Anyone who has been involved with essential oils for a little while can quickly identify a ‘quality’ oil. There is something about the clarity, the vibration, the subtlety, the breadth and depth of fragrance and the energy. But what are the key factors that affect quality and purity?
* The plant itself: Happy plants give vibrant oils. So it is always better to use wild growing or certified organic oils, where possible.
* The distillation process: You can steam distill under high pressure and high temperature. This gives a bigger yield (so a less costly oil); but you lose out on quality.
* Purity, and lack of adulteration: Adulteration is widespread in essential oils, and the only way to be 100% sure that the oil is pure, is to source it direct from the grower / distiller.
* Bottling process: Some manufacturing processes can be quite harsh on the delicate energy of the essential oil; its better to avoid strong electromagnetic fields.
* Intention: Plants respond to the energy we put their way. And this is reflected at every stage of the process, from the farmer and his love of the plants, to the intention of the final retailer.
Testing for purity
It is important to carry out careful laboratory testing for purity, (although the final arbiter may turn out to be a trained ‘nose’). Comprehensive analyses and quality controls, supported by on-going state-of-the-art laboratory tests, are prerequisites in the selection of the Oshadhi products. This includes tests such as:
Optical rotation
Density
Refraction
Gas chromatography analysis
And, if necessary, mass spectrography
Oshadhi is happy to provide GC (gas chromatography) readouts for the oils we supply. Please contact us for more information. You can also download a leaflet on essential oil purity.