Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils - What are the 4 Categories?

What are the different grades of oils, and how important are certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils? In the United States there is no rating system for essential oils. The closest the FDA gets is “pure” or “therapeutic grade”. Only 5% of the contents of a bottle of essential oil has to have the actual oil to be considered an "essential oil." The rest of the bottle is fillers and chemicals. So, what are the different grades of oils, and what does it mean to be certified pure therapeutic grade?

Essential Oil Categories

Grade A is therapeutic grade, made from organically grown plans and distilled at low temps. These oils will actually say "certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils" either on the bottle or on their website.

Grade B essential oils are food grade but may contain synthetics and pesticides, fertilizer, chemical extenders or carrier oils.

Grade C oils are perfume oils that often contain chemicals. They usually use solvents, for example hexane, to gain a higher yield of oil per harvest. Solvents, which studies show can be cancerous, appear in many store bought oils. They may also be diluted 80-95% with alcohol.

Grade D classification is know as “floral water” which is aromatic only and is usually a byproduct of Grade A distillation. After pulling out the actual oil, companies buy the left over trash water. They then put 5% of it in their essential oil bottles and fill the rest with carriers. They label their bottles of oil with the word "pure," even though it is far from pure!

What Do Essential Oil Categories Mean?

Grade A is the only true pure oil. Grade D is like walking into your fridge and taking a glass of juice and diluting it 95% before drinking it. You would not get the full benefits of the juice. This is why you want Grade A oils. Before you purchase, you want to check a few things:

See if the company grows their own plants
Ask if they own their own fields
Find out if they control the entire process from planting the seed to sealing the bottle

Pesticides, pollution, previously farmed land- all of this can affect the quality of an oil.

I see Essential Oils everywhere...

We’ve all seen those amber oil bottles at Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, and Whole Foods. The packaging may look really pretty, and may use intriguing language. However, be sure you know what’s inside before you scoop them up and add them into your wellness routine. these are typically not certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils.

Always read the back of the bottles! Opt for pure essential oils instead of essential oils diluted with carrier oils and other hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

Also, before you buy those Target oils, there is some information you need to gather. Here are the top most important questions—the answers are crucial to finding the best and SAFEST essential oils out there.

What is the company’s commitment to quality?

Some drugstore essential oils are fragrance oils diluted with carriers and additives. However, in the Grade C or D category, some drugstore options may be 100 percent essential oils. This is a good start, but there is more information you need to obtain to to determine if they are certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils.

Does the company commit to quality? To ensure your oils are pure from start to finish, it is important to investigate a brand’s sources and processes. Are they committed to quality from the moment the seeds are planted, until the seal is placed on the bottle and shipped off to distribution?

Think about it- it takes approximately 5,000 lbs of rose petals to distill 1 lb of essential oil (~ 2 cups). Here's another way to look at it- there are 22 lbs of rose petals in a 5mL bottle of essential oil (~83 drops). So, for example, if the farm uses pesticides on the crops, imagine how much toxic chemical is now in this little bottle that you use in your home, on your body, etc!

Where do certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils come from?

Now, more than ever, sustainability matters. The question, "where are my botanicals grown and distilled" is a key to learning about the integrity of the oils that you will incorporate into your life.

Choose an essential oil company that values responsible manufacturing and processing at all stages in the supply chain, from farm to final packaging.

certified pure therapeutic essential oils — Labbeemint Partner Distillery
WHITE SWAN, WASHINGTON, USA

What is the testing process of certified pure therapeutic grade oils?

While testing doesn’t change the quality of essential oils, it does affect quality claims. Proper testing of the oils both in-house and through third-party testing sites ensures that unbiased, trained scientists put their stamp of approval on the oils.

What are some ways you can find out a company's integrity?

Call and inquire about the farms used by the company. Are they domestic or international? Does the company own the farm, harvest, and distill the oils? Do they even know where the farms/distilleries are located? Are the farms and distilleries open to visitors to ensure transparency in the production?

Where to Buy Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils

After years of research, 3 main Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils are Young Living, Rocky Mountain Oils, and Doterra. Young Living and Doterra are comparable in the sense that they are MLMs, however, I prefer Young Living's wide variety of product lines, their scents, their Seed to Seal promise, and their specific blends and oils. Rocky Mountain Oils is not an MLM and has very high quality oils, however, does not have the other product lines that Young Living does. Rocky Mountain Oils also lacks the Seed to Seal promise.

Not sure how to use these essential oils? Check out this post on which carrier oils work best for you when blending and applying topically.

Take Aways

There are different categories of Essential Oils.
You get what you pay for.
A lot goes into each bottle of Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils, therefore a lot can go wrong!
Do you research on companies and quality of oils for your own safety.

If you’d like to check out Young Living oils, you can do that here. Happy oiling!

xoxo

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