Which Essential Oils Company is Best? ~ Part 6–Personal Attacks, Bias, and Distillation

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Before I move on to the controversial issues in this post, here are the links to the other posts in this series.

Which Essential Oils Company is Best? – Part 1
Best Essential Oils -What a Good Oils Company Should Have – Part 2
Which Essential Oils Company is Best – Troubles with the Oils Industry – Part 3
– Young Living vs. doTERRA – Part 4
Are Multi-Level Marketing Oils Worth It? – Part 5
Announcing “the Best” Essential Oils Company – Part 7 **

**Attention** – Some readers say that they can’t access the Part 7.  If that is a problem for you, could I ask you to comment or email me at adrienne {at} wholenewmom {dot} com, and you can go to this post to get access to the company that I chose.  Is Essential Oils Testing Reliable?

Now, back to the controversy.

I am typically not a fan of sensationalist titles for posts, but in this case, I kind of couldn’t resist.

First of all, I need to apologize that I am going to have to push out the “announcement” day of the Best Essential Oils Series–just one more day.

Why?  Let me explain.

I really didn’t want to do this, but I felt that with all the controversy going on regarding my review process that I should take time to address more issues that have come up during this series.  I want you to know that I am doing my homework and that I take what I am doing very seriously.

If you’ve been following along with the whole Best Essential Oils series, and have read the comments, you’ve seen that there have been a number of statements made, mostly by Dr. Robert Pappas.  What you may not know is that he has been commenting about my posts, and my blog, on his Facebook page, and has private messaged me on Facebook a number of times.

I’ve had a load of stuff on my plate these past few weeks (meh–still do), so it has taken me awhile to do enough research into some of his more scientific statements so that I could respond intelligently.

Today I am going to do so.  Because of the subject matter, this is going to be a much more lengthy post than usual, but I really thought it all needed to be addressed.

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Source of Information

Pappas has insinuated or directly asserted, that some of my statements with which he disagrees originated with Young Living (YL).  That is completely not true.  Here is one of his quotes from the comments on Part 4 of the Best Essential Oils Series:

Hi, just wanted to clear up some things concerning your comments about 1st, 2nd, 3rd distillations because this is an area of misinformation that, as far as I can tell, originates from the YL reps going back quite a number of years and just never seems to die down.

This is just one of many claims that I am repeating information from YL

Yes, I was a Young Living rep, but interestingly enough, the information that I got about these distillations of peppermint came from doTERRA’s support.  You can see this in the next section about distillation.

Facts About Distillation of oils -1st, 2nd, 3rd and Complete

At the center of a lot of the controversy regarding my oils series is the distillation methods of oils, particularly peppermint.

I stated in Part 4 that doTERRA’s peppermint oil was a “complete distill.”  Here is Pappas response from the comments:

“Who was it that told you their oil was “complete”? The word “complete” is not even a word that anyone in the essential oil industry would even use to describe a peppermint oil. Complete is used to describe a grade of Ylang Ylang oil and thats [sic] about it. Generally the best therapeutic oils also smell the best, at least thats [sic] been my experience.”

Here is an excerpt from the email that I received from the assistant to Dr. Hill, Chief Medical Advisor for doTERRA.  Please note that she both uses the word “complete” and also discusses the 3 distillation stages to describe doTERRA’s peppermint.

Please apologize to her [Adrienne], I’m not sure why she didn’t receive the
response.  You can let her know that our Peppermint uses complete
distillation.  There is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and complete and we use complete.

I hope this is helpful!

Thanks,


Haylee Caplin
doTERRA Product Support

Pappas also commented:

Anyway, regarding peppermint (and essential oils in general for that matter), there typically is no such concept as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd distillation.

and then later in a comment that I hadn’t approved until now (because I wanted to do more research before putting the information out there):

As for your question about the “1st distillation” I am guessing you might not have read my post completely about this or perhaps you just don’t believe me but this term is NEVER used in the industry and I would strongly recommend that you not use it either because its [sic] a misleading term. There is typically only ONE steam distillation of an oil to remove the oil from its plant material. When people say 1st distillation or 2nd distillation it conjures up images of redistilling the already spent botanical to get a less inferior oil. Nobody does this.

Well, this is a lot of info to digest, but here goes.

First of all, there are a host of references to these 1st, 2nd, and 3rd distillations that I found.

References to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Distillations from Oils Companies

These are references to this kind of distillation that I found doing an internet search.

1.  “Even an oil which is quite truthfully described as pure may be of poor quality, and therefore of less value therapeutically.  IF AN ESSENTIAL OIL COSTS MUCH LESS THAN YOU WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT  TO PAY FOR IT, the oil may well be a third or fourth distillate from a batch of plant material which has already  yielded the greater part of its properties to the first or second distillation.” Aromatherapy An A-Z, by Patricia Davis, 1988, reprinted 1994, Saffron Walden, The C.W. Daniel Company Ltd., England, pp. 278-280.

2.  “LOW PRICES MAY ALSO MEAN THE OIL IS A SECOND OR THIRD DISTILLATION OF THE PLANT  MATERIAL, in which case it will have far less therapeutic value.” – from Holistic Aromatherapy, A. Berwick, 1994, Llewellyn Pub., St. Paul, MN pp. 168.

3.  Brambleberry.com sells different distillations of peppermint oils.  From their site: Peppermint Essential Oil (1st distillation)This is an herbaceous, sweet smelling peppermint. It is less brisk smelling than the 2nd distillation and contains slightly less menthol

4.  From Mountain Rose Herbs’ website: “All of the oils offered by Mountain Rose Herbs are derived from the first distillation–never the second, third or fourth!”

5.  From The Herbs Place:  “Oil comes from the first distillations of the raw plant material.” when referring to why their oils are therapeutic grade.

I also spoke with several people in the EO field and this is what I heard (of course, given the scope of this post, following are only summaries of these discussions).

a.  Most plants are distilled only once because they don’t produce enough oil for multiple distillations.

b. Distillation of Peppermint Oil. I was told that peppermint yields more oil than most other plants and that small farms sell the first distillation for a higher price and that it’s then redistilled at a higher pressure and temperature to be then sold to soap companies, etc. This later distillation will have a less herby smell.

It’s distilled again for a 3rd time for a really sweet smelling, candy cane smell.

I tried to find out the validity of these remarks and why some peppermint smells like candy, while others smells herby, but I couldn’t find any consistent answers despite hours and hours of research.

Pappas has a lot of knowledge about essential oils that I don’t have, but there are a lot of people using these terms in the industry, including those at doTERRA.  So it’s clearly a very complicated matter that people have different opinions (including professional opinions) about.

UPDATE 8/16:

Since this series was published, I was given more information from other experts (a distiller and chemists) in the field stating the following about essential oils and the distillation process:

However it is possible to distill one charge of plant using different configurations. The [sic} distiller … could be, for example, performing an atmospheric pressure distillation of the plant for 10 minutes, then increasing the pressure for another period and so on. As long as there is still essential oil in the plant matter this is possible. The more volatile and nice smelling aromatics will be trapped within the first “phase” of an operation like this and subsequent processing will extract higher boiling point components; as the distillation progresses, the compounds will become less desirable, therefore cheaper.

Basically, it’s a very confusing issue as to why some peppermint oils smell ultra sweet and others do not.  Perhaps something is being taken out of the oil after distilling. In the case of oils that are not pure, something may be added in.  There might be some peppermint oils that are referred to as this “first distillation” that are being sold as being therapeutically superior, but that would be a subjective decision and likely most aromatherapists would want all of the components of the oil, except in the case of ylang ylang (see the following information).

Ylang Ylang is an exception to this rule.  It is distilled first for a short time, yielding the most coveted “ylang ylang extra.”  The distiller is shut down, the oil collected, and then it is distilled further to produce “ylang ylang 1. 

(UPDATE: I just heard that most distillers don’t shut down the distiller, but merely change out the containers to keep the oil grades separate and continue distilling.)  This continues to subsequently produce “ylang ylang 2” and “ylang ylang 3.”  Then, all 4 varieties of ylang ylang are combined to make “ylang ylang complete,” which is preferred by some, but is priced lower than “ylang ylang extra.”

The basic thing to keep in mind through all of this is that you want to purchase your essential oils from a company that you trust to sell only quality, pure, unadulterated oils from indigenous locations.

Bias and Motivation

On his Facebook page, Pappas and his followers have talked about what my motives are:

Perhaps it will all be clear on Tuesday when she makes her great reveal….I can’t help but question the motives here.

There were also numerous statements by Pappas that his company doesn’t sell oils, but that he is merely an unbiased chemist who educates and tests oils for various companies.

He is the man who tests oils for doTERRA.  That means he is inherently biased.  doTERRA pays him to authenticate the quality of their oils so, I don’t see how it could be that he doesn’t have an interest in their oils being represented as being superior.

(Please note that Pappas’ relationship with doTERRA changed since the initial publishing of this post and he no longer tests their oils apparently.)

If doTERRA does well, Pappas does well.  At least on some level.

Again, as for my bias, it is for finding an oils company with the best qualities that I can find, at the best price.

Nothing more.  If the company that I recommend ends up having ethical or quality issues, then I won’t recommend them anymore.  Plain and simple.

There are loads of money-making opportunities that I have passed up because I can’t, in good conscience, take them.  I have blocked the URL’s of companies whose ads I disapprove of, all of which have led to less income for me.

One other point that I am a little confused about: Pappas has said over and over again that he is very concerned that I am putting out wrong information about the oils.  I am a lover of information as well, so I appreciate that.

However, in one of his comments to me, regarding my questioning why Emily Wright and David Hill are spreading apparently incorrect information about their peppermint oil, his reply was:

What they say in their marketing is not something I concern myself with with, just as its not my concern what any other company who sends me samples for analysis does with their marketing descriptions.

I don’t understand why Pappas thinks it’s crucial to correct apparent misinformation that comes from me, but not misinformation that comes from what is likely his main employment source, and one of the biggest sources of EO information in the U.S.

Vomit and Peppermint Oil

Sorry for the sensationalist title here.

In the comments section of Part 4 of the series, Pappas states:

The thing about peppermint oil is that when its [sic] freshly distilled it contains very tiny amounts of some sulfurous components as well as some small aldehydes (namely isomers of isovaleraldehyde, also found in vomit) that, while minuscule in percentage, are such powerful components that you can smell them at ppm levels. The effects of these components can be minimized with age and evaporation because they are very volatile, but another way to get rid of these undesirables is to take the crude freshly distilled oil and then use a different distillation setup to fractionally vacuum distill away this tiny amount oil, thus giving the remaining oil a much better flavor, sweeter aroma…

Well, again, I am not an expert here, but I looked up isovaleraldehyde and vomit and there were no mentions of isovaleraldehyde being in vomit.  The only connections between the two seem to be that exposure to isovaleraldehydes can lead to vomiting.  I would need to see sources for this information because I couldn’t find any.  In fact the main (almost all) results of my search were only Pappas stating this on my blog and on various Facebook pages.

Additionally, even if isomers of isovaleraldehyde are in vomit, that does not make them problematic.  For example, water and stomach acid are in vomit and so is food.  I drink water and eat food daily and I even take stomach acid to aid digestion and it basically served as a cure for rosacea for me.

I can understand some people finding the “herby” smell of 1st distill (or non re-distilled) peppermint to not be as pleasing as the “candy cane” smelling peppermint (like doTERRA’s).  However, that does not mean that it induces nausea.  In fact, peppermint oils that have not been redistilled, or adulterated / changed by vacuuming are regularly used for nausea and digestive upset.  See my post on Peppermint and nausea.

Moderating of Comments–Censoring?

Pappas and his followers have commented numerous times that I am not approving his and other related comments.

Here is one quote from his Facebook page (which contains numerous postings which insult me):

In case anyone has been following the discussion over at The Whole New Mom blog there was a post from Adrienne directed to me that never did get answered. I actually did answer her questions but for some reason my answer was never approved to be public. Since there where people here waiting for my response I am posting it here how it should have read, in case anyone was wondering what my answer was.

and this:

Wonder why she is too afraid to let me post unmoderated and she let you right on through. This is just too weird. It feels like I am dealing with YOU KNOW WHO LOL

The “YOU KNOW WHO” that Pappas is referring to seems to be a large essential oil Direct Sales Company, or at least that’s the best I can ascertain, based on his previous comments.

and this:

Thanks Syl [meaning Sylla Shephard Hangar, mentioned below] great to see you back into things as well. She had posted here, unmoderated I might add LOL

First of all, comments on Facebook, to my knowledge, can’t be moderated once they are posted.  They can only be deleted (or edited) by the admin of a page or edited or deleted by the person who posted them.  So Facebook comments and blog comments are completely different things.

On my blog, I do have all comments moderated.  I do that so that I can keep malware, blatant self-promoting, and foul language, etc. off of my blog.

When there are particularly intense comments, I take awhile to respond and yes, sometimes comments fall through the cracks.  But I am not moderating them in order to censor people.  To the contrary, I think that I approve many more negative comments than most bloggers.  I enjoy the back and forth of ideas and think it’s healthy to debate.  Many bloggers consider negative comments to be from trolls and so they delete and all – but I don’t do that.

But I do not think verbal abuse and rude behavior are OK.

Many bloggers moderate comments and I have only once, in 2 years of blogging, had someone email me to ask why I hadn’t approved their comment.  In this case, Pappas private messaged me on Facebook several times, asking me why I wasn’t approving his.  (I have heard that now you need to pay to private message non-friends on Facebook, but I haven’t verified this yet.)

However, one thing that really concerns me is his (and his followers’) accusations on his Facebook page that I am not willing to get the truth out or that I have something to hide.  To the contrary, that is why I held comments in moderation–because I wanted time to get to the bottom of things as best as I could before posting their information.

Some examples of what has been said about me:

By Pappas:

Wow, I guess this is what happens when people start fearing having other people around who know more than they do. Instead of wanting to learn more themselves they turn to protection mode so they can be the star of the show. Sad really. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, even defended her a couple of times. It is upsetting though when she directed questions specifically at me and I attempted to answer but she won’t let me respond so people think I just chose to ignore her. Oh well, I have enough to keep me busy anyway. Thanks for trying.

I am not someone who fears having others with whom I disagree.  I thrive on learning and have been interviewing many companies in preparation for this series.

And I will do so again in a future series on Heavy Metal Toxicity.

Here is another comment by Ann McIntire Wooledge:

She has really started a stir and I guess that’s what she planned on, but she is ultimately making herself look rather uninformed and UNeducated. The best thing she could do now is to just admit she doesn’t even know what a chemical constituent is and much less how to decide where would be the best company to buy essential oils – and stop this stupidity.

and more (this by Pappas):

That blog site is the most confusing I have seen in a while. I cannot even see a link to Part 5, how the heck did you find it?

and yet another (by Sylla Sheppard-Hanger):

scrolled thru the nonsense of her facebook page to find

one more by “Cher Aromapothecare”

Excellent reply Dr. P. (The girl could use a class). I agree, CO2 (or perhaps florasols) would be maybe a little closer representation of a plant but even that’s a stretch.

more (this by Pappas):

What really ticks me off about is that she makes some honest mistakes concerning essential oils in general that alot [sic] of people make, then I go on there and write an in depth post to clear some things up and she doesn’t let it through. I don’t know maybe I am taking this too personal. I really don’t care who she concludes is the best oil company I only wanted to clear up misconceptions and general points. It reminds me of when I posted on some YL rep sites to get them good info only to be banned because the facts were not jiving with the programming from their messiah [sic].

and finally (again by Sylla Sheppard-Hanger)

 all we can do is expose her and better yet the statements….its given me plenty of fodder for my new blog series!!!

Enough, eh?  I frankly am really disgusted by this behavior.

I am really disappointed at the behavior and negative comments were thrown my way throughout this and hope that they will stop.

About Me

Just to set the record straight, I don’t typically post my “credentials,” but in this case I think they are warranted.
I don’t have an advanced degree, but the learning I have done since my undergraduate degree has been extensive.

Here is my background:

1.  Top of my class in high school from a top-level school.
2.  Phi Beta Kappa from The University of Virginia, one of the top 15 schools in the country.
3.  Echols Scholar at The University of Virginia.  Admission to the Echols Scholar program is made based on “In brief, the Office of Admission looks for academic excellence, intellectual leadership, and evidence of the ability to grapple with complex topics.” (Source).  Apparently, this group is representative of the top 2% of the University.  Graduated with a 3.97 GPA.
4.  Taught Equity Options Valuation at the Chicago Board of Trade to options traders and MBAs
5.  Worked as a Manager in Employee Benefits
6.  Independent Life, Health, and Disability Agent for 7+ years
7.  Taught in Japan for one year and achieved near conversational fluency.
8.  Research-minded mom of a child with life-threatening food allergies.
9.  If I might jokingly add this, one of my local friends has called me the “investigative reporter” of health food and products.

Basically, what I am saying here is…I am not a genius, but I am not an intellectual slouch either.  I don’t mean this to discredit anyone else, but I am a deep thinker and am very concerned about excellence in research and learning and in conveying accurate information to you.

One final point.  A few folks on Pappas’ Facebook page have commented that I have removed links to Pappas’ Facebook page and website.  At first, I left all links left by Pappas and his followers, but I ended up going back through and deleting them because they were:

1.  excessive and
2.  resulted in basically blatant self-promotion.

Pappas doesn’t allow advertising for oils companies on his page and I am choosing not to permit the promotion of sites that deride my character in this manner.  At the beginning of this matter, Pappas seemed to be congenial, but as you can see from the comments above, that has changed.

If Pappas’ and his followers’ behavior changes and I receive an apology that is not followed by more maligning, then I will consider allowing the links.

Troubling Questions

One thing that surprised me is that I think that the concerns I posted about Young Living were more controversial, and yet, to my knowledge, I haven’t received any negative comments from any YL reps.  When I signed up with doTERRA I heard from a lot of reps how negative and accusatory they felt the YL reps were.
Not in my experience.

Just to make it clear:

I am not saying that Robert Pappas doesn’t have significant qualifications by any means.  He has extensive studies in the chemistry of oils and I don’t.  Clearly, there must be a reason or reasons for the differing facts here, or at least there is a different way of looking at the industry.

– Is it because he is mainly a chemist and the former owner of The Perfumery?
– Is it because he worked for / was closely connected with doTERRA?
– Why does he concern himself so much about what “little old me” says when the owners of doTERRA contradict each other–and him–while speaking around the world, via meetings, videos and more, to audiences much bigger than mine?
– Why has he spilled so much electronic ink to challenge and insult me when none of the other oils companies that have been critiqued in my posts have expressed any concern?

I don’t know.  I am just trying to share what I am learning so that you can make a better decision about what essential oils you want to use for your family.

The Essential Oil Company I Chose

To find out which essential oil company I ended up with at the end of this search, read this post:

– Announcing “the Best” Essential Oils Company – Part 7 

you can also read the other parts of the series here:

Other Best Essential Oils Posts:

Which Essential Oils Company is Best? – Part 1
Best Essential Oils -What a Good Oils Company Should Have – Part 2
Which Essential Oils Company is Best – Troubles with the Oils Industry – Part 3

– Young Living vs. doTERRA – Part 4
Are Multi-Level Marketing Oils Worth It? – Part 5
Announcing “the Best” Essential Oils Company – Part 7 

I’m sure your head is spinning just like mine was.  I really only wanted to find the company that would provide high quality oils for my family at a decent price, without a bunch of headaches and extra costs attached to it. But I ended up with quite a headache here.

A Great Essential Oils Book for Your Library

One thing that really interests me is making my own essential oils blends.

This book has loads of essential oils blends in it as well as information about sourcing your own medicinal herbs.  Fascinating!

I Recommend
The Essential Oils Book: Creating Personal Blends for Mind & Body

The Essential Oils Book: Creating Personal Blends for Mind & Body

 

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I’d love to hear your thoughts (but I reserve the right to moderate comments :-)).

The information here is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a medical professional before changing your diet, exercise program, or before trying any natural remedies.

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938 Comments

  1. Just stumbled across your blog. I am looking to incorporate aromatherapy into the canine massage aspect of my business. Like you I want the safest and purest quality oils but have not taken the time to thoroughly research the subject. It seems that you have done your research admirably and, at least in my opinion, impartially. I’m sorry that you have had to deal with such character assassination but know that your efforts have not been unappreciated. This article has been a big help and hopefully will be even bigger when you can tell me the final results. I’m sorry but I am one of those readers who could not open chapter 7.
    Thanks for writing this and helping so many of us understand EOs better.

    ~Lynda

    1. Thank you and welcome.

      Could I ask your help please…can you tell me if you are getting an error code when you try to visit the post or is just nothing happening? And are you on desktop or mobile? And in Chrome?

      We haven’t had reports about this for awhile so we’re puzzled but definitely want to fix this! Thank you!

  2. Hmmmm, definitely a wonderful write up. Thank you…. I cannot help but to think something wrong is going on within this industry. If this is the case, where did it start and why. There’s enough trouble in the cooking oil industry as it is… so much deceit that I can’t help but question every time I purchase a cooking oil whether its an oil the claims on the front of the label states it is or not. Has the production of oil products turned into a scam simply for greed?This is very very sad

  3. I have enjoyed Pappa’s videos and have also been getting a lot out of your series here. I am saddened to hear how Pappas has decided to conduct himself. I can tell by the way in which you write that you are being genuine.

    I know that the terms/ levels of distillation referenced in the industry are so, as I’ve seen them in many places; so it seems an odd thing to attack. Additionally, did no one else catch that he (Section 4. Vomit & Peppermint Oil) in his own words stated “but another way to get rid of these undesirables is to take the crude freshly distilled oil and then use a different distillation setup to fractionally vacuum distill away this tiny amount oil […]” — Um, being a 2nd level/ grade of distillation?! LoL

    Thank you SO much for all of your time and work in reasearching so many differnet asspects of these companies. I found the customer service portion(s) very helpful, as I value that in a company too.

    1. Thank YOU, Gwen. So nice to have you here. More to come on EOs and other products and other things in the health industry. I’m researching loads of things right now. Hope to see you around again!

  4. I really enjoyed reading this series! I think your points are well presented and obviously well-researched. I liked the fact that you even took the time to “correct” or update your posts as you found other information. This is obviously a complicated matter, but I appreciate you sharing your findings. I will continue my research and definitely refer to your series through my own quest to find what works for me and my family (although, I will not be blogging about it). Blessings on you and your family!

  5. Hi, I just stumbled onto your blog researching into essential oils companies. I thought what you wrote was well- written and your motives both sincere and transparent… transparently sincere, I mean… I was dismayed to read all of those hostile and bullying remarks from that Pappas guy (sp?). He seemed pretty transparent, as well, though he apparently was oblivious to that. Anytime someone stoops to such ugly behavior as meritless character assassination, and to try to use others against you like that…. you had wondered why he paid so much time and attention on “little old” you, I think it is pretty clear that, for whatever reasons, he felt threatened by you. Im sorry you went through such nasty behavior after sharing with people some pretty great info. So, thank you for writing this and sharing it. I appreciated and enjoyed it. Happy Holidays!

  6. WOW!!! I am very thankful for your posts as they have confirmed I made the right decision. Keep up the good work! You have risen above the attacks with humility and honesty. I admire that.

  7. I appreciate your series. I’ve read 6 of them so far. I also was very skeptical but a friend convinced me to try dotera. I have been curious about other companies but have been told doterra was the best. I have not had the time or resources to do what you are doing. Thank you for helping us better understand oils and their processes. I’m disappointed that you are being verbally attacked.

  8. DoTERRA reminds of the the Church of Scientology!!!! I used to use their oils, but got tired of the montly ordering (which became expensive bc I did not need to order every month, & now I have more oils than I know what to do with), and I also became exhausted of their claims of being so superior to every other oil company. Their claim of being “certified pure therapeutic grade” feels manipulative, given there is no certifying entity out there- they just made that up. I appreciate your extensive research and blogs on the topic of whose oils are “best”. At the end of the day, is there really an appreciable difference between the quality of oils that most company’s sell? I love oils, but I am not using them to cure cancer. It seems to me that for household use, the oils I buy do not have to be some extra special superior quality oil– as long as they are unadulterated and smell good, does it REALLY matter? Curious. Thanks!

  9. I would like add that not all parts of a plant are desired or used in making essential oils. Most plants have the greatest medicinal qualities in the leaves with the stem having very little value. My herbal books tell me what part of the plant to use for the medicinal qualities I am seeking. I imagine this is the same with essential oils. The oils coming from the leaves will have higher medicinal value than the oils coming from the stem. But how many companies will separate the components of each plant…especially when producing in large quantities like the MLM companies do? Just food for thought. Thanks for the research intensive blogs.

    1. Hi Cynthia. Interesting comment. I asked an aromatherapist about this and this is the gist of her response:

      It actually really depends on the essential oil and the therapeutic properties you are looking for. Some essential oils come from the same plant but one essential oil might be distilled from the leaves of that plant where another essential oil might be distilled from the bark of that plant since each have their own therapeutic properties. It just depends what you are specifically looking for.

      However, if a company lists that it is coming from a certain part of the plant, you would be able to see in the GCMS report if there was other plant material used because the individual components would be different if it wasn’t just the leaves or just the bark, etc of the plant.

  10. I have ordered my first two essential oils, blends, actually, and found your blog posts to be very informative and helpful. I am awaiting disability and out of work with many health issues. I had to go low budget, and I found Eden’s Gate to look quite good. You mentioned them once, and I am wondering if you did research them and what your findings were. Next time I might just try RMO!

  11. Great article and rebuttals. I’ve since ‘unliked’ Pappas FB Essential oil U page. He sounds like an arrogant ass who can’t handle his sh!t. Just sayin… Methinks he doth protest too much… His ‘followers’ need to stop blindly following and research and do their own investigating. Sadly, this is what society is today, many who prefer to be spoonfed their info and who jump on the proverbial bandwagon without realizing the issues of doing so.
    Keep researching! Good work.

  12. Wow! Great article. Thank you for all your hard work! I love how classy and unbiased you have stayed throughout this entire process. It is much appreciated and makes me trust your opinion. I also liked reading your background and experience. Looking forward to reading more of your articles!

    1. I am so sorry – were you able to try again? This post talks more about oil purity. Please let me know if you still can’t get there. We’re trying to figure out why. I will send an email to you.

  13. I found you through googling “what’s the best essential oil company” or something like that. I’m actually not sure now since I seem to have gone down the rabbit hole. Thank you for the informative and insightful essential oil articles you have written. I enjoyed reading them and learning more about the oils. Here is the only belief you have about oils that I would question. I ingest most of them, if not by putting them on my tongue, then by swallowing them in a pill. And I put them on my skin without a carrier oil except in certain circumstances. I’ve been doing it for over a decade now and unless there is some hidden harm happening, I”m fine.
    If you smell it or put it on your skin, even with a carrier oil, then where does it go from there? Supposedly if I put the oils on the sole of my foot then within five minutes I’ll have the oil in every cell in my body. How is that better or different than eating it?
    I don’t mean to sound belligerent. I do appreciate your efforts and thank you again.

    1. Hi there. I think you need to be very careful about what you hear and what is true. I will be sharing more but sensitization is a really big issue. Be careful. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/essential-oil-emulsifier/ – this post has more info on it but not that much. Ask someone where they are getting the information about oils being in every cell of your body – who is saying that and can they back this up?

  14. Hi!

    I never comment on blogs but I wanted to tell you that after seeing how unprofessionally some people handled your blog, I definitely won’t be buying from them. I was considering becoming a consultant so I can get discounted oils for myself. But now I’m going with Rocky Mountain! Sorry that people were rude. It’s your blog, you can moderate it however you see fit. *eyeroll* lol hang in there! Love your blog!

  15. Hi Adrienne! I too came to your site to learn more information about finding a quality company without paying outrageous prices. I starting with YL, but also found them to be far too overpriced for my liking. I have found your blog series very informative, and I appreciate the amount of time and research you have done. You have answered a lot of my questions.

    I am sorry about the personal attacks you have encountered in your journey to find the best EO for your family, but you have handled them in a fair and gracious way even though you were not treated the same way. All I can say is I appreciate what you have done and as I tell my daughter, sometimes we will never understand why people waste so much of their time being negative towards you, all you can do is shut out the negativity and continue on with doing what you know to be right. The ones spouting all the negativity end up making themselves look bad.

    Btw, I was pleasantly surprised by your final decision of who you determined to be the best company as I have also been looking into their oils and have been impressed with their information that they put on their website. I will be trying their oils as soon as I am financially able to. Keep up the great work and God bless you!

  16. Adrienne, first and foremost, thank you for taking the time to so thoroughly research and document all of this information. Your articles on EOs are well written, balanced and informative. I read through your blog series and as a relative new comer to EOs, they were extremely helpful in answering many of the questions I had.

    As to the criticism directed at you, I admire the fair minded approach you’ve taken and the way you’ve responded to your critics. You’ve handled it with far more grace, class and professionalism than most would and infinitely more than those who criticized you and questioned your motives.

    1. Thank you Mr. Lang, I couldn’t have said it better than in your comment addressed to Adrienne: “You’ve handled it with far more grace, class and professionalism than most would and infinitely more than those who criticized you and questioned your motives.” This Pappas person should have a face red with shame…I will now go on his Facebook to “give him a piece of my mind” about his LACK of grace, LACK of class, and COMPLETE LACK of professionalism!!!! Keep going Adrienne, as you can see, you have a stanch group of supporters here…who clearly appreciate all the work you have done to present us with this information.

  17. Hi Adrienne. I just came across your blog today, and wow! First off, let me say that I am so sorry you’ve come under such attack when all you were trying to do is help and inform. Thank you for taking so much of your precious time to share with complete strangers all the information you’ve gathered.

    I was first introduced to Young Living Last September. (I consider myself a “partial skeptic” about essential oil because I do believe that, just as God cursed the earth because of mankind’s sin, which is why diseases exist, in His mercy He also created the cures for those diseases in nature. Therefore I was willing to give the oils a try.) I found YL way too expensive, and I’ve been looking into a cheaper source. I found one, but I wanted to be sure the oils are good quality, and that’s how I found your blog. I have one more “episode” to read, but I got so upset reading of all the attacks on you that I had to take a moment to say I appreciate what you have done here. So again, thank you, and God bless you for your patience and perseverance.

  18. Hi Adrienne,
    Thank you for your in-depth research and comprehensive reporting on essential oils. Your blog postings on this topic are the first resource I’ve found that answer so many nagging questions.

    Regarding the politics, in my opinion you navigate the stormy seas with grace and humanity. I admire your integrity and the degree of emotional investment you’re committing to this work.

    I look forward to reading more.