Essential oils have a rich history of being utilized to support one’s mind, body and spirit.  The Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians used essential oils for everything from bathing, preparing for battle, to beautifying the skin and medicinal purposes.  Fast forward to the 21st century and essential oils are seemingly mainstream; becoming commonplace in homes, business and even the most respected medicinal institutions.  So what is an essential oil anyway?

Essential oils are tiny sacs of oil produced by a plant to keep itself healthy. They can be from any part of the plant: flower, seeds, leaves, stem, or root. Each essential oil has a specific chemical profile made of chemical constituents like linalol, limonene, sesquiterpenes...wait, seque - what?!  Since this isn’t a biochem lesson, all you need to know is that these constituents give the oil its therapeutic properties. Pure essential oils with correct chemical profiles lend to oils that do what you want them to do: soothe the irritated skin, open the airway, calm the nerves. Purity is power.

These chemical profiles can be influenced by the environment the plant grows in.  The amount of sun, moisture, soil pH, pollutants, time of day/year of harvest, and age of plant all influence the purity + therapeutic benefit of the oil.  And because I know you only want to use the purest oil to rub down your baby with, step away from that bottle of oil you bought at the convenience store because not all oils are created equal!  Now that I have your attention, let's talk about the doTERRA difference and why it’s the only essential oil safe for the whole family. doTERRA is the global essential oil industry leader because of it’s uncompromising sourcing ethics + purity standards.

• Co-Impact Sourcing: doTERRA doesn’t actually own any of its own farms.  And rather than working with a supply broker (middle man), which is what 99% of the oil industry does, doTERRRA partners with generational farmers who are craftsmen of their trade.  This ensures purity + sustainability. Plus, paying fair wages throughout the year, not just upon harvest, allows farmers to create a steady flow of income. And as most of the oils are cultivated in third world countries, this partnership is vital to their survival. So that little brown bottle you buy not only changes your life, but the lives of those who grew + distilled the plants. It’s a beautiful labor of love.

• CPTG: Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade, not just an impressive acronym, but the standard by which doTERRA holds their oils.  Historically the essential oil industry isn’t regulated by any authority, rather there is just kind of an “industry standard” manufactures accept and go by.  Well when doTERRA was created they wanted to be different and create essential oils that were undeniably pure and powerful. The vision was for doTERRA essential oils to be used in homes as well as clinical arenas.  Fast forward a short ten years later and that is exactly what’s happening! When you purchase a little brown bottle from doTERRA, the letters CPTG on the label ensures that your essential oil has gone through three rounds of five tests (gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, FTIR Scan (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), microbial testing, and organoleptic testing), both in house and by independent third party laboratories - like the internationally renowned Aromatic Plant Research Center (https://aromaticplant.org/). Don’t just rely on GC/MS testing that everybody does, choose the company that rigorously examines its essential oils. Trust doTERRA and pursue what’s pure.

• Eco-Focused: If doTERRA’s first priority is purity, its second would be sustainability.  It goes to great length to ensure its essential oils are harvested in a sustainable way.  Here are two examples of how doTERRA was able to partner with two communities to utilize a “wasteful” resource to create beautiful + powerful essential oils.