Adulteration of essential oils is becoming more and more common these days. As the demand for them grows, the supply of top-grade essential oils dwindles. The temptation to thin the oils with solvents, then add synthetic fragrance is great. In the last several years, France exported 100 times more lavender oil than it produced. This can only be possible if the oil is being thinned.

True lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia) is expensive and difficult to find. Most of the lavender oil sold in America today is actually the hybrid, Lavandin, grown and distilled in China, Russia, France and Tasmania. It is shipped to France and cut with synthetic linolyl acetate to improve the fragrance. Then propylene glycol, DEP or DOP (odorless solvents) are added and it is labeled as Lavandula officinalis. Many times it also goes through heat processing to burn off the camphor the hybrid contains and then thinned with more linolyl acetate to appear as lavender. These bottles line the shelves of health food stores, herb shops and department stores, selling for $5.00 to $7.00 per half ounce. Unfortunately, most consumers don't know the difference.

Frankincense is very commonly adulterated. This essential oil requires 12 hours of steam distillation from expensive resin to be therapeutic-grade. Inexpensive frankincense oil that sells for $25 an ounce or less, is invariably distilled with alcohol or other solvents.

Lemon oil is another commonly adulterated essential oil. Terpene waste fractions left over from the industrial refining of citrus products and/or synthetic limonene is often purchased from chemical houses and used to dilute or "extend" genuine lemon oil. Since terpenes and limonene naturally occur in lemon oil, even a gas chromatograph cannot distinguish between synthetic and natural limonene.

The most commonly adulterated oils include frankincense, myrrh, lemon, peppermint, cistus, helichrysum, lavender and birch or wintergreen, although all essential oils may be adulterated easily.

Most consumers do not know that adulterated oils can cause rashes, burning, and skin irritations. The petrochemical solvents in them can cause intense allergic reactions and toxic accumulations. And that they are devoid of any therapeutic benefits whatsoever.

It is very important to know about the integrity of the company from whom you are buying the essential oil. It is also very important for the company or vendor to know about the integrity of the oil.

Many vendors do not realize that the essential oils they sell come from chemical laboratories. There are huge chemical companies on the East Coast that specialize in the duplication of essential oils. For every kilo of pure essential oil that is produced, there are between 10 and 100 kilos of synthetic oils created.

In addition, some bottles do not contain the oil stated on the label. Oils marked as "clove" may be distilled from the leaf instead of the bud. Clove leaf oil is less expensive but does not have the same chemistry or therapeutic properties as clove bud oil. Many times, essential oils marked "cinnamon" are actually "cassia." Birch oil is often really Wintergreen -- at least in this case, the oils are nearly comparable. But, very often, synthetic methyl salicylate is added to low-grade birch or wintergreen oils to "improve" its quality.

As you can see, labeling can be very misleading - considering there is no agency responsible for certifying that an essential oil is therapeutic grade. There is no requirement that ingredients be listed on essential oils bottles. Therefore, unscrupulous manufacturers can literally get away with making any claims they want. Once again, it is up to the consumer to educate himself or herself and know the difference.

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