Surprising Facts About Essential Oils You Didn’t Know

Essential oils have seen a significant increase in popularity in recent years – and with good cause for their wide-ranging uses in the treatment of all kinds of diseases, use in beauty care, kitchen cleaning, and beyond. While everybody has heard the conversation, not everyone knows anything there is to know about the oils, which is why we’ve collected some information that many might be unfamiliar with.

Essential oils cannot be patented.

It’s a fair possibility that at some point, you’ve wondered why essential oils are not used more frequently than not. After all, they offer such a wide range of advantages and come with no adverse effects when correctly used – unlike pharmaceuticals, which also have a lengthy list of relatively terrible side effects.

Essential oils are pure, which ensures that they cannot be copyrighted. As such, you can never see the essential oil in prescription medicine, and you should assume that the vast majority of conventional health practitioners will never prescribe it as an alternative to medications.

Perhaps the only explanation is that, since essential oils cannot be patented, pharmaceutical firms would not spend their time and resources researching them. To date, much of what we know about essential oils come from information passed over thousands of years of practical use and experimentation. While some experimental experiments have shown some of the advantages of some oils, there’s not enough proof for its scientific use.

Essential oils are not oils.

Essential oils are not oils; they are finely purified plants with strong medicinal and cosmetic properties. Confusing, huh? They’re not oiled because they don’t have fatty acids, which makes a natural oil.

Essential oils and fragrance oils are not the same.

Many people feel that essential oils and scent oils are the same, but they’re anything but one. In reality, one of the best hints that oil is synthetic rather than natural is that it uses the term “fragrance” or “perfume.” Don’t be misled by the word “natural scent” either – natural in this case has no significance whatsoever.

Essential oils need plants for their creation.

Essential oils don’t come cheap. It takes an enormous amount of plants to make them. The quantity can decrease or increase depending on the form but note that only one pound of lavender oil needs more than 150 pounds of lavender flowers, and more than 250 pounds of peppermint leaves are required to produce one pound of peppermint essential oil. It requires at least 4,000 Bulgarian roses to obtain one pound of essential oil in one of the most severe instances. 

Essential oils are not expensive, considering their shelf life.

When adequately preserved in a dark glass bottle in a cold, dry environment, the essential oils last for at least five years, sometimes for as long as ten years. And, given that the oils are highly concentrated, requiring just a small amount for each use, they usually last a very long time. If you’re doing math, you’ll find that essential oils are a real bargain. Bear in mind that there is one exception: citrus oils appear to decrease their potency after two years.

Essential oils’ quality is determined by their therapeutic grade.

Buying Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil might seem like a brilliant idea if you’re looking for high-quality essential oil, but the word doesn’t mean anything at all. It began as a marketing idea back in the 1990s, and now, almost every organization that sells essential oils claims that its oils are “therapeutic grade” to present its products as the best on the market.

Essential oils have fake low-quality knock-offs as well.

If Therapeutic Grade doesn’t tell you what essential oils to buy, what are you looking for? There are some hints to be found in some essential oil. The oil should have its common name, Latin name, country of origin, part of the processed plant, extraction method, and how it was produced. When you have the oil in your lap, you will need to use your senses – not just your nose but also your eyes.

To test the oil for its purity, place a single drop on a sheet of white paper. A computer printer paper is ideal, and let it dry. If the oil ring is left behind, it is not pure essential oil. There are variations, as certain oils are darker in color and thicker in consistency and can leave a little gloss behind, but it shouldn’t be greasy. These exceptions include sandalwood, patchouli oils, and German chamomile.

Essential oils tend to work quickly.

Since essential oils are lipid-soluble, which ensures that they can pass through cell walls, the oils can start working their magic in as little as 20 minutes.

Essential oils don’t need to be expensive.

If you find a significant price fluctuation between brands of the same form of essential oil, the less costly would more likely be the lower in quality. However, where there is only a minor range in cost variations, the higher-priced is not always the highest essential oil. It is only the highest-priced. Although you should consider that you will have to pay for better and hence the most optimal benefit, note that there is slight variation in quality between the two “highly-priced” essential oils.

If you want to save more money, you can buy inexpensive oils that you plan to use for non-therapeutic uses, such as those used to produce a natural household cleaner. When it comes to your body, don’t skimp on consistency – look for a responsible retailer who sells organic essential oils that are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

Essential oils are not regulated.

There is no U.S. federal department that certifies or governs essential oils – and there is no quality control whatsoever for oils in the United States. When someone tells you something else, they’re wrong, or maybe they’re dishonest. Marketers have the right to say or do anything they wish to market their goods to you; exaggerating or misleading is not against the rules. It’s up to you to be a good buyer and to know what you’re getting. Generally, the sales rep doesn’t care whether or not the essential oil will help you. Their only purpose is to convince you to buy from them.

Essential oils don’t need to be diluted.

You must dilute most essential oils before use to prevent potentially hazardous reactions, although there are exceptions to this. Experts recognized it as safe to use but sparingly.

Essential oils come from so many plants.

There are more than 250,000 distinct varieties of plants in the plant kingdom. Of these, approximately 450 plant species contain usable essential oils, but you can only use 125-150 in therapeutic aromatherapy. Many more become ingredients in perfumes and other industries.

Essential oils boost your confidence.

If you have a work interview, a powerful speech, or other crucial events that demand trust, essential oils are a great weapon. You can scent confidence by using oils such as rosemary or jasmine. Jasmine helps relax the muscles and is also used as an antidepressant because of its uplifting properties to provide a stronger sense of trust and hope. Rosemary not only serves to enhance memory retention it also provides calming properties to combat emotional fatigue and physical exhaustion. Other potent critical confidence-building oils include bergamot, orange, and grapefruit.

Essential Oils: A Quick History

The Egyptians, dating back to 3500 BC, were the first people to use aromatherapy and medicinal spices, including their use for religious purposes, cosmetics, and medicine. By 377 BC, the wisdom of the Egyptians had extended to ancient Greeks. In reality, Hippocrates, the most famous physician of the day, was said to have used essential oils to cure his patients.

In the 10th century, once the Roman Empire collapsed, the Arabian Empire adopted Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese oil teachings. It was around this period that the Persian physician Avicenna perfected the method of distillation of essential oils. In modern times, French chemist and perfumer Rene Maurice Gattefosse discovered that tiny quantities of oils could be consumed by the body and work with its chemistry – in 1910, he used lavender oil to cure a burn on his side.

Essential oils as part of massage therapy in the 1950s, and two decades later, essential oils became a significant component of complementary and natural health therapies.