Essential Oils - How to Choose Correctly and avoid counterfeit
In recent years, the popularity of essential oils has grown tremendously. The increased demand for them has led to the fact that sometimes availability can be poor and prices are high. Unfortunately, this has led to more and more falsifications of essential oils on the market.
Counterfeiting and dilution affect the quality and efficacy of essential oils. In this article, we will review the most typical ways to counter essential oils and how to identify fake oil.
The most common ways in which the essential oils on the market are fake
- Dilution of quality: Essential oil may be diluted by adding other oils or liquids. At its simplest, it may mean that the oil is diluted with, for example, some inexpensive vegetable oil. Alcohol or other solvents can also be used for dilution. This, of course, reduces the concentration of genuine essential oil and its qualitative properties.
- Combining two or more oils: Genuine essential oils may be combined so that the scent resembles more valuable oil. This is, of course, a genuine essential oil, but with the wrong name, and of course its care properties are not the same as the real valuable oil. For example, a rose is a very expensive oil, so falsifying it may attract some sellers.
- Adding synthetic substances: Synthetic fragrances may be added to essential oil. They can try to repair poorly diluted essential oil or want to make the scent more strong. Synthetic scent oils are also cheap, so counterfeiters use them to continue with essential oil. However, these synthetic oils do not provide the same therapeutic and skin care benefits as genuine essential oil.
- Selling scented oil as genuine essential oil: The composition of genuine essential oil can be copied using a few most typical oil scent molecules. These can be synthetic or naturally insulated chemical ingredients. This produces a scent that resembles essential oils, but much cheaper. However, genuine essential oil is made up of a variety of molecules produced by the plant itself, and the synthetic copy can never correspond to a genuine compound produced by the plant. Thus, the therapeutic effect is not the same.
Counterfeits may be particularly difficult to detect if the buyer is not aware of the properties and quality of the oil. A trained aromatherapist already identifies most counterfeits. Extensive knowledge of oils and their properties such as typical color, viscosity and fragrance help to identify counterfeits. Not all plants produce essential oil, so this kind of counterfeit is easy for an expert to identify. For example, an apple that does not get essential oil at all.
This avoids a fake essential oil
1. Check the packaging material
Genuine essential oil must always be packed in a dark or colored glass that protects it from pollution caused by light. Unlike plastic grades, the glass as a material does not react with essential oil. If the oil is packed in a plastic or a clear transparent bottle, this is that the company does not have expertise in essential oils and the risk of getting fake oils is greater.
2. Investigate product labels
Read the product description carefully and check that the oil is completely pure 100% essential oil. Some oils are misleading that it contains genuine 100% essential oil. If other substances are included in the oil, it is not a genuine essential oil.
Reductive rose essential oil is often diluted in, for example, jojoba oil, 1ml of rose oil and 9ml jojoba and is multiplied in the product description. This dilution can be added to massage oil or skin care products, but it is not suitable for diffuser or fragrance defect.
3. Is there a Latin name on the package?
Essential oil is always from a genuine plant to jas they are reported by names of the plants of the plants. This is important because there are several varieties of many plants and the therapeutic effects of different varieties may differ.
In pure essential oils, the Latin name is either immediately on the front of the package, or it is found in the list of the packaging. So, if you get an oil in your hands where you can't find a Latin name, then this is a problem with a fake.
4. Pay attention to the price
Prices for essential oils vary greatly depending on the plant, which is extracted by the oil. For example, orange essential oil is at a more affordable end, while the most expensive oils are rose, jasmine and neroli. If, for example, the product line contains, for example, the essential oil of rose or jasmine at a considerable price, it is probably a counterfeit. Otherwise, essential oils are valuable, especially organic quality, so cheap price can certainly be too good to be true.
5. The scent
Genuine essential oil is strong and intense. Professionals, as well as those who have used essential oils for a long time and have tried different brands, learn to recognize the real essential oil. Of course, this is, of course, difficult if the experience has not accumulated.
A good tip, if the oil smells strongly to alcohol or reminds me of an artificial fragrance, is probably a fake.
6. Check the seller's range
If the brand selling essential oils includes plants that cannot be manufactured by essential oils, this will indicate a lack of branding and unfortunately the risk of getting fake essential oils.
Most of the fruits, except for citrus fruits, are those that cannot be produced by essential oils. These include apple, peach, banana, mango and strawberry. These fruits can be used to produce various plant extracts and scented oils, but they should never be marketed with 100% essential oil name.
7. Get oils from a trusted operator
Essential oils are a product group that requires expertise, so the easiest way to get to get oils from a trusted operator. Does the company have a long history and experience? Ask, is the company trained an aromatherapist who is responsible for procurement? And can a company be able to trace the origin of the oils?
There are many tips on the web to test the authenticity of essential oils. However, we do not think all of these are usable. For example, a test where oil is dripped on white clean paper and allowed to dry for a couple of hours. If there is no stain on the paper, the oil test is probably genuine. Because essential oils differ very much depending on the plant, this test is not valid. For example, orange oil can dye a yellow stain and some oils (such as vetiver), are the coolest composition and contain compounds that do not evaporate rapidly and may thus leave the stain. Also, if the essential oil is diluted with alcohol or other volatile solvent, there is no stain and the oil is still fake.
Flow Cosmetics essential oils are always genuine 100% essential oils that can be traced. The acquisition of oils is the responsibility of a trained diploma romotherapist Riitta, who is also the founder of our company. For each item, we demand an analysis certificate from our suppliers and always examine incoming items in a sensory way. Two decades of experience with essential oils have helped us find the best quality and standards of our quality and standards with whom we work together.
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