How To Tell If An Essential Oil Is Fake Or Adulterated
Carrier Oil Is An Undisclosed Ingredient Some companies offer pre-diluted essential oils to make them more affordable for consumers. But, the fact is that you should know this when purchasing your oil. An untrustworthy company will sell you an oil that’s been cut with carrier oil and not tell you. One way to identify this is if, say, an oil like Rose, Jasmine or other generally expensive oils seem erroneously cheap. In which case, you should ask the company if the oil contains a carrier oil in hopes that they’re honest with you.
It Contains Synthetic Fragrance Compounds Close your eyes the next time you smell a newly opened bottle of essential oil. Does it remind you of commercial room sprays, perfumes, candles or other fragrances? If so, it may be adulterated with synthetics or it’s completely synthetic. Keep in mind, there’s no such thing as “Honeysuckle” or “Apple” essential oil and essential oils generally smell like the plants from which they’re derived.
The Oil Lacks Qualities Characteristic Of Its Kind Is your German Chamomile essential oil clear? Does your Tea Tree smell more fruity than medicinal? Is your Vetiver oil thin and runny? Characteristics of an essential oil can vary depending on where its grown, but certain characteristics generally never change. If you pick up an oil that is far removed from others you’ve experienced of its kind, and the supplier has no reasonable explanation for it, then it is probably fake.
You Have A Bad Reaction To It Certain essential oils oxidize quickly and easily, like citruses for example. An oxidized oil will oftentimes have a rancid aroma and can cause skin sensitivity. If you buy a new bottle of Lemon and it has an off-putting aroma, it irritates your skin despite being properly diluted or both, it could very well be oxidized. In which case, ask the supplier when the oil was distilled.
How It’s Labeled All essential oils have a Latin name, which is their official name. If you’re buying an essential oil that isn’t labeled with its Latin name, be aware that it might be an inferior oil. If it’s a blend, be sure to check for an ingredient list that arranges oils in order of greatest to least and includes the essential oil name and latin name as well. They Don’t Offer GC/MS Reports For Oil Batches It all comes down to this. You can speculate about whether an oil is of low or high quality, but at the end of the day, it’s just speculation unless the oil is tested via GC/MS. At Botanical Delights, we buy only GC/MS tested essential oils because it accurately reveals if an oil contains synthetics, carriers, pesticides and more. After reviewing testing, our in-house aromatherapist analyze the test, checking that the oil is pure and of the highest quality available.
