Essential oils are everywhere—cute little bottles advertised as health support, suggested to be used for massage, aroma therapy, internal consumption, and listed as ingredients in cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning products, home fragrances, and food. But the truth is, essential oils are poison.
The Essential Oil industry is a billion dollar entity that flourishes by marketing these toxic products as herbal remedies. Yes, essential oils are created from plants, but the end result no longer represents the natural healing components of a whole plant. Essential oils are created by a refining process that, instead of extracting the beneficial components of a plant in a balanced way, condenses enormous quantities of plant matter into the tiny amounts sold in each bottle. The resulting oil is actually highly concentrated amounts of the very chemicals that the plant uses to protect itself from predators. The heady aroma of an essential oil is actually condensed poison that endangers the health of humans, animals and our environment.
Wild-harvesting of the large quantities of plants needed to create essential oils has led to some species becoming endangered, and as plants become hard to find, the oils are many times adulterated to meet demand. The majority of popular essential oil companies source their raw materials from corporate farms that turn out large quantities of plants using pesticides to ensure a profitable crop. Since there are currently no organic certifications for essential oils, the resulting product also contains those pesticides.
When we use essential oils in any manner, our bodies are absorbing highly toxic substances that can lead to a wide range of disfunctions on every level of our being. And, in the case of infusing the air with these deceptively sweet smelling oils or using cleaning products that contain them, we expose those around us and our pets to their harmful effects too. Then, there’s the matter of disposal of the left-over oils and their containers that continue the damage in polluting our landfills and waterways, poisoning surrounding air, soil, plants, animals, and aquatic life.
The FDA does not regulate essential oils, which means that there is no FDA approval for any essential oil. It also means that there are no real regulations on the companies that produce them. So, the ad campaigns don’t reveal the fact that using essential oils in any manner—or as an ingredient in other products—in, on, or around the body, exposes us to noxious chemicals that threaten our health and our very existence. It’s the same scenario as the tobacco industry’s intensive campaigns of the ‘60s that glorified smoking cigarettes with no mention of the dangers to our health.
April Graham—an accomplished herbalist, teacher, and writer— has done extensive research on the dangers of essential oils, and in her book Essentially Deadly, offers an eye opening, in-depth education on these toxic products. It is a must-read for anyone considering using essential oils or products that contain them. She also includes instructions for creating safe, effective herbal remedies at home. The book is available in paperback or ebook . And her site also includes a shop section of ethically sourced, organic products that she creates.
April also offers a wealth of information on identifying and utilizing our precious plant allies on her YouTube channel. Her deep wisdom, easy instructions, and signature phrase “you are smart enough to do this” have been supporting my herbalism endeavors for years.
Plants have been providing benefits to human health for millennia, and there are many safe and easy methods of utilizing them. Whole plant matter can be used in cooking, made into infused oils (not to be confused with processed essential oils), tinctures, teas, and flower essences to name a few, that are all safe and effective means of bringing the healing power of plants into our bodies.
I invite you to check out April’s work, discover the power of true plant medicine, and to help make our collective essential oil free.
Together in Wellness,
Torie
