I’m a huge fan of essential oils and use them regularly at home and on the road when traveling. You may have seen them in a holistic supermarket – they sell them at Whole Foods around the country and in other like-markets in Europe and Australasia. Of course in Southeast Asia, India and other parts of Asia, they’re more readily available depending on where you go. But, how do you know if the oils you find are of high quality and the real deal?
On the “cream-of-the-crop” essential oils list is dōTERRA, a brand we’ve known about for awhile but haven’t had a chance to experience in-depth until recently.
What sets dōTERRA apart from so many of the others on the market is their commitment to quality and the variance of their offerings.
dōTERRA’s Uniqueness
dōTERRA’s touts their vision as wanting to bring a new standard of therapeutic-grade essential oils to the world, to better understand how essential oils work—how the components in an essential oil interact, how essential oils interact with cells, how they affect people, and how they can improve our home and other environments.
There are three other unique highlights of dōTERRA essential oils:
- They are sourced from their indigenous habitat. Plants grown in traditional or indigenous environments yield better results because the natural elements specific to that region promote the best profile of the aromatic compounds produced by the plant.
- The oils undergo extensive testing (up to 15 different ones) to ensure that they are CTPG and the purity, potency and efficacy of the oils are consistent and safe for use.
- dōTERRA’s extensive research into the science behind essential oils allows for the creation of unique essential oils blends such as OnGuard, Breath, Deep Blue and many more including an emotional aromatherapy kit.
So, Why Use Essential Oils?
I’m a big believer in the power of nature to heal. At least for me, nature centers and balances my mood and gets me grounded when I’m spiraling due to stress and obstacles in my daily life.
Essential oils are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants and trees and they’re known to provide plants with protection against environmental threats and apparently play a role in plant pollination.
They can be used for a variety of purposes, whether its for pure relaxation (lavender oil is used by a lot of massage therapists), for healing and wellness (note that fennel — shown below, peppermint and ginger is known to help digestive issues) or for even more esoteric purposes, like spiritual work around incantations and intention work — even prosperity.
Above photo credit: doTerra.
The use of aromatic oils to attract prosperity into one’s life has been practiced for thousands of years by some of the world’s most renowned cultures and according to a handy site called Pure Plant Essentials, “aromatic wealth attraction formulas have often been inherited through one’s family lineage as a practice for passing on a wealthy family’s prosperity consciousness and to ensure the family’s continued attraction of riches.”
Essential oils have been used in sacred healing rituals, rites of passage and also for purification; you’ll see this and experience it if you’ve ever traveled through the Mediterranean, southern Europe and the Middle East. People will use them in spiritual or religious rituals for purification – also in Asia of course.
You may be surprised to learn that some of these so called prosperity oils are also ones that we’ve used to cook with in many cultures, such as Cinnamon Bark, Bergamot, Ginger and Cloves. While Bergamot may be included on Prosperity Oil lists, like so many essential oils, it has other benefits as well, such as helping to calm and boost your confidence.
Lesser known prosperity essential oils include Sandalwood, Galbanum and Frankincense, also known as Boswelia Frereana, and known to be a great all around essential oil for many useful purposes. Some people say “money” incantations while using some of these essential oils but note that each experience is personal so we can’t recommend essential oils for prosperity or health, but can merely speak to our own experience using them over time.
dōTERRA offers a myriad of essential oil offerings across all of these areas. For example, did you realize that Oregano essential oil is said to be good for all around immune support while Melaleuca can be used as first aid for the skin.
The Essential Home Collection Kit
Their Essential Home Collection Kit is a great starter kit if you’d like to get a combination of useful essential oils you can use on a daily basis. It includes Lavender, Frankincense, Lemon, Melaleuca, Oregano, Peppermint and four which are combinations/blends: dōTERRA Breathe, DigestZen, dōTERRA OnGuard and something they refer to as Deep Blue.
It’s a favorite of wellness advocate and yogi Liza Pitsirilos who I met at the World Happiness Summit in Miami in March. She loves that the kit includes both a diffuser and 10 essential oils, all specifically chosen to cover a diverse array of health and home care from skin care, to immune and respiratory aid to digestion as well as sleep aid. She says, “Think of it as your emergency kit for your medicine cabinet.”
Included in the kit is Deep Blue, a soothing blend noted for muscle and joint support, Breathe blend which is meant to be good for respiratory support, Degestzen, known to be helpful for digestive issues, occasional nausea or motion sickness and On Guard, which is a natural defense blend that you can use to gargle with, put on doorknobs and phones for cleansing or even diffuse in a room to purify the air.
As noted, the kit comes with a Petal Diffuser which is designed with a neutral color to fit in most home environments and has both a relaxing mist and soft white ambient light. We almost always use a diffuser at night, usually with meditative music in the background and we swap out our oils often although lavender is usually part of any blend for bed time relaxation. Their diffuser covers up to 330 square feet and has 1, 2, and 4 hour diffuser settings.
My experience with their essential oils so far has been extremely positive. I started with a few shots of Lemon to help with clarity and energy in my home office and then used On Guard and Peppermint at different times to see if they changed the way I felt during the day.
It’s worth noting that citrus oils are versatile in their use and can be used to cleanse the body as well as household surfaces. This oil can be used in water to stay adequately hydrated and to neutralize your PH level.
Peppermint oil can be used to sooth head tension by applying it to the temples, to cool the body down when it’s overheated, as a digestive aid, as a breath freshener and as an energizing oil as well.
Overall, I felt more invigorated while also maintaining calm. We even tried Oregano one day which made an Italian visitor smile when he walked in the room.
Also included in the kit is Frankincense, which is a favorite of many wellness advocates I know because it is such a great all around essential oil. It is noted for supporting a healthy nervous system and is cleansing for the skin. You can apply some to the spine or souls of the feet as well.
While we didn’t test this one out, a blend called Peace comes in their Emotional Aromatherapy Kit and meant to be good for calming the nervous system and helping the mind focus.
How & When to Use Essential Oils
Some people are traditionalists and believe in using only pure essential oils for the best possible benefit. Essential oils can be used a single oil at a time or in complex blends in one of three ways:
Aromatic | Topical | Internal
There are labels on the kits to show how and where you can use them. It is important to check whether an oil can safely be applied topically or not and whether you can ingest them – not all of them can be taken internally. We are not health practitioners so cannot advise on whether they’ll be a fit for your needs so you should check with your own doctor or practitioner before using any of these products.
We have also used essential oils for spiritual rituals. For example, an intention ritual that is around success on a new project. I may combine a prosperity essential oil with incense known for the same (i.e., Cedarwood incense is great), with a crystal known to support new beginnings and a positive mantra with clear intentions about what you want to achieve with your new project. I love crystals and continue to dive deeper into learning about their usefulness and beauty.
Again, please note that my experience is purely my own and am not recommending that any specific products will achieve the results I have gotten. Note that with any spiritual or wellness practice, what works for one person may not work for another. What I can say is that essential oils have been incredibly beneficial in my life and I always opt for one during a massage and use them in diffusers at home and in hotel rooms to quiet my mind before bed.
Dedicated to Sustainability
dōTERRA follows sustainability best practices through their Co-Impact Sourcing Initiative which seeks to develop long-term, mutually beneficial supplier partnerships while creating sustainable jobs and providing reliable income in underdeveloped areas.
Additionally, their non-profit Healing Hands Foundation seeks to bring healing and hope to the world, for lives free of disease and poverty, and to ultimately empower impoverished communities with the tools needed to become self-reliant.
For more information on dōTERRA, this site has useful information which includes details on how you can order as well.
Awhile back, we also reviewed Gurunanda and have written about a few different diffusers like Aroma 360 and others which we’re fond of, in some of our Gift Guides. Be sure to check out our Wellness Products section if you’re interested in a purposeful lifestyle, our Spa & Retreats section, as well as our new Spirituality Section, which we plan to expand this year.
Note: we were given products to test out but all opinions expressed are entirely our own. We are not recommending products for any spiritual or wellness purposes or benefit, but merely talking about our own experience using them. Consult with your health practitioner before trying any new product to see if its right for you.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
