There are 4 types of oils on the market today. Companies that sell therapeutic grade or medicinal grade oils fall into the first two categories only. The other two would be the very inexpensive store bought brands.
Authentic: 100% Pure ~ Single Species ~ True Botanical ~ Unaltered ~
Authentic essential oils are 100% pure throughout the bottle. There are no added synthetics or other species of oils. They are considered the true botanical. They make up the small minority of all essential oils on the market. Young Living is in this category.
Manipulated: 100% Pure ~ Multi-Species or Augmented ~
Perfumers are often hired by essential oil companies to help make the final product smell more pleasing and less earthy. They will take away some of the heavier molecules (fractional distillation) to make it smell sweeter or add very small amounts of another species to enhance the aroma (rectification) to ensure the same aroma from batch to batch.
Perfume: Pure + Synthetic ~
You will often see an essential oil labeled as “pure” when they are not. There is a percentage of pure essential oil and a percentage of synthetic to enhance the final aroma. These types of oils often cause headaches and do not have any therapeutic action.
Synthetic: 100% Synthetic ~ These “essential oils” are not essential oils at all. Because there are no labeling regulations on the term “essential oil,” full synthetic oils are able to be labeled as pure and sold to unsuspecting consumers to increase profit. These often smell nothing like the original plant, but they can be very close, and that is why a consumer may not know they are synthetic and have possible severe negative reactions.
How do you know if your brand is 100% Authentic? Listen to my podcast to hear how you can find out. https://soundcloud.com/jenosullivan/essential-oil-quality-by-jen-osullivan