as is the case with other oil companies. Young Living does not use third party oil brokers, so when ordering from them you are working with and trusting one company, start to finish! Love that!
Young Living also has their own testing equipment (for both in-house and 3rd party testing) and they only use the first distillation of oils instead of adding chemicals to get more out of the plant.
There is not any other company that I'm aware of that can claim all of the above. Young Living is truly the best of the best in my opinion.
Beyond all of this, I have several friends that have been using Young Living oils for years now. They love working with the company and using their products to promote the health of their families. I even witnessed a few of them make it through this year's brutal cold and flu season unscathed, which is pretty incredible considering how sick so many of us (including myself) were at the beginning of the year.
The Young Living Value
Like I mentioned above, I love the value of Young Living Oils. Not only is the quality unbeatable, but their prices are awesome too - especially if you take advantage of the 24% off wholesale member discount.
When I first joined Young Living I sent my friend Rachel a big long message on Facebook about how I was not interested in selling anything to anyone. Her response was "ok, no problem! You can still take advantage of the 24% discount and the starter kit bundle! ". I love, love, love that no pressure way of doing business! Of course as soon as I started using all of oils I just couldn't help but share with my family, friends and now all of you!
I love that when I signed up for Young Living I had no intention of sharing it, but in the end I did because I love their products and they have already made a tremendous difference in my life. With rising healthcare costs and new health concerns popping up around us every day, I'm thrilled to now be able to take proactive and natural steps towards a more health filled life!
If you would like to get started with an Essential Oil kit of your own, make sure to check out my post on Getting Started with Essential Oils! Through the end of May you can get in on this unbeatable deal that includes everything you'll need to get started with essential oils PLUS $50 worth of freebies.
*Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website.