Essential Oil Authenticity Tests

 I am an avid DIY-er, and this includes my hobbies of aromatherapy and natural perfuming!  As anyone who shops for essential oils knows, there are a glut of companies offering a vast array of essential oils or otherwise what they advertise as "natural" essences and other genuinely plant-based ingredients.

Recently, I received an order of what a company claimed to be authentic essential oils.  The prices on them were good but not so low as to be unbelievable, so I took a chance despite my having a few initial reservations.  Upon receiving my oils, I was disconcerted about the way in which the order had been packed, as well as the inconsistency of the information on bottle labels themselves.

After researching how I could possibly determine these oils' authenticity, I decided to conduct a few simple tests that anyone can do in their own home to reasonably assess the genuineness of any so-called essential oil.  Below are my tests and findings.

This was the first, (and hopefully only) time I will receive an order of essential oils that have come in an envelope rather than in a box.  This is a very cheap way to send otherwise fragile (and expensive) items.

Champaca is a tropical plant that is not known to be grown in Bulgaria because the climate there cannot support it.  But since Bulgaria is known to produce several well-known essential oils, many people would disregard this fact.  Educate yourself on where oils are produced and check bottles for country of origin.  Some oils have 'Various' for their origin.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it oftentimes means that the oil may be a combination of one oil that was obtained from several differences sources.  The best oils are from one single source.

The champaca wax label listed the Latin, or botanical name.  (These are synonyms by the way)  You can't see that in this pic, but my point is that the Linden Blossom does NOT include the Latin name.  These are inconsistencies that cannot be ignored.  In addition, there really is no such thing as an 'Absolute Oil.'  This is incorrect usage of the term 'absolute.'  It is not technically an oil.  That's why

 absolutes are listed as 'such-n-such absolute' instead of 'such-n-such essential oil.'

Above is my paper test, in which I placed a drop of the oil in question on a strip of regular copy paper.  If the essential oil is authentic, the stain will disappear within 4 - 24 hours, depending on its level of volatility; in other words, how quickly it evaporates.  Every oil evaporates at a different rate depending on its chemical makeup.

The general rule of thumb is: if an oil stain remains after 24 hours at the most, that means it is pretty safe to say the oil contains some sort of "carrier" oil that has been added to dilute it, or that the oil itself is either synthetic or contains something synthetic (artificial.)  This "absolute" failed my test as you can see.

Here is how the champaca wax looked.  It cuts easily with a pocket knife.

  

BEFORE: Champaca chips placed into ethanol - 5:30pm

 Champaca chips placed into ethanol
for 14 hours.

This next experiment deals with attempting to dissolve my champaca wax in ethanol (Everclear.)  If it is real (meaning natural,) it should dissolve completely into the ethanol within 4 to about 12 hours.  I even agitated it several times by swirling it around while I waited.  It never changed its composition in any way, as you can see in the photo below.  This indicates that it is not actually genuine champaca wax, but something else entirely.  

** It is worth adding that in the actual listing for this item, they stated that it was soluble in oil and alcohol, which I proved it wasn't!

AFTER: The same champaca chips in ethanol 14 hours later - 7:30am next day - no change. 

Two more really easy tests anyone can do:

1 - If you place an oil onto a paper strip and it evaporates, that does not mean that it is authentic!  Many fragrance oils (synthetic fragrances) are in readily evaporative carriers, such as alcohol, simethicone or other such substances.  DILUTE WELL one drop of an oil in a carrier oil, and place one drop of it on your skin, (preferably on the thick skin of the bottom of your foot or something,) and then wait a few hours.  If it is real, it will change its scent over time, because essential oils exhibit various smells as they evaporate.  If it never changes its scent, you can determine it is probably synthetic, as synthetic fragrances are not capable of changing their smell.   

2 - DILUTE WELL one drop of an oil in a carrier oil, and place it on some thick skin (maybe on the bottom of your foot) and then try to scrub it off immediately.  Synthetic fragrances are designed to be extremely tenacious and the scent will remain on your skin even after scrubbing the area repeatedly!  This is also a tell-tale sign of a synthetic substance.  The only exceptions might be a few of the heavier base note essential oils, but those, too, will eventually wash off after a few scrubbings, unlike the synthetic ones.

In summary, I determined, through these simple experiments, that the products I bought were either synthetic (aka fake,) or some combination of real and synthetic, also known as adulterated.  I am disappointed that I was mislead into thinking I was buying something natural and authentic when I was not, but I enjoyed conducting these simple at-home tests to substantiate my initial suspicions.

I hope that after reading this blog you will be more able to easily spot questionable products, and avoid buying synthetic aromatherapy ingredients.  Happy crafting!

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