The oils which include standardized contents marked FCC for Food Chemical Codex requires including certain levels of aroma chemicals which normally occur in oils. However there is no such law that restricts chemicals to be added in synthetic forms so as to meet the criteria established by FCC for particular oil.

If we take the case of lemongrass essential oils, they are required to contain 75% aldehyde for meeting the FCC profile for this specific oil. But in this case the aldehyde can be procured form a chemical refinery rather than lemongrass. Thus saying FCC oils are always natural may not be the actual case as it seems to be.

The undiluted essential oils that are used for aromatherapy are generally termed as therapeutic grade. However in countries where the industry is far from being regulated the therapeutic grade is based on the industry consensus rather than being of a regulatory category. Many of the aromatherapists are taking advantage of such situation by making misleading claims regarding origin and contents of the oils they use to give treatments. The previous belief of the oil’s purity being dependent on the gas chromatography or hold less value today as all those testing can be done to show the chemicals involved in the oil.

 

Most of the chemicals present in the essential oils get manufactured by perfume industries or adulterate essential oils as they are generally cheaper. The main reason for this misuse to occur is the difficulty to distinguish between naturally occurring chemicals and the synthetic additives.

 

An experienced person with the educated nose can easily determine whether the essential oil is adulterated or not.

 

Safety concerns:

Getting the right natural essential oils are very essential as adulterated oils can have potential safety concerns. In addition, there are potential safety concerns. As aromatherapy is given by applying oils on our skins it could create irritation to the skin and some more skin damages.

There are several reactions that may occur with use of various oils such as Citrus peel oils like lemon and lime. As many oils contain chemical components which are sensitisers they could cause skin reactions that may turn out to be serious on occasions.

 

Many people support the idea of ingestion of some essential oils for the therapeutic purposes, but the aromatherapy professionals and experts never recommend self prescription due to highly toxic nature of essential oils. There are many common oils which are extremely toxic if taken internally such as the Eucalyptus oils. A dose as low as a single teaspoon ha reported to cause significant poisoning upon ingestion. Thus the care should also be taken that these oils are not accidentally taken by children.

Oils whether ingested or applied on skin can have potential damages to our body. Thus it is very essential that we buy certified products as well as from reliable sources to get the best and natural products for the therapy.

 

 

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