Holistic Essentials

The Big MLM Test Round is now complete and all results are in!!

BigMLMTestRound Picture

 

With the help of others in the aromatherapy community, we raised the money to have 14 different oils and blends tested from the two leading MLM companies – doTERRA and Young Living. Below are the results of all the tests. I’m VERY happy to say that all remaining samples have passed testing! (doTERRA’s Deep Blue and OnGuard did not and are talked about in my previous blog posts)

 

doTERRA:

Icon of Lavender - Lot 160957A Lavender - Lot 160957A (2.5 MiB)

 

Icon of Melaleuca alternifolia - Lot 160999A Melaleuca alternifolia - Lot 160999A (2.5 MiB)

 

Icon of Peppermint - Lot 160906A Peppermint - Lot 160906A (2.5 MiB)

 

Icon of Wild Orange - Lot 160966A Wild Orange - Lot 160966A (2.4 MiB)

 

Icon of Eucalyptus Radiata - Lot 1610310A Eucalyptus Radiata - Lot 1610310A (1.7 MiB)

 

Icon of Ginger - Lot 160976A Ginger - Lot 160976A (3.1 MiB)

 

Young Living:

Icon of Jasmine - Lot 16223147 Jasmine - Lot 16223147 (3.5 MiB)

 

Icon of Citrus Fresh - Lot 16225055 Citrus Fresh - Lot 16225055 (2.8 MiB)

 

Icon of Cedarwood - Lot 16216087 Cedarwood - Lot 16216087 (2.9 MiB)

 

Icon of Eucalyptus globulus - Lot 16330106 Eucalyptus globulus - Lot 16330106 (1.8 MiB)

 

Icon of Gentle Baby - Lot 16310123 Gentle Baby - Lot 16310123 (3.9 MiB)

 

Icon of Peace & Calming - Lot 15B30074 Peace & Calming - Lot 15B30074 (3.6 MiB)

 

Icon of Helichrysum - Lot 15B18241 Helichrysum - Lot 15B18241 (3.7 MiB)

 

As a reminder, you can find all tests performed to date, for all companies, on the Test Reports page.

 

-Yours in Health,

Miles

DoTerra On Guard results are in and I’m having Deja Vu…

DoTerra On Guard Ingedients

One of the oils selected for testing for “The Big MLM Test Round” currently being funded on YouCaring was DoTerra’s “On Guard” essential oil blend. Typically those results would not have been released until the funding was completed, however given the circumstances with the “Deep Blue”, I had advised DoTerra of the following error at the same time. The results were to be posted on Monday June 13th along with DoTerra’s statement, however they decided to release their statement early. I did not think it fair for people to have a statement referring to a test result that had not yet been published…so here it is!

Below is a copy of the test report from the testing lab. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]

On Guard Protective Blend - Lot L1604011K
On Guard Protective Blend - Lot L1604011K
On-Guard-Protective-Blend-Lot-L1604011K.pdf
3.1 MiB
6116 Downloads
Details

It was determined this blend contained a combination of both cinnamon bark AND cinnamon leaf despite the label and bottle only claiming to contain cinnamon bark. I advised DoTerra of this error last week during our discussion regarding the labelling issue on their Deep Blue blend. They issued a statement to me which I have posted below. While this test technically gets a “fail,” It should be noted that all oils contained in this blend were 100% pure and natural, with no synthetics present. DoTerra has some work to do to ensure all of their labels are accurate and transparent, as consumers and their members expect nothing less from a company claiming to be the world leader in essential oils.

In the statement below, Emily mentions an ongoing label audit. Unfortunately I must point out that this issue was not noticed until this testing and my subsequent notification to them and I challenge the accuracy of that statement. That being said, I appreciate the quick action taken by DoTerra to update their website listings and their commitment to have their bottle labels corrected immediately. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]

Statement From Emily Wright RE: On Guard and Labeling Issues
Statement From Emily Wright RE: On Guard and Labeling Issues
Statement-from-Emily-Wright.pdf
138.3 KiB
2250 Downloads
Details

Feel free to use the comments section below to discuss your thoughts. Are you satisfied with the outcome? Or do you think more should have been done to prevent these errors from occurring in the first place?

 

-Yours in Health,

Miles

Unlisted Ingredients – Honest Mistake? Or Serious Safety Issue?

Results for the DoTerra Deep Blue Soothing Blend are in!

Well by now we are no stranger to the seemingly endless quality issues in the world of aromatherapy. Even large companies with strict quality control measures do not appear to be immune. The results for the DoTerra Deep Blue soothing blend are in and they were very interesting (for a number of reasons.) Essential Oil blends can be difficult to analyze and sometimes can present challenges to the labs performing the analysis. Be sure to read the labs “conclusion” statement on pages 4 and 5 of the report below. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]

Deep Blue Soothing Blend - Lot 160784A
Deep Blue Soothing Blend - Lot 160784A
Deep-Blue-Soothing-Blend-Lot-160784A.pdf
4.6 MiB
6530 Downloads
Details

I was confident in PhytoChemia’s conclusion that this blend contained an unlisted ingredient – Ylang Ylang. You can see a picture of the DoTerra bottle label and ingredient list below which is missing Ylang Ylang. The website listing, also below, failed to mention the use of Ylang Ylang as well. [Since notifying DoTerra on June 3rd, the website listing has been updated to show the addition of Ylang Ylang]

DoTerra Deep Blue Soothing Blend

Bottle label as of June 3rd 2016

DeepBlueWebListingPic

Website Listing as of June 3rd 2016 before notifying DoTerra

 

The presence of an unlisted ingredient is a serious concern for obvious reasons to many people. I notified DoTerra of the results June 3rd 2016 and provided them with 3 business days notice of the publication of the results and the opportunity to provide a statement if they wished to do so. You can see a copy of that e-mail below. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]

Email To DoTerra RE: Deep Blue Results
Email To DoTerra RE: Deep Blue Results
Email-to-DoTerra-RE-Deep-Blue-Results.pdf
135.4 KiB
859 Downloads
Details

I received a phone call Tuesday June 7th from a DoTerra representative who informed me they have received my notice and the test results. They thanked me for allowing them the opportunity to reply and asked when the results would be published as they would like to provide a statement for me to post with them. They advised me they would send it to me via e-mail the following morning and confirmed my e-mail address verbally. I’ve waited until now to publish the results pending receipt of their statement, however I have received nothing from them this morning as they indicated. If I receive anything at a later time, I will update this article.

UPDATE: DoTerra sent me the following statement in response to the results. It was issued at 4:04pm (well after the “morning” period they had mentioned, but it got flagged as Spam and took an extra hour before it arrived to me. I immediately posted the update below. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]

DoTerra Deep Blue Statement
DoTerra Deep Blue Statement
DoTerra-Deep-Blue-Statement.pdf
109.7 KiB
2577 Downloads
Details

Use the comment section below to discuss the results and your thoughts on the statement from DoTerra. As always, I’m happy to help answer any questions I can. As a reminder, all previous test results are posted on the Test Reports page

 

-Yours in health,

Miles

Saje Wellness Mislabeling Mishap? Plus results from Rae Dunphy, Plant Therapy, and Young Living!

EO Testing

Results from the last round of funding are starting to arrive! Samples were chosen off the testing Wish List based on your votes! This round we had the following companies tested: Saje Wellness, Rae Dunphy, Plant Therapy, Young Living, and DoTerra. Results from the DoTerra sample are still to come (because of shipping timelines, it arrived at the lab after the others had).

As a reminder, all test results are posted on the Test Reports page for easy access. Below you will find a summary of the results and communications with the above mentioned companies.

Plant Therapy:

Melissa (Organic) - Lot MC0100
Melissa (Organic) - Lot MC0100
Melissa-Organic-Lot-MC0100.pdf
1.1 MiB
1509 Downloads
Details

Rae Dunphy Aromatics:

Blue Tansy (Organic) - No Lot Number
Blue Tansy (Organic) - No Lot Number
Blue-Tansy-Organic-No-Lot-Number.pdf
1.3 MiB
1042 Downloads
Details

Saje Wellness:

Lavender (Regular Grade) - No Lot Number
Lavender (Regular Grade) - No Lot Number
Lavender-Regular-Grade-No-Lot-Number.pdf
1.0 MiB
2132 Downloads
Details

I sent an e-mail to Saje Wellness the morning of May 30th to advise them of the failure and provide them 3 business days to provide a response or reply if they wished. They have not replied.

UPDATE: Saje has posted a reply on my Facebook page as well as on their blog.

“We want to start by apologizing for the delay in response. Please know the quality of our ingredients is not something we would ever take lightly. We have used this time to investigate these claims and ensure that we are indeed providing you with 100% Natural Lavender. We have reviewed the testing provided as well as our own internal tests, and we want to reassure you that our Lavender Essential oil is indeed 100% Natural. We believe that where the confusion has come from is in regards to the species of Lavender, as there are over 30 different species of Lavender (Lavandula). Maintaining product quality has been at the forefront of what we do, it has been our founding principle since we opened our doors over 20 years ago. To ensure no question goes unanswered we are having one of our resident essential oil experts write a blog to provide further clarification on this important subject. We will post the link here as soon as it is live. If you have any further questions after that one of our founding partners is happy to jump on a call with you, simply contact info@saje.ca with your phone number. Thank you for reaching out!”

Young Living:

Tea Tree - Lot 16317018
Tea Tree - Lot 16317018
Tea-Tree-Lot-16317018.pdf
960.8 KiB
1556 Downloads
Details

 

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