PART 1: FINDING PURE ESSENTIAL OILS

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since Gary Young’s passing, we have been taking stock of the tremendous contributions he made to the world by revisiting his presentations such as this fascinating twenty-part blog post series that recounts Gary’s ongoing discoveries about pure essential oils, their properties, and their production. Here’s Part I.

Every company and individual selling essential oils in the marketplace today claim to have the very best and most pure oils available. How does someone without any background or knowledge of essential oils know which oils are the best?

When I entered the essential oil business in 1980, the only essential oils I could find were a few in New Age stores that were selling scented candles, incense sticks, and scented oils for massage. It was not until 1981 that I started to see lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon, pine, rosemary, and oregano oils; however, these oils were sold in carrier oils. The lavender wasn’t even real lavender; it was lavandin, although I didn’t discover this until 1985, which is when my education began.

During the four years leading up to this time, I tried all of the so-called “aromatherapy oils” on many clients who had conditions such as headaches; neck, back, and shoulder pain; gastro internal stress; nausea; vomiting; and fever. After four years of trial and error, I determined that certainly these oils were nothing more than a New Age fad and had little to no value, so I gave away all of my “aromatherapy oils.”

On a quiet October day in 1985, a little lady from Zurich, Switzerland, who was living in Southern California, walked into my clinic in Mexico, bringing information with her that would start me on a new path and change my life forever.

To be continued . . .