Not all essential oils are created equal. From where they are grown and how (with pesticides, with ethical labour?), how the oils are extracted from the leaf, seed or flower, whether or not they are diluted to if other synthetic ingredients are added, there is a big (bad) wold of essential oils out there. There are some very simple things to look out for when buying your essential oils to ensure. you are getting pure, potent and what it actually says on the label and not a cheaper oil.
Purity and potency is especially important if you are using the botanical oils for medicinal. and therapeutic purposes, as cheaper or synthetic alternatives won't have the same properties and therefore, won't offer the same healing benefits.
Here are our top 4 tips to look out for when buying essential oils:
ETTO: The purest and most potent therapeutic oils on the planet
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Natural fragrance and synthetic fragrance are not the same.
If it says “Fragrance” or “parfum” then it is synthetic, not naturally distilled from the plant. Synthetic fragrance is created in a lab and often contains parabens, phthalates and mineral oils. There are over 3000 chemicals that get used as fragrance. Natural fragrance is a mixture of essential oils and botanical extracts.
What is its Scientific Name? -
It should refer to the Latin scientific name in the ingredients list Eucalyptus Polybractea (Blue Mallee Eucalyptus) Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil)
Is the price too good to be true? - If they are too cheap to be true, they are unlikely to be pure essential oil. We’ve seen “Pure Eucalyptus oil” marketed in Australia for $3 for 10ml - this is well below bulk prices and is most likely diluted.
Is it Pure essential oil, really? - Some are labeled as “essential” oils yet on closer inspection they are diluted with castor oil, mineral oil, alcohol, water, artificial fragrance or even synthetic preservatives. Adulterated oils can be irritating, resulting in reactions especially for people with reactive, sensitive or eczema prone skin. They also do not possess the same medicinal properties as the real, naturally occurring, steam distilled essential oils do.
Which Eucalyptus Oil Should I Use?
ETTO grows and steam distils high grade medicinal Blue Mallee Eucalyptus on their farm in Western Australia
There are a few varieties that are predominantly used for oil including Eucalyptus globulus (blue gum), Eucalyptus radiata and Eucalyptus dives (peppermint eucalyptus). ETTO Australia steam distils the variety Eucalyptus polybractea (Blue Mallee) for its cineole content is much higher making it a superior and more potent therapeutic botanical. Common globulus will often only contain around 60% cineole, and radiata and dives even less at around 40%, whereas ETTO polybractea contains 84% cineole.
International standards require all commercially traded eucalyptus oil must have a minimum content of 1,8-cineole of 70%. Eucalyptus globulus doesn't naturally. meet this so it needs to be "rectified" to enhance its cineole levels.
What is rectification? The oil is distilled using a low temperature vaccuum distillation method that removes some of the other components in eucalyptus like pinene and sabinene, thereby increasing the concentration of remaining cineole.
This means the globulus oil is not a genuine reflection of the oil's natural composition as found in nature. In contrast blue mallee's composition is exactly how it was created in nature. Changing the natural composition could mean altering the overall effectiveness of the oil and the benefits it provides.
This means, technically eucalyptus globulus oil is not as natural as blue mallee oil.
When using the oil for therapeutics, we believe it's important to have it as close to nature as possible and to have the more superior, naturally occurring potency of 1,8-cineole as provided in Blue Mallee Eucalyptus.
Learn more about Blue Mallee versus Globulus and why Blue Mallee is superior here.
Shop ETTO 100% Pure, Australian grown & steam distilled Blue Mallee Eucalyptus Oil, 50ml $49
The Best Sources of Tea Tree Oil
ETTO's High grade Tea tree plants growing in the pure, pristine environment of Eastern Australia
Tea Tree is native to Australia, specifically it thrives on the east coast. Due to the growing demand for Tea Tree, particularly for use in skin care and household cleaning for its antibacterial and antifungal properties, other countries have started producing Tea Tree oil. Often when a plant is grown outside of it native environment, the oil produced from that plant will have a different quality and molecular composition. It may also require more synthetic fertilisers and pesticides to successfully grow.
The Australian Tea Tree industry is heavily regulated and oils coming through from other countries where regulation and testing is not required is resulting in diluted imitation oils that are typically by-products of other industries, industrial waste, or an entirely different plant species (in independent testing we have seen products labelled as Tea Tree or Eucalyptus on Australian shelves test as Pine or camphor oil).
If in doubt, request certification and lab testing results and proof of source from the seller. We independently test our oils and we share the lab results on our website here.
