Questions To Ask When Choosing An Essential Oil Company
"We are finding ourselves more frequently approached by competing essential oil companies to sell and promote their brand. They always claim to have “pure therapeutic grade" oils “as good or better than those of Young Living.” Maybe they do and maybe they don’t. Here are some questions to ask when approached by another essential oil company."
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This, my friends, is why I choose Young Living...
Lemon Dropper, Marlo Yoshimoto posted this in her group and I thought it would be helpful information for you. (She posted it on a YL distributors page.)
Marlo called 7 different oil companies and asked them all the same 12 questions about their essential oils. The 12 questions were the questions posed by Dr. David Stewart in his book, Healing Oils of the Bible.
This info graphic contains the company names and their responses. Marlo told each person she spoke with that she was researching 7 oil companies and asking them all the same 12 questions. She asked if they were qualified to answer or if she needed to speak with someone else. Some of them referred her to a more qualified person. She told them she only needed a "Yes," "No," or "I Don't Know" answer. Marlo says, "It was quite interesting speaking to all of these companies. I encourage others to call them and ask these questions. Some people I spoke with became VERY frustrated by my (Dr. David Stewart's) questions, stating, 'these are clearly not questions coming from an uninformed consumer.'"
Here are the questions (in full) that she asked each company. Included below are the full answers for Young Living. The Q's are from Dr. David Stewart's book, Healing Oils of the Bible. Here are the responses from each of the other companies.
Lemon Dropper, Marlo Yoshimoto posted this in her group and I thought it would be helpful information for you. (She posted it on a YL distributors page.)
Marlo called 7 different oil companies and asked them all the same 12 questions about their essential oils. The 12 questions were the questions posed by Dr. David Stewart in his book, Healing Oils of the Bible.
This info graphic contains the company names and their responses. Marlo told each person she spoke with that she was researching 7 oil companies and asking them all the same 12 questions. She asked if they were qualified to answer or if she needed to speak with someone else. Some of them referred her to a more qualified person. She told them she only needed a "Yes," "No," or "I Don't Know" answer. Marlo says, "It was quite interesting speaking to all of these companies. I encourage others to call them and ask these questions. Some people I spoke with became VERY frustrated by my (Dr. David Stewart's) questions, stating, 'these are clearly not questions coming from an uninformed consumer.'"
Here are the questions (in full) that she asked each company. Included below are the full answers for Young Living. The Q's are from Dr. David Stewart's book, Healing Oils of the Bible. Here are the responses from each of the other companies.
#1 Does their company own any farms on which to raise herbs for oils? And if they do, are they new farms on land formerly polluted with herbicides, pesticides, and chemicals that contain residuals from the past, or are they farming land that is clean, which has never been cultivated or has been un-tilled for at least the last 50 years?
Answer: Young Living owns and operates farms in Utah, Idaho, France, and Ecuador, all of which were clean and free of chemicals for at least 50 years before Young Living agreed to buy the land. In fact, the land in Idaho had never been farmed before Young Living, and the Ecuador farm is being cleared from a primitive jungle, free from human contamination for thousands of years.
#2 Does their company have their own fully equipped testing laboratory to verify an oil’s composition?
Answer: Young Living also has an expertly staffed, fully equipped laboratory for testing oils including a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, and other equipment whose value adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
#3 Do they have anyone on staff with a trained nose who can analyze oils by their smell?
Answer: There are less than 200 people in the world with noses sufficiently trained to discern the chemistry of a fragrance. Gary Young is one of the few people in the world who can smell an oil and tell you what compounds are present, which are missing, and in what quantities. An essential oil company needs a person like that to check every batch of oil to make sure it is up to therapeutic standards. Such people can discern certain aspects of oil chemistry that a laboratory cannot measure.
#4 If their company purchases oils from outside suppliers, do they visit the distilleries and farms of those suppliers periodically to observe if the herbs are grown organically - without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers?
Answer: Young Living markets more than 100 species of oils and cannot possibly raise them all on their own farms. When they purchase from other growers and suppliers, they not only make initial site visits to verify that the oils are being produced and packaged properly, but they have a program of making repeated visits from time to time to make sure the standards are being upheld.
#5 Do they know if the grower has a testing laboratory on the farm to determine when the crop is at its peak for oil harvesting?
Answer: Young Living also has small labs on their farms to test the plants right from the field as they mature to determine the exact season and time of day to harvest the crop for the best oil. This is necessary because plants change their chemistry throughout the season and throughout the day, varying from week to week and hour to hour.
#6 Do they know if the crops were actually harvested at their peak time and, if so, was there an inordinate delay in taking them to the still and into the cookers?
Answer: Gary Young has personally trained his distillers in the art of distilling. In addition to the science of knowing exactly how to pack the cookers, the still operator must also learn the art of how to listen to the sounds of the steam inside the cooker and to be able to feel the outside of the cooker and diagnose how things are going inside to determine what adjustments need to be made.
#7 Do they know if their distillery personnel understand the art and science of distilling, exactly how to pack the cookers, how to administer the steam, how to maintain minimum temperatures and pressures throughout the cooker, and how to continuously monitor the process throughout distillation to make sure the oil produced contains all of its components in the proper proportions?
Answer: Young Living distills oils at minimum pressures and temperatures to gently coax the oil and all of its compounds into the finished product, even though significant money, time, and labor can be saved by distilling at high pressures and high temperatures like many companies do. High pressure/ high-temperature distillation may produce an oil with the fragrance compounds of an oil, but not with the therapeutic compounds.
#8 If their supplier makes a mistake in the distillation or harvesting processes that results in an inferior grade of oil, does that supplier sell the oil anyway or do they discard it?
Answer: In a few instances when mistakes were made and a batch of oil grown and distilled by Young Living did not measure up to Gary Young’s standards, the oil was discarded. Some companies would have sold such oil anyhow, if not to their customers, then to another retailer. Young Living will never do that. They would rather be in short supply of a given species than to market an inferior product.
#9 Do they know if the cookers in the distilleries of their suppliers have domed lids or cone-shaped lids?
Answer: Most stills use dome-shaped lids. Cone topped cookers deliver a better grade of oil than dome tops. By climbing inside of an actual cooker and visually noting the patterns of steam flow, Gary Young was able to determine that a dome-shaped lid caused the oil-bearing steam to curl and backflow into the plant mass, thus altering the chemistry and losing some constituents, while a cone-shaped lid allowed the steam to spiral directly up, out, and into the condenser without turbulence.
#10 Do they know if their suppliers supplement the distillation process with solvents to extract additional oil from the plant matter?
Answer: Young Living never uses solvents to finish off the distilling process, as many companies do.
#11 Do they know if their suppliers bottle their oils directly from the distillery without modifying the composition of the natural oil by adding anything or taking anything away?
Answer: Young Living oils are bottled as they emerge from the still in their completely natural state without adulteration (adding compounds) or refinement (removing compounds).
#12 Do they know if their company has tested their company’s oils side by side with Young Living oils in the same lab to make a fair comparison? And if so, where is the data?
"The factors that make Young Living unique and outstanding in the world of essential oil companies are so numerous they cannot all be presented in one article. When your life and your health are depending on it, you cannot afford to use oils whose chemistry and origins are uncertain. I have complete trust in the quality and integrity of Young Living oils. That is why I will neither use nor consider any other brand."
~ Dr. David Stewart, Author of Healing Oils of the Bible and The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple: God’s Love Manifest In Molecules.
This is not a comprehensive list of questions you could ask, but if their answer to any or most of the above is “no,” or “I don’t know,” then how do they know their oils are “pure therapeutic grade” and that they are “as good or better than those of Young Living?” Without such knowledge, how can they make any verifiable claims that compare Young Living Oils with any other brand? With Young Living, we know that the answer to all of these questions is “Yes.”
When Marlo Yoshimoto called doTERRA, first they were not willing to answer any questions. They told her to email all questions to their marketing department. She emailed stating the same thing she told every other company and then asked the 12 questions. They have still not responded to her email. Marlo called again and spoke with someone willing to answer her questions. She was told she could find the rest of her answers (the ones they didn’t know the answers to) on their doTerraTools.com page. However, Marlo Yoshimoto could not find the answers she was looking for on their page.
Answer: Young Living owns and operates farms in Utah, Idaho, France, and Ecuador, all of which were clean and free of chemicals for at least 50 years before Young Living agreed to buy the land. In fact, the land in Idaho had never been farmed before Young Living, and the Ecuador farm is being cleared from a primitive jungle, free from human contamination for thousands of years.
#2 Does their company have their own fully equipped testing laboratory to verify an oil’s composition?
Answer: Young Living also has an expertly staffed, fully equipped laboratory for testing oils including a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, and other equipment whose value adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
#3 Do they have anyone on staff with a trained nose who can analyze oils by their smell?
Answer: There are less than 200 people in the world with noses sufficiently trained to discern the chemistry of a fragrance. Gary Young is one of the few people in the world who can smell an oil and tell you what compounds are present, which are missing, and in what quantities. An essential oil company needs a person like that to check every batch of oil to make sure it is up to therapeutic standards. Such people can discern certain aspects of oil chemistry that a laboratory cannot measure.
#4 If their company purchases oils from outside suppliers, do they visit the distilleries and farms of those suppliers periodically to observe if the herbs are grown organically - without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers?
Answer: Young Living markets more than 100 species of oils and cannot possibly raise them all on their own farms. When they purchase from other growers and suppliers, they not only make initial site visits to verify that the oils are being produced and packaged properly, but they have a program of making repeated visits from time to time to make sure the standards are being upheld.
#5 Do they know if the grower has a testing laboratory on the farm to determine when the crop is at its peak for oil harvesting?
Answer: Young Living also has small labs on their farms to test the plants right from the field as they mature to determine the exact season and time of day to harvest the crop for the best oil. This is necessary because plants change their chemistry throughout the season and throughout the day, varying from week to week and hour to hour.
#6 Do they know if the crops were actually harvested at their peak time and, if so, was there an inordinate delay in taking them to the still and into the cookers?
Answer: Gary Young has personally trained his distillers in the art of distilling. In addition to the science of knowing exactly how to pack the cookers, the still operator must also learn the art of how to listen to the sounds of the steam inside the cooker and to be able to feel the outside of the cooker and diagnose how things are going inside to determine what adjustments need to be made.
#7 Do they know if their distillery personnel understand the art and science of distilling, exactly how to pack the cookers, how to administer the steam, how to maintain minimum temperatures and pressures throughout the cooker, and how to continuously monitor the process throughout distillation to make sure the oil produced contains all of its components in the proper proportions?
Answer: Young Living distills oils at minimum pressures and temperatures to gently coax the oil and all of its compounds into the finished product, even though significant money, time, and labor can be saved by distilling at high pressures and high temperatures like many companies do. High pressure/ high-temperature distillation may produce an oil with the fragrance compounds of an oil, but not with the therapeutic compounds.
#8 If their supplier makes a mistake in the distillation or harvesting processes that results in an inferior grade of oil, does that supplier sell the oil anyway or do they discard it?
Answer: In a few instances when mistakes were made and a batch of oil grown and distilled by Young Living did not measure up to Gary Young’s standards, the oil was discarded. Some companies would have sold such oil anyhow, if not to their customers, then to another retailer. Young Living will never do that. They would rather be in short supply of a given species than to market an inferior product.
#9 Do they know if the cookers in the distilleries of their suppliers have domed lids or cone-shaped lids?
Answer: Most stills use dome-shaped lids. Cone topped cookers deliver a better grade of oil than dome tops. By climbing inside of an actual cooker and visually noting the patterns of steam flow, Gary Young was able to determine that a dome-shaped lid caused the oil-bearing steam to curl and backflow into the plant mass, thus altering the chemistry and losing some constituents, while a cone-shaped lid allowed the steam to spiral directly up, out, and into the condenser without turbulence.
#10 Do they know if their suppliers supplement the distillation process with solvents to extract additional oil from the plant matter?
Answer: Young Living never uses solvents to finish off the distilling process, as many companies do.
#11 Do they know if their suppliers bottle their oils directly from the distillery without modifying the composition of the natural oil by adding anything or taking anything away?
Answer: Young Living oils are bottled as they emerge from the still in their completely natural state without adulteration (adding compounds) or refinement (removing compounds).
#12 Do they know if their company has tested their company’s oils side by side with Young Living oils in the same lab to make a fair comparison? And if so, where is the data?
"The factors that make Young Living unique and outstanding in the world of essential oil companies are so numerous they cannot all be presented in one article. When your life and your health are depending on it, you cannot afford to use oils whose chemistry and origins are uncertain. I have complete trust in the quality and integrity of Young Living oils. That is why I will neither use nor consider any other brand."
~ Dr. David Stewart, Author of Healing Oils of the Bible and The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple: God’s Love Manifest In Molecules.
This is not a comprehensive list of questions you could ask, but if their answer to any or most of the above is “no,” or “I don’t know,” then how do they know their oils are “pure therapeutic grade” and that they are “as good or better than those of Young Living?” Without such knowledge, how can they make any verifiable claims that compare Young Living Oils with any other brand? With Young Living, we know that the answer to all of these questions is “Yes.”
When Marlo Yoshimoto called doTERRA, first they were not willing to answer any questions. They told her to email all questions to their marketing department. She emailed stating the same thing she told every other company and then asked the 12 questions. They have still not responded to her email. Marlo called again and spoke with someone willing to answer her questions. She was told she could find the rest of her answers (the ones they didn’t know the answers to) on their doTerraTools.com page. However, Marlo Yoshimoto could not find the answers she was looking for on their page.
Why Young Living?
Have you ever wanted to truly own your time—and your life? What if going to work every day was exciting and enjoyable, and you no longer had to wonder how you were going to pay the bills? Young Living’s generous compensation plan gives you the power to take control of your future and build a business that will change your life forever.
Being a Young Living member goes beyond simply building a thriving business, however. You will also enjoy extensive networking opportunities, exclusive hands-on experiences, and a strong sense of community. Some of the unique benefits of Young Living membership include:
Become a member now by clicking here. Pick the membership option—Wholesale Member or Retail Customer—that matches your current situation.
Have you ever wanted to truly own your time—and your life? What if going to work every day was exciting and enjoyable, and you no longer had to wonder how you were going to pay the bills? Young Living’s generous compensation plan gives you the power to take control of your future and build a business that will change your life forever.
Being a Young Living member goes beyond simply building a thriving business, however. You will also enjoy extensive networking opportunities, exclusive hands-on experiences, and a strong sense of community. Some of the unique benefits of Young Living membership include:
- Generous Compensation: Young Living offers an industry-leading compensation plan with generous commissions and bonuses. Compensation Plan Highlights (PDF)
- Wholesale Pricing: Save 24 percent off retail pricing on Young Living products, and save even more money with exclusive specials and promotions every month.
- Essential Rewards: As a member, you are eligible to enroll in the Essential Rewards program and earn as much as 20 percent off each order in Essential Rewards points.
- Exclusive Experiences: Participate in unique events such as the Global Leadership Cruise and our annual International Grand Convention, and experience our Seed to Seal® process firsthand at farm harvests and plantings.
- Community: Enjoy a close-knit community of support. In addition to your sponsor, the entire Young Living family is ready to assist and encourage you in your journey.
- Education: Young Living provides ongoing health education opportunities through conventions, seminars, and newsletters to keep you informed and assist you in your wellness progress.
- Recognition: As you expand your organization and advance toward the prestigious rank of Royal Crown Diamond, you will enjoy special recognition for your accomplishments and leadership!
- Not interested in building a business yet? Enroll as a customer and receive our products at retail pricing with flexible monthly purchasing options.
Become a member now by clicking here. Pick the membership option—Wholesale Member or Retail Customer—that matches your current situation.