Oils Essential & Synthetic: What's the real deal?

Just about everything has a scent and in personal care we add even more scent to create a by product

that is more appealing for the user (that would be you and I). There are some formulations that I have created for Tres Spa that scent was really not the factor in selection of oils. I formulated the face care products for effect and the aromatics are simply what they are.But, for the most part, the synergy blends I create, the over all aromatics are strong contributing factor.

I do get loads of questions from people about different scents and, frankly, what is the difference? I only use purely natural plant essences that also known as essential or aromatic (in case you are wondering).  So here it is without the fluff and hype.

Essential oils - Pure, Organic, Absolute

Essential Oils are the natural essences of plants acquired by steam distillation, cold-expression, and on occasion chemical extraction, from a single botanical source.
All of these are considered essential oils;
Pure means that they are obtained from the blossoms, leaves, bark and roots of flowers, herbs, fruits and spices and they are unadulterated.* 
Organic means that they were grown free of herbicidal residue, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.  and harvested and processed following the NOP/USDA certified practices 
Absolute oils -  Absolute Oils are highly concentrated essences obtained from plant parts but it takes a great deal more work and often involves chemicals for extraction. You will find these used mostly in perfumery and the aroma is very concentrated and closer to the origin scent of the plant itself. Absolutes are required when there is very little oil in the plant parts and steam distillation would lose the oil and there is no way you could cold press. I use an absolute of Tuberose for my Three Roses blend and I can tell you, it is very potent indeed. They are very expensive to produce so the price is dear. For example, it takes 30 roses to make 1 drop of a rose absolute. 

These are not Essential oils;

Synthetic oils aka "fragrances* are the laboratory creation of compounds brought together to achieve a smell that is mass appealing. This is big business and there really is an art to it. It's amazing what they can trick you into smelling and how overpoweringly strong and dominating they can make the scents. Talk about a lingering odor! 

Nearly Natural aka Nature Identical

OK now this category really chaps my hide. How this one is created is by taking one of the less expensive essential oils and mixing it with synthetic compounds to make a cheap version. They justify it by saying it has "less synthetic compounds" than the 100% synthetic fragrances. To me, it is a marketing ploy to make you think it's a better eco-choice than a synthetic but in reality is a synthetic It's like that room freshener brand that had the marketing campaign that included the line "a drop of pure essential oil in every one". Seriously! No wonder people get confused about what is real and what is synthesized! They stopped being identical to nature the instant you adulterated it with synthesized compounds. 

Side note on a fantastically lovely term "Therapeutic Grade" - 

One of my most favorite terms. It sounds so amazingly wonderful and it makes me think of a truly magnificent elite group that I just need to be in. But it's all smoke and mirrors. OK what I am about to say may ruffle some tail feathers, but the fact is the fact. There is no independent industry standard for the testing and certifying of an oil to class it as "therapeutic grade". I know there is a great deal of marketing collateral that may say different, but there is no independent industry standard. And on a side note, most people I have ever heard making the claim are not therapists at all. Personally, I make skin care really good natural personal care. Simple.  

* Some companies sell oils that have been cut with a carrier oil so it is cheaper making it adulterated.How can you tell? Well they should be labeling it but if you see a .5 bottle of rose for $6 when everyone else has a price point quadruple that price, then chances are they cut it with carrier.  

** Just because a bottle label has the term "fragrance" it does not mean it is synthetic. Some people like to hide the ingredients of their blend of essential oils (or there may not be room on the label to list them properly) so they simply use the term "fragrance"

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