07/31/2024
Imagine that there are several essential oil bottles on a table in front of you. Each was purchased from a different source online or from a retail store.
You have to choose which ones are really lavender essential oil.
All of the labels say "lavender essential oil".
All of the bottles are beautifully labeled and say "pure lavender essential oil", "100% pure lavender oil”, "Lavandula angustifolia essential oil", "true lavender", or "organic lavender".
How do you know which one(s) are authentic lavender? Looking at the labels alone, it would seem that all of them are.
Tyler Wilson, our Director of Plant Research at the D. Gary Young Research Institute, asked that question and purchased commercial lavender samples from around the world.
After laboratory analysis, his team found that 75% of the purchased bottles of lavender were adulterated.
What does "adulterated" mean? It means that 75% of the samples were either diluted with carrier oils (without disclosing it on the label), contained lavandin (instead of lavender), had something else added to the lavender oil, or were a different species of lavender other than Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (true lavender).
How can you be certain that the lavender you are buying is ? Buy from a company who has 30+ years of experience growing lavender, as well as in-house laboratories to verify that every essential oil you receive meets a strict standard.