Pure vs Organic Essential Oils – Is One Better?

By Caryn Gehlmann, Clinical Aromatherapist

The question that inspired this month’s Q&A with Caryn is “How important is it to look for organic essential oils?” This is a great question! And it led us to an even bigger topic. Have you heard phrases like all-natural, organic, and pure when someone is talking about essential oils? It can be confusing to differentiate these phrases. So let’s talk about what each of them means and which apply to our essential oils here at e3.

What do we mean by organic essential oils? It’s good to remember that the label organic is focused on the growth process regulated by FDA standards. This means they try to avoid GMOs, synthetic pesticides, chemical contaminants, and other toxic compounds. It is very important to avoid these components in your essential oils. But keep in mind, an essential oil can be organic and still inferior in quality. Organic essential oils have a natural growth process by FDA standards in terms of no pesticides, but there are other components that could potentially alter the essential oil’s effectiveness. e3’s essential oils, while not having been certified as organic by the FDA, are organic by the definition – without pesticides or other artificial agents. And they go through a much more vigorous testing process after the plant material has been harvested and distilled. See more about what that means for you below.

What do we mean by all-natural essential oils? Labels can get confusing so we want to be clear on what exactly goes into our product. Unfortunately, some companies call their products natural when they’re clearly not. Sometimes essential oils contain synthetic or “nature identical” additives. Another good reminder to read the label! e3’s essential oils, carrier oils, lotions, and other aromatherapy products are all-natural because each and every ingredient comes from nature. We don’t modify the essential oils and carrier oils with synthetics, chemical fillers, or any other kind of other adulteration.

What do we mean by pure essential oils? This is another word that can get used inappropriately, so always make sure any essential oil you purchase has the testing to back up its claim of purity. Here at e3, we test our ingredients to make sure that they are not only unadulterated by pesticides and synthetics, but also to ensure that they have the right level of properties to enhance your well-being. This is the best way to ensure we deliver the purest form of the oil to be used for its therapeutic intent. This involves both a Certificate of Analysis and Gas Chromatography (GC), Gas Liquid with (GLC), and Mass Spectrometry (MS) testing.

Please keep sending us your questions! e3’s team of clinical aromatherapists is happy to provide trustworthy answers to questions about essential oils and their safe usage. If you’re looking for answers, a great place to start your search is our e3 Guide section. And if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget that by signing up for our newsletter you get a 20% coupon to use on your next order.