HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR ESSENTIAL OILS WELL?
Essential oils are active products, so you have to be careful not to buy just anything and choose good quality ones: they will be all the more effective… and healthier because they are “pure” and not “tampered with”!
OPT FOR ESSENTIAL OILS WITH REAL QUALITY GUARANTEES
At the global level, standards on methods of analysis and specifications for essential oils are defined by the ISO TC54 working group, which takes into consideration information from world experts. In France, since 2008, the AFSSAPS (now ANSM, National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products) has drawn up recommendations relating to quality criteria, in order to regulate their use and allow better control. A good essential oil bears in particular the mentions "HEBBD" (Essential Oil Botanically and Biochemically Defined), it is a guarantee of traceability, quality and strict control.
The essential oil must be:
100% pure: without the addition of another essential oil or vegetable oil.
100% natural: free of any chemical product (such as mineral spirits, synthetic molecules, etc.).
100% total: not deterpenated, not rectified, not discolored, not diluted.
Traceability must be perfectly controlled, and systematic quality controls of each batch of essential oil (chromatogram, color, flavor, smell, density, miscibility with alcohol, etc.) must be carried out by manufacturers in order to establish a quality report. complete and accurate analysis.
Where to buy essential oils?
Do not buy your essential oils just anywhere, without qualitative reference or advice. Buying from a pharmacist is the safest.
IN PRACTICE, WHAT SHOULD I CHECK ON MY ESSENTIAL OIL BOTTLE?
Many mentions must appear on the packaging of essential oils, read them and take particular care that they appear clearly and legibly:
The botanical family of the plant as well as its Latin name and the producing organ, which helps to avoid any confusion.
The chemotype: so as not to be mistaken in properties. For example, there are 8 main chemotypes of common thyme, with different indications and uses.
The expiry date, the lot number, as well as the producing body (“op”).
Precautions for use. In general, before any use, you must read the precautions for use appearing on the essential oils or essences that you use. Be careful however, the regulatory inconsistency which governs the marketing of essential oils in Europe (no less than 6 different regulations!), implies that all the uses and therefore precautions for use of an essential oil may not be indicated on its packaging. or be different from one essential oil to another depending on the regulatory status under which it is registered.
The equivalence: 1 ml is equivalent to a number of drops, a number which can differ according to the essential oils, for example 1 ml of essential oil of ravintsara is equivalent to 39 drops whereas it will take 29 drops of thyme with linalool to obtain 1 ml of this essential oil.
A bottle of essential oil must have a dropper cap calibrated according to the standards of the European Pharmacopoeia. If this is not the case, you can get a dropper pipette (in pharmacies, check that it bears the indication "European pharmacopoeia standard"), which is essential for correct measurement.
Good to know: some manufacturers indicate on the packaging the precise number of drops for 1 ml, for easier intake.
WHICH ESSENTIAL OIL PACKAGING SHOULD BE PREFERRED?
Essences and essential oils must be packaged in a glass bottle (not plastic), which must always be dark in color: this facilitates conservation since essential oils are altered by the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
It is preferable to choose small bottles with a capacity of 10 ml, which avoids having "bottoms of bottles" lying around too long and expiring before being used. With the exception of “cult” essential oils which are frequently consumed in larger quantities, which can also be found in larger format for these three major “basics” which are true lavender, peppermint and ravintsara.
Practical and for more security, choose bottles with tamper-evident caps equipped with a child safety system.
To know !
Some oils are colored, this is normal. For example, thymol thyme essential oil can be blood red; that of bergamot, green; and that of lavender, pale yellow. Thus, the color of an essential oil can depend on the nature of the plant but also on the material in which the still is made: a copper still will give an essential oil of pink wintergreen, while an aluminum still will produce a light yellow oil.
HOW TO PROPERLY STORE YOUR ESSENTIAL OILS?
Essential oils must be stored away from light and heat (ideally between 5 and 30°). The essential oils of rose, thyme thymol or peppermint, for example, congeal into crystals at low temperature (this does not, however, affect the quality of the essential oil which, as soon as it is again at room temperature, liquefies).
The ideal is to leave them in their packaging (with the instructions) in order to avoid errors, to keep them well sealed (they are oxidizable and volatile) and upright (to prevent the oils from "gnawing" the spout). drops and the cap, which are made of plastic).
Thus protected, your essential oils can be kept for about 5 years (only 3 years for citrus essences; a little less, ie 2 years for essential oils obtained from conifer needles, such as Scots pine).
AND ORGANIC FOR ESSENTIAL OILS?
It's even better ! However, you cannot find all the essential oils organically, because some plants grow in the wild, for example, and not all producers subscribe, for reasons of high additional cost in particular, to the certification process. organic. But when possible, you might as well buy bottles of certified organic essential oils:
- European Ecocert certification for organic cosmetic essential oils;
- European AB certification for organic essential oils food supplements.