Are your Essential Oils pure?

Adulteration: the willful and purposeful addition of cheaper oils, oil fractions, by-products, isolates, natural and/or unnatural synthetics, to reduce the cost of the oil. Essential oils are becoming more and more popular with the general consumer. As holistic and natural health trends increase, people are becoming more interested in aromatherapy and essential oils and their benefits. I can remember 15 years ago trying to find chamomile essential oil and having to finally mail order for it. Now, the consumer has a reasonable expectation to find most common essential oils in their local heath food store, aromatherapy shop or even local mall. With rising popularity often confusion follows. Aren't all essential oils the same? Well they should be, but sadly, the adage caveat emptor is best followed. Because essential oils are, depending on the oil, comparatively expensive in small amounts, there exists the temptation to dilute them to make them go further. This is called adulteration.

Adulteration occurs in a number of ways. (i) Addition: invisible, where a vegetable or mineral oil is added to dilute the essential oil (EO) or visible, the addition of a constituent like alcohol, (ii) Mixture: with cheaper essential oils such as Rosemary EO being diluted with eucalyptus and/or white camphor oils, and (iii) Synthetic "nature identical" addition, such as when bergamot EO is adulterated with linalol and/or linalyl acetate. The only way to confirm if adulteration has occurred is through gas chromatography (GC) and manufacturers using essential oils should request an HPLC (liquid chromatography) test of the essential oils they are buying from their supplier to ensure strict compliance.

The reason for this is that the essential oils must be pure to provide the benefits that they promise and are expected. Adulteration can reduce and/or remove these properties and even introduce undesirable ones.

• EO's contain many powerful antioxidants
• Many EO's facilitate the release of endorphins
  
• EO's are often immune system stimulants
• Some EO's are natural chelators
  
• EO's are often antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral
• EO's can act as nutrient transport agents to cells
  
• Most EO's contain terpenes that are beneficial to cellular function
  

As a consumer, ask your supplier of essential oils or your favourite natural personal care products store if they are sure that not only are their oils natural, but free from adulteration. If you make your own natural bath and body products, check with your supplier. For further information and as a starting point, I have found AromaWeb interesting and useful.

Product Swap Results

The results of the Rocky Mountain Soap Company Product Swap in Victoria are in. It was a smashing success. Of the 522 products that we received, 3 were completely natural [epsom salts (2) and a deodorant (1)], 98% had more than one synthetic ingredient, greater than 90% had at least 3 unnatural ingredients. The worst had 17 synthetic ingredients, and one lotion had 5 synthetic parabens. The most common synthetic ingredients were propylene glycol, parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, iso-butyl), SLS, SLES, cocamidopropyl betaine, perfume, fragrance, colorants, aluminium chlorohydrate, dimethicone among many others. Of course the were most likely phthlates in the perfumes, but unfortunately perfumes don't usually list ingredients, so we can't confirm that suspicion. Many people asked about the ingredients and how and why they were 'bad' for them. This was par for the course, but what surprised us was the vastknowledge of consumers out there and their desire to "go natural". Many customers new to Rocky Mountain Soap grilled us on our ingredients and challenged us to demonstrate that they were natural. This was immensely satisfying. There is a lot of knowledge out there, people know what they want, natural does indeed matter. Now that we have the products swapped, many customers have asked what we are going to do with these products. The products will be disposed of safely and the packaging will be sent to the local recycling depot. Many customers expressed their thrill at cleaning out cupboards and cabinets with the knowledge that they would be replacing their synthetic bath and body products with natural ones. This was very satisfying for us as well. Natural does indeed matter to many people. Below is a list of exactly what came in:

Fruit Extracts

There has been a trend in the use of natural fruit extracts in shampoos and conditioners for a few years now, but more and more we are seeing them in soaps and other bath and body care products in lieu of perfumes and fragrances. With the notable exception of the citrus family, essential oils cannot be derived from most fruits. Those interested in natural body care products tend to shun fragrances because they are usually synthetically derived and until recently, if they wanted natural, they were often out of luck. If you are an ingredient list reader, look for parfum, perfume, fragrance - these are usually manufactured from artificial esters and not natural. Common esters used in the production of artificial fruit fragrances are ethyl butyrate and ethyl acetate. Ethyl butyrate is also sometimes added to orange juice - to make it more orange-like in flavour.

So, we have been left with the vast array of non-fruit essential oils like lavender and rosemary, among others, to scent our favourite soaps, shampoos and moisturisers. However, the industry has been inundated by consumer demand for not only fruit scents, but natural ones. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is the most natural way to isolate natural fruit extracts, which are becoming much more commonly used and available. And not only is the scent isolated, but often the polyphenols, vitamins and other anti-oxidants and phyto-chemicals are too, allowing the manufacturer the ability to impart those benefits and qualities.

Whether you use banana pineapple soap or traditional French lavender, make sure you check the ingredient list if you truly want natural. Just because the label has a pretty flower or picture of a fresher-than-life piece of fruit, doesn't mean that the contents are completely natural. Read labels, ask staff at your favourite bath and body store, contact manufacturers with your questions. Be real, be kind, be natural.

Rocky Mountain Soap Product Swap!

Are you an ingredient reader? I am. I find so many incomprehensible ingredients in personal care products these days. This is another reason that I fell in love with Rocky Mountain Soap Co.'s natural products - the ingredients. They only use natural ingredients and natural isn't greenwashed. All their ingredients come from nature, in their natural form. They don't mess with the molecular structure, they don't use petrochemicals. Pthalates, PAH's, synthetic sulfates and parabens are simply not found in any of their products.

Rocky Mountain Soap simply believes that there are too many synthetic ingredients found in bath and body products that are questionable as to their long term health effects. They believe that if there is an ingredient that could potentially be harmful or could have negative long-term effects on your health, that if is probably best not to use it when there are healthy and safe alternatives out there.

From Thursday July 23rd to Friday the 25th, we are officially launching our Natural Matters campaign. To highlight the fact that many personal care products contain chemicals that you might not want your skin absorbing, we will have a Product Swap at our store in the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC. The rules are simple, bring in a used or unused and unnatural personal care product from home such as a deodorant, perfume, moisturiser, soap etc and we will replace it with a comparable one of our own at 50% off the retail price.

What will we do with the products that are exchanged? The packaging will be delivered to a recycling depot and the contents to a hazardous waste disposal depot.

I can't wait to see what you have to exchange. So, please bring in your:

• Deodorants
• Face creams
• Moisturisers
• Perfumes
• Hand soaps
• Body washes
• Lip balms
• Toners
  

Chemicals Add Up. Natural Matters.

Why are Phthalates bad?

Ever seen 'phthalate' listed on a cosmetic ingredient list? Probably not - they aren't required to be listed under ingredients in many countries. So why are they in your cosmetic products like perfume, nail polish, moisturisers and hair spray? They are there because they fix scent, that is, they make it last longer in its original intended form without degradation. They are also found in many other products, that can be found in the home, such as kid's toys, functioning as plasticizers in the plastic - to make it soft. However, we are concerned about them in cosmetic products because of the skin's ability to absorb all manner of chemicals and ingredients put on them. Studies show that your skin can absorb up to 90% of a given chemical that is topically applied - in other words, it is a giant sponge. Phthalates and parabens can show up in the urine a mere 20 minutes after application of a cosmetic or body care product that contains them. It depends on the chemical of course - and phthalates are one group that readily absorbs into the body.

Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors and estrogen mimics. For this alone, one would want to avoid them where possible. They've also been linked to metabolic disorders and hepatocarcinogenicity. When choosing a cosmetic product, natural really does matter. There are alternatives - just because it isn't listed on the label, doesn't mean that it is absent. The next time you are in your favourite bath and body products shop, ask if your favourite product contains phthlates, then you can make an informed decision. Natural Matters!

For more information, check out www.nottoopretty.org, the source of the image to the right, and the report on phthalates, by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Organic Islands Festival 2009

On July 4th and 5th we will be exhibiting at the fifth annual Organic Islands Festival here in Victoria, BC. There will be over 150 local businesses, farms and community groups showing natural products from honey to hand-made soap, clothing to sustainability initiatives. They've expanded the venues again this year and have included a Children's Village and Play Zone, where the little ones can muck about and learn about the natural community that we live in through interactive exhibits, storytelling and they even have a section that includes eco-friendly children's products.
The festival is held at Glendale Gardens and Rocky Mountain Soap is located in The Village area. Advance tickets can be had for a 25% discount online at organicislands.ca or at Rocky Mountain Soap in Mayfair Shopping Centre. Come on out and enjoy the robust program of seminars, product demonstrations, music and panel discussions - fun for the whole family. LIVE GREEN. DO GOOD.