What is an Essential Oil?

Essential oils come from plants such as flowers, herbs, trees, leaves, etc.  Essential oils are widely known for their use in the perfume industry because of the smell.  Because our sense of smell is closely tied to memory, emotions, and stress response centers of our brain, the aromas of these oils have a strong impact on our lives.  This is known as aromatherapy.

However, in more recent times we've begun to realize that the benefits of essential oils go much deeper than aromatherapy and stimulating our sense of smell.  A single essential oil can be a mixture of hundreds of different chemical constituents.  Many of which have demonstrated properties ranging from antibacterial to anticancerous, antioxidant, stress relieving, anti-inflammatory and many, many more.  Because of this knowledge, more people have begun to use the essential oils topically (applied directly to the body) and even internally to aid in our body's natural healing process.


Before using and essential oil topically or internally, you want to make sure that it is pure, with no harmful chemicals added.


"In addition to being 100% pure and natural, dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are subjected to further quality testing that ensures the correct composition of the active natural compounds found in each oil. Even though an essential oil may be 100% pure, if the right species or part of a plant has not been used, or if the plant has not been grown in the right environment or harvested at the right time, or if it has not been distilled under the right conditions, the natural chemical makeup of the extraction will not provide as predictable and powerful a benefit. In some cases, the wrong plant harvested at the wrong time may result in an extract that contains harmful levels of some constituents.
dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils are guaranteed to be 100% pure and natural and free of synthetic compounds or contaminates. They are subjected to rigorous mass spectrometry and gas chromatography testing to ensure extract composition and activity. dōTERRA's 100% pure essential oils represent the safest and most beneficial essential oils available today."  -from doterra.com