Q: Does Young Living adulterate, dilute, or cut its oils in any way?

A: We do not dilute, cut, or allow any adulteration to our single oils or the single oils used to make our oil blends, supplements, or other products, nor do we fractionate (isolate or distill out specific components) our essential oils. We harvest, distill, and sell only 100% natural, pure essential oils that meet the Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ standard.

One of Young Living’s defining attributes is taking quality so seriously that we actually own and operate our own farms and steam extraction equipment. We have operations on three continents, including Europe, South America, and North America that produce the finest essential oils on earth. Whether an oil is produced on a Young Living farm or secured from a qualified, trusted supplier, every oil is tested for compliance with Young Living's Therapeutic Grade™ Standard and rejected if it does not comply. Again, no other vendor is more fanatical on quality, nor is there any other company which consistently delivers such a quality product.

Young Living's founder, Gary Young, has spent twenty-three years acquiring knowledge on herb cultivation and proper essential oil distillation and has worked with the foremost world experts on essential oils, including Daniel Penoel, MD, Jean-Claude Lapraz, MD, Radwan Farag, PhD, and many others.

Moreover, Young Living’s Chemistry Lab, Research and Development department, and Quality Assurance department have spent more than a decade working with Gary Young and other researchers to refine and develop the unique Young Living therapeutic-grade standard. Every year, Gary and Young Living staff travel across the world to personally inspect essential oil distilleries and herb cultivation to ensure the highest therapeutic quality.

Young Living annually rejects about 72 percent of all essential oils received for analysis. These oils are found to be extended, adulterated, or sub-therapeutic. It is a sad fact that all of these rejected oils will eventually be sold and marketed by other less discerning companies, sometimes at a lower price, sometimes not.

Q: What is Young Living’s therapeutic-grade standard, and how does it compare to standards such as AFNOR and ISO?

A: When Gary Young started researching essential oil quality in the early 1990s, a patchwork of different independent standards existed including "Grade A," "AFNOR," "ISO," German Commission E, and others. Many of these standards were designed for the perfume industry and did not necessarily correlate with the health benefits of the essential oils. About nine years ago, Young Living created a special category of essential oil quality known as "Therapeutic Grade™" that incorporated elements of these standards into a new benchmark and linked essential oil composition with its therapeutic effects. Since then, other companies have begun using this term to describe their oils. It is important that consumers not confuse these oils with the Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ standard. Some oil sellers would have you believe that there are other laboratories, organizations, or associations qualified to certify an essential oil as therapeutic-grade. This is not true. There is no one other than Young Living qualified to certify an essential oils as Therapeutic Grade™. Gary Young and Young Living have spent nearly two decades defining the Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ standard based on:

• Clinical research on essential oils involving medical professionals
• Reviews of thousands of single patient anecdotal reports
• Personal experience of hundreds of thousands of users
• Investigation of historical and traditional uses
• Analysis of thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies of essential oils
• Gas chromatograph analysis of the thousands of batches of oil provided to Young Living

Aromatherapy

• Direct Inhalation ~ Inhaling certain essential oils heightens the senses and can have many positive effects on the body. Directly inhale the oil from the bottle.
• Diffusion ~ Use Young Living's Essential Oil Diffuser to disperse oil in a micro-fine vapor into the air. 
• Humidifier ~ Fill a humidifier with water then place a tissue or cloth, sprinkled with a few drops of oil, in front of the escaping vapor. (Do not put essential oil in your humidifier. It will float on top of the water instead of rising with the water vapor and may damage your humidifier.)
• Steam ~ Place a few drops of oil in hot water, cover your head and the container in a tent-like fashion with a towel, and breathe deeply and slowly.

Topical Application

• Direct ~ Essential oils can be applied directly to the crown of the head, to the temples, behind the ears, over vital organs, to the feet, and many other locations. Dilution may be required. Carefully tip the oil bottle and place 2–3 drops in the palm of your hand or directly on the desired application area. If dropping oil in your hand, rub palms together in a circular motion and then massage oil onto the desired point of application. If applying directly to the desired area, use your hand to massage the oil in a circular motion onto the skin. Repeat if desired. Caution: Essential oils are very potent and some may be irritating to the skin. If irritation occurs, immediately apply Young Living's V-6 Enhanced Vegetable Oil Complex to the area to dilute. Please read label directions for each individual oil before using.
• Massage ~ Essential oils can be used before, during, and after therapeutic massage.
• Perfume ~ With natural, earthy, and exotic aromas, essentials oils can also be worn as perfume.

Internal Use — Some essential oils make excellent food flavorings or dietary supplements. To take essential oils internally, try these tips:

• Capsule ~ Add several drops of oil into an empty capsule and swallow with water.
• Water or Milk ~ Add 1–2 drops of oil to a glass of water or rice milk.
• Bread ~ Add 1–2 drops of oil on a piece of bread.
• Cooking ~ Use oils in place of herbs and spices in your everyday cooking.
• Blue Agave ~ Add 1–2 drops of essential oil into a teaspoon of Young Living’s Blue Agave sweetener.
• Direct ~ Drop directly onto the tongue and swallow. Exercise extreme caution when using this method. Many essential oils are potent and should be tested by pouring a single drop onto a spoon and tasting a small portion to determine the amount of oil to be used.