How to distinguish real essential oil from synthetic one? How to distinguish natural essential oil from synthetic one

Aromatic oils are sold in different packages, depending on different prices. Among them there are high-quality and cheap fakes. How can you independently distinguish natural oil from a synthetic product.

Aromatherapy is treatment using aromatic oils. She uses the forces of nature hidden in natural essential oils. They treat not only with the help of odors, but also by influencing emotional condition person, although this is also an effective way.

How are essential oils used?

Aroma oils are used for inhalation and added to massage cream. Essential oil contains ingredients that affect chemical processes in the body, and this affects the work individual organs and systems. Aroma oil used externally during massage is easily absorbed by the skin and affects the entire body, including the endocrine system.

They are also used internally, adding to medicinal teas. affect people differently and require special selection to achieve maximum effect.

It is important to remember that only diluted essential oil can come into contact with the skin. Lavender and tea tree oils can be used in concentrated form.

Only natural essential oils are used for treatment. Synthetic products may have a similar smell, but beneficial influence have no effect on the body.

They can be used to scent rooms. But under no circumstances should such a substance be used for massage or internally; it can have irritating, allergenic, and toxic effects.

How to distinguish natural essential oils from synthetic ones?

With a 100% guarantee, it is possible to distinguish a fake from a real natural product only through chromatographic research, which is almost impossible for the average consumer.

How can you determine whether a synthetic or natural aromatic essential oil is at home?

First of all, in terms of price, the cost of natural essential oils is very high. When buying a large bottle with the inscription “100% natural essential oil” for a penny price, be sure that it is a fake.

Essential oils do not leave greasy stains on paper, but vegetable and mineral oils do!

Having good sensitivity to odors, you can accurately determine the quality of the oil by applying one drop to the fabric or skin of your wrist. Inhale the aroma at certain intervals. Natural essential oils have many components, they have different volatility, so immediately after application, after half an hour and after an hour the smell will be different. And synthetic oil will smell the same, only weaker over time.

The shelf life of natural oils is very short; they quickly lose their properties and instantly evaporate in a poorly closed container.

Natural essential oils are packaged exclusively in glass containers with 50% shading and special closure.

If they sell natural aromatic oil peach, strawberry, lily of the valley, lilac - just pass by! This is definitely synthetic; essential oils are not extracted from these plants. All fruit scents (except citrus) are synthetic fragrances.

If you see lotus essential oil on sale, move away from the charlatans. Everyone knows that lotus is a plant listed in the Red Book. There are no industrial plantations all over the world; everything that can be collected without damaging the plant is obtained from lotus growing in the wild, in ponds and swamps. This is not sold in the market.

Natural esters cannot cost approximately the same, with a difference of a few cents per 10 ml. Because the raw materials are different, from dill and mint to plants from the Red Book. And these raw materials are received in various ways, one is taken from industrial plantations, and the other is collected in hard-to-reach wilderness areas. The processing is also different, the production technology itself and the yield of the final product are different - from 5% to 0.1% by weight of the raw material. Therefore, the price of various natural essential oils fluctuates tens or hundreds of times.

Aromatherapy is marching victoriously around the world, and that’s it more people get carried away wonderful properties essential oils. Where demand increases, careless manufacturers always appear who care little about their own reputation, and even less about the health of their customers. Thanks to them, the shelves in pharmacies are loaded with counterfeit products in packages promising 100% naturalness of the product. Experts can easily distinguish fakes, but how can the average user choose an essential oil?

What are the dangers of synthetic oil?

It is difficult for a beginner to distinguish a natural essential oil from a synthetic fragrance by smell. A professional will tell you how many levels and notes the product has, and a person on the street may find an artificial scent even more interesting. The difference becomes noticeable only after application, and, unfortunately, instead of a magical transformation in appearance or improvement in well-being, a person receives headache, fever and other “joys” of allergies.

The use of surrogates in the absence of such a reaction also poses a threat, especially in the case of the manufacture of solutions for inhalation, use in aroma lamps, and flavoring of food products (for example, tea).

Artificial components, penetrating the body, can cause unintended consequences, up to the appearance of an asthmatic attack, jumps blood pressure, eczema, general poisoning. Even in everyday life, it is very dangerous to dispose of pseudo-essential oils - washed floors or cabinet walls will emit a specific smell for a long time.

Pitfalls of low prices

The crudest counterfeit of aroma oil is a mixture of solvent with aromatic fragrances. This is the most obvious example of adulteration, but there are many other production methods that reduce the cost of the final product at a significant cost to its quality.

These include replacing an expensive component with a cheaper one: lavender replaces lavender, cananga takes the place of ylang-ylang, and dill takes the place of fennel. In addition, vegetable oil, for example, jojoba, is added to the essential oil (ostensibly in order to improve consumer properties).

One of the methods for extracting esters is extraction, which involves secondary processing natural raw materials. This makes it possible to get maximum amount aromatic substances from a smaller volume of raw materials, but the potent reagents used in this case significantly change the chemical composition.

The oils obtained in this way are called naturally reduced. They are great for perfumes and cosmetics, but are completely unsuitable for therapeutic purposes. Knowledge of how to choose the right essential oil will help you avoid running into a fake.

How to choose the right natural product

The only way, which guarantees reliable information about the real chemical composition essential oil, is a chromatographic study. In large cities there are laboratories that provide a similar service for a fee. Those for whom this option is not available have to limit themselves indirect signs, characterizing the product good quality. Some of them can be determined before making a purchase, and the second part needs to be studied by experimenting with oil (but not with health!) at home.

Only a chromatogram of an essential oil gives a detailed idea of ​​its naturalness.

What to look for when examining packaging in a store

A conscientious manufacturer always tries to indicate all the information important to the end buyer. If the packaging contains a lot of advertising promises with a minimum of specifics, the product should already arouse suspicion.

When choosing a natural essential oil, you should definitely pay attention to following points:

1. The packaging must include the inscription “100% natural, pure and whole” (or 100% Essential Oil, Pure and Natural, 100% Naturelle, Pure et Complète). Other inscriptions - “100% essential oil”, “100% environmentally friendly” pure oil” are often a marketing ploy.
2. The bottle containing the fragrant concentrate must have a tamper-evident dispenser and must be made of dark glass. Any other container does not ensure proper preservation of the product. The volume of the bottle is no more than 10 ml, and for the most expensive types of oil (rose, mimosa, verbena) even less.
3. The following information is very significant:

• the name of the plant in Latin, its genus and species, the part from which the ether is obtained;
• country and address of the manufacturer (countries with highly developed essential oil production include Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy);
• composition of components in percentage terms and shelf life.

1. The cost of the bottle also indicates the quality of its contents. Prices for natural and synthetic oils can differ tens of times. However, a high price in itself is not a guarantee of the purity and naturalness of the product.
2. It is great if the packaging contains one or more of the following certification marks:

• Ecocert confirms that this oil is completely natural, corresponds to the description and does not contain additional impurities;
• Agriculture Biologique certifies the origin of the plant material from which the essential oil was extracted;
• NaTrue is assigned only to biologically authentic clean products, while classifying them using a 3-star system;
• Nature Progres demonstrates that the product contains no artificial colors or fragrances.

Checking quality at home

You should purchase aromatic oils in stores that have positive recommendations from regular customers. Here, experienced sellers will advise you on how to choose a quality essential oil, select required type and will tell you how to use it.

1. Smell the contents: real oil will have a subtle, unobtrusive aroma that changes character over time.
2. Consider: a high-quality product is transparent or has a uniform natural shade, without any precipitation.
3. Apply a drop on white paper and observe it from 30 minutes to several days: natural essential oils tend to evaporate without leaving greasy or colored stains.
4. Refrigerate: The esters of some plants (such as anise or rose) freeze at low temperatures.

Once you have verified that your purchase meets the stated characteristics, you can begin using it directly.

How to test essential oil for allergies

To avoid troubles in the form of a rebellious immune system, before the first experience of using any type of essential oil, you must study the reaction of your body. To do this, it is recommended to go through 3 stages:

1. Apply a few drops of the product to a cotton pad and periodically inhale the aroma. Natural oil should not cause headaches and discomfort during the whole day.
2. Mix the concentrate with any neutral plant (olive, jojoba) in a ratio of 1:4 and apply the mixture to the crook of your elbow. Positive result the absence of any signs of inflammation is considered.
3. Add 3-5 drops of an aromatic product to 50 g of honey, mix and pour the mixture into a warm bath. You can take it no more than 5 minutes.

If all stages are completed without negative reactions, you can safely use the selected essential oil for its intended purpose and use it to open up the limitless possibilities of natural cosmetology and aromatherapy.

How to determine the quality of essential oils?
Before answering this question, it is necessary to explain by what parameters the quality of the oil is determined. The quality parameters of essential oils are their effectiveness and harmlessness to the body.

What determines the quality of essential oil?
The quality of the oil depends on the production method, the place where the plant grows, the time of collection and the storage period. The quality of oil is also affected by climate and soil, as well as chemical fertilizers, and even insect repellents. The method of making the oil matters. Some parts of essential plants, such as flowers, quickly lose their qualities. Therefore, they must be used as quickly as possible. But things like roots or seeds can be stored longer. They are transported to various parts of the world. There are also peculiarities in the collection of essential plants: some are collected at certain times of the day or at certain times of the year, during flowering or fruit formation.

“...At the end of June the time of jasmine began, in August - tuberose. These plants had such an exquisite and at the same time fragile fragrance that it was necessary not only to pick the flowers before sunrise, but also to subject them to special, most gentle processing...”

P. Suskind. "Perfumer"

Essential oil quality
By external signs high-quality oil – transparent, without sediment, homogeneous. After a drop of oil evaporates from the surface of the paper grease stain does not remain, but if the oil has color, then slight staining is possible. The quality of the oil can be determined this way: apply one drop of oil to three sheets of paper every 30 minutes. And then smell it. The first sheet should have lower shades of scent (lower tone) - balsamic shades. On the second (middle tone - heart tone) there are tart, refined notes, on the third (upper tone) - freshness and lightness predominate in the shades. All these different tones in the melody of an essential oil are natural and indicate high-quality oil. If all three leaves differ only in the intensity of the smell, and not in the variety of sounds, then... we can only guess what kind of oil it is.

Labels can also tell you about the quality of the oil. If the labels say 100% pure, 100% artifisches (essentail) oil (100% pure; 100% essential oil), then this indicates confidence in the quality of essential oil producers. They do not need to assure customers that the oil is “in-house bottling” or “environmentally friendly oil” and make other beliefs. In accordance with International Standards, the label must not contain advertising information. If the bottle states that it is “Aromatherapy Oil”, it is not pure essential oil, but it is not adulteration either. “Aromatherapy oil” is a mixture of essential oil (10 - 15%) with mineral, base oil or alcohol (85 - 90%). On the other hand, if it is sold as ethereal, then it is simply a hoax.

Another important determinant of oil quality is that the bottle should be made of dark glass with a dosimeter on the neck. The beauty of the bottle does not mean the high quality of the oil. The most optimal packaging of oil is 10 ml, except for especially valuable oils - rose, jasmine, verbena, tuberose, which can be in a 1 ml container. (AVAILABLE 2 and 5 ml)

And the brand name is an important guarantee of high quality.

How is the cost of essential oil determined?
The cost of essential oil is determined by the quality, rarity of essential oil plants and percentage essential oil in the plant. IN the latter case several examples can be given: from 100 kg of eucalyptus, 3 kg of oil is obtained, from 100 kg of juniper - 500 g, from 100 kg of bitter orange flowers - 50 g of oil, from 100 kg of clove tree buds - 16-19 kg of oil, and from 100 kg of lemon balm leaves - 100 g of oil .

The cost of essential oils depends on the cost of raw materials (hyssop is more expensive than bitter orange flowers - neroli); on the method of obtaining essential oil: enfleurage (jasmine) is a more expensive procedure than steam sublimation (melissa), and steam sublimation is more expensive than pressing (peel oils - tangerine, lemon); from environmental restrictions on production (sandalwood).

Sometimes from the same plant you can obtain essential oils that differ in their properties, action and aroma. This also affects the cost. For example, three different essential oils can be obtained from bitter orange: “Petite grain” - from the shoots, “Neroli” - from the inflorescences and “Bitter orange” - from the peel of the fruit.

What explains different prices oils of the same name even within the same manufacturer? Essential oil contains a high percentage of oxygen-saturated hydrocarbons. The higher this percentage, the stronger oil irritates the skin. The process of reducing oxygen-saturated hydrocarbons in essential oil causes a gradation in the cost of oil of the same name. The cost of oil also depends on the volume of production of essential oils by a given company. The larger the volume, the cheaper the essential oils.

Essential oils are produced all over the world, in some countries more, in others less, and each country has its own specifics. It's connected with climatic conditions countries that support the growth of certain plants.

The largest producers of essential oils on the world market are Styx Naturcosmetic Austria, Bergland-Pharma Germany, Vivasan Switzerland, R.Expo India, Floressence France, and Russian company LECUS.

Lekus products and website - https://lekus.ru/

Natural essential oils affordable prices, can only be produced by large companies. If the company selling oils is smaller, the price is always higher. And in order to compete on prices with large companies Sometimes you have to lower the quality of products. This is where synthetic fragrances come in.

What is the shelf life of essential oils?
The shelf life of essential oils could be called long - essential oil could be stored as long as good wine. But it all depends on the storage conditions. Since essential oil evaporates easily, if the cap is not tightly closed, soon there will be nothing left in the bottle. Essential oils deteriorate quickly when exposed to light and high temperatures. Therefore, taking into account the possibility of storage in dark bottles with a well-closed stopper (not rubber), as well as storage temperature, we can approximately estimate the shelf life of oils:

– citrus oils - orange, lemon, tangerine, bergamot, grapefruit – 1 year. Optimal storage mode t = 10° +15° C.

– resinous oils - patchouli, myrrh, sandalwood, vetiver and the like – shelf life 2 years at optimal mode storage from +15° to +40°. If stored incorrectly, they thicken and the shelf life is shortened.

Essential oils love temperature constancy.
If the oil is expired, it cannot be used; it will not bring any benefit.

If essential oils are diluted, they begin to lose their properties after about two months, the aroma gradually disappears and useful qualities.

If you often use oil and therefore open the cap, the oil will come into contact with oxygen contained in the air more often. Thus, the shelf life is also reduced, i.e. approximate time The shelf life of essential oil can be considered one to one and a half years at an average temperature for all oils of +15? C.

All essential oils have healing properties: bactericidal, analgesic, antiseptic. But synthetic fragrances do not have these properties. The ability of essential oils to easily penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream is used in cosmetics, therapeutic massage, in aromatherapy.

If you use essential oils for massage, be sure to dilute them with a carrier oil, i.e. vegetable oil, which in itself has medicinal properties, as it contains many vitamins and is biologically active substances. Vegetable oils help essential oils penetrate our body. Some people prefer to use oils such as sweet almond oil, avocado oil, jojoba (oil in the form of a liquid wax), peach, apricot, etc., but in reality our oils - sunflower, corn or olive have no less healing properties than exotic.

Some tips and precautions when consuming essential oils:

Pure, undiluted oils should not be consumed internally. In this case, the doctor can prescribe treatment and dosage.

It should be remembered that essential oil is very strong remedy! If pure essential oil comes into contact with your skin, there may be not only allergic reactions, but even burns! In this case they should be removed cotton swab, moistened with any vegetable oil (sunflower, olive oil – best helpers). Water will not help in this case. It is written above that essential oils do not dissolve in water.

Never combine essential oils different types without consulting a specialist - an aromatherapist, since the choice of oils and their combination play a huge role. Many such independent decisions tell sad stories. And in acute neuroses or unstable psyche the results can be completely tragic.

For children, essential oils - their combination and quantity - should be used after consultation with a doctor, since the use of essential oils can cause negative reactions in the body of babies.

During pregnancy, essential oils can also be used after consultation with a doctor; most likely, the recommendation will be negative.

Freshly prepared aromatic compositions lose their medicinal properties over the course of one week.

While receiving others medicines You should consult your doctor about the possibility of using essential oils.

When you first start using essential oils, check to see if you have any allergies. Start with small dosages. And in no case exceed the dosage indicated as permissible. Take the bath initially for no more than 3 – 5 minutes.

If essential oil gets into your eyes, rinse with clean vegetable oil, but not with water.

It is better to use all essential oils no more than two - three weeks, then a break.

Citrus essential oils (orange, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, petit grain) should be used 4 hours before going outside, as they increase skin sensitivity to the sun, i.e. pigmentation is possible.

When using oil, first find out from your loved ones and those around you whether they like the smell.

Since essential oils are capable of spontaneous combustion, they should not be stored or placed in bottles near fire.

They should be stored out of the reach of children, and it is best to immediately dilute the essential oil with some base oil, i.e., vegetable oils (in a ratio of 1:10) after purchase.

Fragrances are an integral part of our lives. The Great Hippocrates said: “Medicine is the art of imitating nature.”

Using plants in our lives makes it possible to find natural remedies in order to be healthy and happy.

Natural essential oils– natural aromatic substances extracted from essential plants.

Synthetic essential oils, these are oils obtained from synthetic aromatic substances and are identical to natural ones in both quality and quantity chemical composition. They are much cheaper than natural ones. Synthetic oils they don't give it physiological effect, do not have the activity of natural oils, and the smell cannot be completely reproduced with their help. Synthetic oils can be completely identical to natural ones, but they always differ in their chemical structure.

Artificial oils– oils that imitate the smell of natural ones, but not the composition. These oils contain some natural oils in combination with synthetic ones. They are created exclusively for perfumery in order to imitate natural aromas. For medical purposes, these oils are useless.

The use of synthetic and artificial oils in perfumery is legal and is not counterfeit. It is thanks to these categories of essential oils in perfumery that consistency of composition and aroma can be achieved. This consistency is impossible when using natural essential oils, since different batches of the same name of essential oils differ from each other in quality, processing technology and other factors.

Everyone good day! Quite recently, one of our clients purchased myrrh essential oil from the Zeytun company. She watched a video with some blogger who tested oils in the following way: he dripped them onto a napkin and if a greasy stain remained, he concluded that the oil was diluted with some kind of sunflower oil and was of poor quality. For those who don't want to read a lot, let's say in advance - the test is about nothing.

Out of curiosity, our manager checked the essential oils from Zeytun, which she bought for herself, and some oils passed this “test”, some did not. Thanks to the Firoil company, we didn’t have to write an article on our own; people had already analyzed this case before us, tested it and explained in detail what was what)

"Today, in the left orange tab “Reviews and Suggestions,” a review from our client appeared with the result of one very common method of “testing” essential oils for naturalness. I would like to immediately clarify that we have received similar questions and feedback before - either on other resources, but more often on email. That's why I'm not discussing specific review, but a global problem faced by producers of 100% natural essential oils!!!

The review itself: "I did a test for clean slate paper With a slight stretch, we can say that everything is fine about lemon and tangerine oils. And ylang-ylang left a terrible stain on the paper, which means that the oil is not of high quality! Why do you sell low-quality oils so expensive? Even from the company “A.....ra” the stain was not so greasy, but I have no complaints about them, they have cheap products, but you have them!”

In a separate article this topic issued for one reason, because I want to make a photo report on this test, but first I’ll give my response to the review:

" Good afternoon, Svetlana!

Thank you for your feedback! We are happy to receive any feedback on our products, because... thanks to some of them we can try to debunk many myths that the Internet is full of!!!

To answer your question: we sell our products “so expensive” only because our products are 100% natural!!! And that's a fact!!! If you really have doubts, do GLC and a full physical and chemical analysis, if our products do not will be tested, we will refund your money both for your order and for laboratory tests! This is serious!!! Believe me, our products have been tested more than once (and compared with more expensive brands), and the results turned out to be excellent, and we purchased regular customers!

As for the price, this is a matter of marketing research. For products highest quality We have very reasonable prices.

The fact is that this test can only show you that highly volatile oils (such as lemon in your case) are not diluted with vegetable oils or other solvents (glycerin, polypylene glycol, etc. can be used for some oils). The fact that in some cases a trace (colored) remains after the oil indicates the presence of pigment in this oil. If after a drop of red tangerine you do not have a pale yellow spot left, throw away this oil, because. most likely you just bought a fragrance... Again, easily volatile oils, as a rule, consist of the same volatile fragrant substances. Therefore, buying cheap natural-identical oil formulated artificially of fragrant substances will not leave a trace during such a test, misleading you.

But let's look at those oils that still leave a “greasy” trace, while being 100% natural. There are a number of oils, such as sandalwood, myrrh, ylang-ylang, patchouli, balsams (Peruvian, Copai), galbanum, rose, vetiver, Atlas cedar, vanilla absolute and some others, which will definitely leave a transparent (greasy) stain, and some and color. The fact is that these oils are heavy, and some of them also contain waxes and resins.

A few years ago one pretty famous company launched this information on the Internet, which is nothing more than a marketing ploy. Due to big amount adherents of this company (network), the information spread with lightning speed... Honor and praise to them for the work of marketers. But this is just a publicity stunt and nothing more.

Fortunately in Lately More and more messages, photos and video reports are appearing in which people show that this test is a fiction and nothing more...

And here is the photo report with explanations:

1. Meet our test subjects: 100% natural lemon essential oil, 100% natural red mandarin essential oil and 100% natural extra ylang-ylang essential oil.

2. Let’s draw three “targets” on a white sheet of paper where we will conduct the test:

3. We try lemon oil first, my hand trembled a little:

Second we take ylang-ylang oil:

Third - red tangerine essential oil:

4. Now let's look at the results obtained immediately after the test:

We see the expected spots.

5. Let’s wait 2-3 minutes and observe our piece of paper again (on the table and in the light):

5. We see this picture after 30 minutes (on the table and in the light):

Result:After checking 3 types of 100% natural essential oils, we see that there is not a trace left of the volatile lemon, the tangerine, as required by its pigment, left behind yellow-orange spots, but there is no oil halo, because All citrus oils are highly volatile, but ylang-ylang oil left behind a clear oily light. So does this mean that ylang ylang oil is adulterated? NO!!! This test cannot determine this in any way. 100% natural ylang-ylang essential oil will always leave such a trace due to the content of heavy fractions in it!

Conclusion:This test will not give you information about the naturalness of the tested oils. It so happened that our client was testing three types of oil: lightly volatile (lemon), pigment-containing (tangerine) and essential oil with heavy fractions (ylang-ylang). The test showed what was supposed to happen. With a similar result, you could take eucalyptus (it disappears without a trace), chamomile (which will leave a blue spot - azulene) and sandalwood oil (which will leave a similar stain as after sandalwood). Not a single manufacturer who is not confident in the quality of their products would write such reviews, thereby discrediting their reputation, we just want you to understand and correctly use publicly available information!!!

P.S.: addition to the article -

Below are photos taken the next day(on the table and in the light):

You can notice changes from a drop of red tangerine essential oil, which have become almost invisible (pale yellow), and also the stain from a drop of ylang-ylang essential oil has become significantly paler and “drier”.

A good indicator of the naturalness of an essential oil is its price. Artificial and synthetic oils are diluted and are always very cheap, so don't be fooled by low prices. However, the problem is that the high price of essential oils may not guarantee quality.

The question is always the smell and volatility of the oil

Essential oils must be clean and transparent without sediment or suspension.

A good way to determine the quality of the oil is to measure the time it takes for the smell to disappear from the room; this method works with all oils except citrus fruits. If, after you closed the bottle of purchased sandalwood or cedar oil, its esters evaporated within an hour, in your...

Another way to check the naturalness of the oil is to drop a little oil on a napkin or cloth (this method works with all oils except citrus fruits), if in a couple of hours the oil has evaporated, leaving a greasy oil, you have a fake or highly diluted oil. If the stain is not greasy, but slightly colored by pigments that are present in almost any essential oil, most likely you bought natural oil.

Not very good when added quality oil in cosmetics, the gel or milk becomes cloudy, and the cream separates.

It is impossible to completely verify the naturalness of an essential oil; chromatographic analysis is required.