Number 2. The purity and efficacy of the essential oils will stun you. There are no fillers, synthetics, fragrances, perfumes, pesticides etc, just 100% pure Essential Oil. Don’t be fooled. You can pay good money for an Australian Certified Organic oil in a health food store, only to get home and read the label to see it only contains 1ml pure essential oil, 11ml multipurpose liquid. With doTERRA you are paying for 100% pure essential oil!! Absolutely no fillers. You will never see the words ‘multi purpose liquid’ printed on doTerra’s bottles. Ever.

Number 3. Are the oils Organic? Many of them are yes!

BUT- doTerra has chosen not to label those that have been certified out of desire not to discriminate against those that haven’t paid for certification. Yep, that’s what this is all about…..who can AFFORD certification. Here’s the thing right, organic certification is a very expensive and arduous undertaking, particularly for those in developing countries where certification may cost more than a years wage! Farmers in Guatemala simply cannot afford to pay for certification despite the fact they are following all of the necessary practices that make a product deemed organic. Rather than having consumers show bias towards the oils that would be labeled as certified organic, they decided to level the playing field and give all of their farmers a fair and equal opportunity to create an income.

Nope, they are better than organic – yes I thought this was total bullshit at first too, but bare with me and read on……

Words of wisdom from Penelope Sherwood-

“I can assure you that there can be a standard “better” than certified organic. The criteria for “certified organic” is extremely loose in a lot of instances. The standard in Australia ACO is probably the best in the world but can still leaves gaps in ultimate quality of product or food. These issues are the very reason the owners of doTerra went down the path they did re CTPG . They wanted assurance of the individual batches of oils BECAUSE “certified organic” standards vary enormously globally & I know what I’m talking about because I have been in the thick of this for over 30 years . The testing processes that these oils go through are bar none across the planet & I have been in the US watching & listening to INDEPENDENT EXPERTS backing up the efficacy & the purity of these amazing oils.”

dōTERRA‘s quality standard for essential oils, CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® exceeds industry standards. Because organic certification varies from country to country, province to province, and in the US, from state to state, it is not currently possible to acquire all oils under certified organic status.

However, through the doTerra analysis process, we are able to determine if any chemical residue exists in the essential oil, such as pesticides, herbicides, extenders, and solvents. With this rigorous analysis process (over 12 different testing methods are used not just GC/MS), we are able to ensure that all CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils offered by dōTERRA are a step above organic and a step above all other essential oils offered in the market.

“CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils mean something very different. It means we protect the chemical compound of the plant just as it was produced from the earth. We don’t need to improve upon that. If we have the care, the scientific knowledge, the commitment and the integrity, we can preserve that.” -Dr. David K. Hill, dōTERRA’s Chief Medical Officer.

Our CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® testing standard requires that our oil extracts be both free of other foreign materials, which is one of the main reasons for people seeking organic botanicals, and it tests for certain compounds at certain levels so that our oils meet the performance criteria for each lot of oil. If an oil fails the test, specifically pesticides, there is no secondary process for removing the pesticides or foreign matter. The oils failing the test would simply be rejected. Other than the careful distillation of the oils from the plant material, there is no other processing that takes place. They are aromatic extracts, nothing added, and nothing removed—they either meet our standard or they don’t and if they don’t they are not sold to doTerra Wellness Advocates. Instead they are passed onto the perfume industry where the care factor is way way less.

We partner with experts that have a lot of experience in this field, and their long history is part of the art of producing such beautiful oils. They are farmers, collectors, and chemists, but they are committed to distilling essential oils as artisans; and we believe are mindful of their environments and are committed to sustainable practices. Responsible Plant Stewardship is the name of the game with doTerra because without proper care and management, we won’t have the plants we need to create the essential oils we want.

Number 4. The Extraction Methods doTERRA Uses.

There are differing opinions on what an essential oil is and how it should be extracted and even used. Many have learned that a statement of purity on the label does not necessarily mean a guarantee of quality and are left disappointed.

Varying extraction methods are used by essential oil companies in order to remove the aromatic compounds from plant material. Oftentimes, toxic solvents are used to separate the essential oil from its corresponding plant—a practice dōTERRA is adamantly opposed to. dōTERRA primarily uses two types of essential oil extraction: steam distillation and expression. Both of these processes are organic.

For example, dōTERRA Hawaiian Sandalwood essential oil undergoes a laborious and time-consuming steam distillation procedure. To collect the oil from the actual wood, the outer layers of the wood are stripped from the heartwood. The heartwood is then chipped, filtered, and then chipped again into finer pieces before undergoing a 36-hour steam distillation process of high pressure and high heat. The whole process requires enormous amounts of fuel, energy, and time, making this exquisite essential oil so valuable. In comparison, the steam distillation process of Peppermint typically takes less than two hours with very low heat and pressure.

Expression is the other method available to extract essential oils but unlike steam distillation, expression, sometimes referred to as “cold pressed,” does not involve heat.

In this process, oil is extracted from the product under mechanical pressure. dōTERRA uses expression to extract all of its citrus oils, such as Wild Orange, Lemon, Lime, Bergamot, and Grapefruit, from the rind.

Please don’t be fooled- Too often I hear someone say “Cold pressed oils are the best and the purest”. What a load of bollocks. Different plants need different extraction processes. You aren’t going to cold press Sandalwood or Cedarwood for example. You can try but you’re not going to get a damn thing out of it!

Proper distillation requires a consideration for the uniqueness of pressure, temperature, time, and harvesting practices, each of which may be as diverse as the plants themselves. A poor distillation process can alter or destroy the necessary aromatic compounds that comprise the essential oil, leaving a substance far different from the intended goal and something that would not be used to support health and wellness. Distillation is both an art and a science.

Number 5. The integrity of the people involved. Right from the top with our 7 CEO’s (yes that’s right 7) and down to the Wellness Advocates and all of the farmers and community project workers. Everyone is amazingly supportive, fosters team work, and actually CARE about peoples health and welfare, it’s awesome and a really wonderful community to be a part of. FORBES recently rated doTerra as the Number 1 Mid Sized Employer Company in the world AND International Company of the Year by the World Trade Association. How’s that for a testament to their awesomeness! Have a read of this heart tugging memo from David Stirling because to me, it really does sum up what these people are ALL about.

Number 6. They are amazingly cost effective. I love that they are cents per drop and there are 250 drops in a 15ml bottle, 85 in a 5ml bottle, you literally only ever need a drop to maybe 3 at a time. They are so powerful and potent! The versatility of doTerra essential oils is also second to none. The same oil that I use to clean my bathroom with I can use internally in my water bottle and on my skin as well! You would never be able to do that with the generic essential oil from your Health Food Shop. Please don’t try!

Number 7. DoTERRA are not only the largest essential oil company in the world but also are now the largest network marketing company in the US in only 8 years. The entire healthcare industry has been disrupted by this and it was needed right? DoTERRA doesn’t have competition in other essential oil companies. The main competition is the old way of thinking around health and self care. It’s the people that don’t have a strong why to live a more natural life, who trust as truth all the information they’ve been fed for years. All you need to do is take one look at what’s happening in the landscape of health care and where it is headed over the next 10 years. In the next 10 years every hospital and doctors surgery in the world will be using essential oils as a valid form of therapy. In September 2017 doTerra hosted the first ever Essential Oil Symposium for Medical Professionals and is now breaking ground with a brand new Medical Clinic that will serve as the testing for a new style of Health Care. If you haven’t got it by now, we are moving away from the conventional model and moving towards alternative therapies that aren’t in the grip of pharmaceutical companies. doTerra is a global health care revolution. First empower yourself and then get to work empowering others. The world needs you to.

…and finally, Number 8. They are freakin awesome plain and simple 🙂