Aromatherapy: A New Journey
Part Nine

Essential Oil Shootouts

by Hank Friedman

I was introduced to the concept of "an essential oil shootout" early in my collecting of essential oils.

The process is simple. Two people get together, bringing with them either some or all of their essential oils. Then we sit down with each company's oils from the same plant, e.g. two or more peppermint oils, and compare them side-by-side.

[Sometimes, I've done shootouts by myself, which has enabled me to see which of the oils of each type are the best.]

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An Important Shootout

Recently, a friend who had explored essential oils with me several times came back from a trip and told me that her friend signed her up with one of the most popular essential oil MLMs. (MLM means multi level marketing company.)

I found myself blurting out "Oh No!", because during my very first shootout I'd discovered that that company's oils were very inferior.

Fortunately, she found my response funny instead of being upset by it, and told me that she'd bring over the set of oils that she'd gotten by signing up, and we could do another shootout.

[By the way, she'd been told, by her friend, "all of the right things". E.g. that the oils were therapeutic grade, carefully distilled, only first distillations, etc. The slick manual that came with the package had high production values, too.]

I was very curious to have a rematch because the previous shootout (with this company's oils) was many years ago, and now that I am much better informed and much more experienced, I wondered if I'd feel the same way about their oils.

She herself, sniffing the oils in isolation -- I.e. without having any other oils at hand -- thought that they were pretty good.

We were both shocked by the results.

In every comparison, her oils were simply terrible. Burnt notes, harsh components, and monotonous "uniscents" instead of richness and complexity.

She was so disappointed that she couldn't imagine using the oils for anything!

That's why it is so important to educate oneself by collecting samples from several different companies, so that one can experience the difference between artisanal and crude oils.

And to review my articles on How to Evaluate Essential Oils

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End of Part Nine

(Note: Unlike many websites that "review" essential oils but are actually making a profit by selling oils via affiliations, I have no financial relationship with any aromatherapy company.)

Part One:
Aromatherapy: A New Journey

Part Two:
Finding the best essential oils

Part Three:
Early Insights

Part Four:
The different methods of extraction

Part Five:
Exquisite Scents

Part Six:
The Essential Oil Company
I didn't want to love

Part Seven:
How to evaluate essential oils

Part Eight:
A Phenomenally Great Essential Oil Company

Part Ten:
Using GC/MS
to determine the quality of essential oils

and also, my blog on:

The Magical oil called Oud
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