You need to know these three dirty words if you’re going to live a life of true health:

Synthetic. Fragrance. Perfume.

Once you know them, you’re going to have to face up to the fact that those three things are doing very bad things to your health. Yet they are everywhere.

Those three things can also be patented, and that’s where the story begins.

The interesting thing about patents is this: You can’t patent anything that occurs or is grown in nature.

That’s a good thing, right? Who would have the audacity to try and patent water, or sunshine, or a plant? Furthermore, who could? There’s too much we don’t know about those things!

Not having a patent is the double-edged sword that keeps ethical health and wellness companies on their toes. Ingredients from nature are put into so many products, even products that are the most toxic. There’s no guarantee that a “natural” product is safe to use. Under the guise of “natural”, unethical companies are able to seriously dupe their consumers.

In addition, companies that own patents on all sorts of ingredients and chemicals are often the very ones that don’t have to disclose the whole story about their ingredients. It’s what most cosmetics companies don’t say that is causing all the trouble.

The dirtiest words in your house are on products you touch every day.

You may have heard that there are hormone-altering chemicals found in most cosmetics on the market. This information is readily available, but a lot of women are not ready to hear it because if their brains processed that information, then they’d have to stop using some of their favorite beauty products.

Sometimes it’s just easier NOT to know.

It’s such a burden to learn about what’s causing health problems, isn’t it? Why would anyone bother to read articles like this one, and then read the labels on your cosmetics to discover the truth? This research is tedious and troubling.

The list of ingredients that are wreaking havoc in the health of Americans doesn’t even touch the surface, because if a product contains less than a certain amount of the toxin, the company doesn’t even have to disclose it on the packaging. Ugh.

You just don’t know what’s in most of your products. And what IS in there is probably messing up a slew of systems you need to live a healthy life.

Know better. Do better.

For the longest time, I did not want to know, either. I am a busy single mom. My kids seem healthy. They do stupid things like vaping, and other teenage experimentation and behaviors (let’s not go there), so how bad can it be to use a few added chemicals in minute amounts as they apply their topical products, etc. What real harm can be done?

Well, I have learned that the effects of added chemicals in products can do – and have done – seriously harm to my family. Why would anyone expose themselves to stuff that can change your life forever (not in a good way) when you can easily get products that don’t have all that crap! It’s just SO not worth it.

If you can’t patent an essential oil, what does this mean for essential oils companies?

In a nutshell: testing, research, analysis, and more testing.

Because Young Living is the first and most trusted essential oil company, it’s our responsibility as distributors to educate and share what we know.

We must be extra transparent because everyone is watching Young Living, as we set the bar for every other essential oil company.

That is a wonderful “obligation” and one I delight in taking very seriously.

Bottom line, the only thing you want in, on, around your body and your family’s bodies are the purest essential oils.

If you want to maintain your health, you have to know that it’s natural way for your body to be healthy, so you want to keep it that way before anything goes wrong.

In order to know you’re getting the standard of purity that you’d want in, on, and around your body, you sometimes have to do a little research of your own.

If you’re just starting to dabble into this field of information, here’s a great place to start… these three words are the tip of the iceberg and they’re worth noting!

Read your labels on your products. Now look for these three easy-to-remember words:

Synthetic, Fragrance, and Perfume

Three words. I’m not asking you to remember those words with 7 syllables in them that you can’t even pronounce.

These are easy ones that even a 5th grader can remember: Synthetic. Fragrance. Perfume.

Listen, these are code words for crap…

Crap that makes you sick; messes with your hormones; keeps you from having the normal, beautifully functioning body you were meant to live in; or just gives you a blasting headache!

The cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food industries are silent about this, and they are making lots of money regardless of the effects on humans.

Now, if Mother Nature could do a public service announcement, she might say

If your bottles and jars say any of these three words, you’ve been warned.

Let’s talk about the patents.

See, no government agency or corporation owns or regulates the “patent” on plants grown in pure soil with ethical farming methods… it’s just not a thing; it can’t be done, because every plant harvest is affected by things outside of human control.

A butterfly farts in China; or there’s a typhoon off the coast of Hawaii; or the wind blows from the north instead of the south like it usually does; and… well, Nature.

Contrast that with the controlled environment found in a laboratory. Nothing special going on there. You just use the same formula time and again. And the human body knows exactly what to do with a lab-created chemical.

What goes on in the Young Living labs?

You may wonder why Young Living even has labs since our oils are created in Nature. In our labs, scientists are analyzing small batches of essential oils for the highest potency and efficacy.

By the way, if you are like me, and would like to know more about Young Living’s use of spectrophotometric data, and it’s other standards for quality, you can read more about the science behind the testing here.

Purity

Based on information about each particular crop, Young Living lab researchers ensure that the yield is up to our standards of purity. There’s no tolerance for contaminants and harmful “extras,” like signs of fertilizers and pesticides in our oils. Just the plants, ma’am. And healthy, natural plants at that!

Potency

They are also striving for the highest potency, to maximize the effects of our oils so that each drop goes as far as possible for what you’re trying to achieve with your health.

People who use YL oils are a little in awe of them because we know how powerful they are in practice. [Note: I didn’t fly all the way to Croatia to learn how to apply certain oils on the feet and back for nothing!]

Intelligence: the Overall Effect of Purity and Potency

In practice, essential oils are used for total rejuvenation, health, and relaxation; and to harmonize energy in the body. They remind the body what normal looks and feels like, and they trigger a healthy response inside and out.

When we say these essential oils are “intelligent,” it’s a nod to the Intelligence of Nature, to know what it knows, and do what it does in order to survive. We have so much to learn from Nature!

A lot of love and respect go into each batch.

Scientists must know exactly what temperature to distill the oils, based on up to 30 years of records from previous crops. They must know when to harvest each crop for peak strength for the therapeutic value we require. Our blends can be very complicated because all the oils that go into each blend have their own separate identity and must sometimes be cooled to a certain temperature, or distilled differently in order to work with the intended formula.

This requires lots of testing and record keeping… but it can never involve a patent.

AGAIN: Mother Nature can’t be patented.

We can only work with and love what the earth produces for our good.

That’s why premium essential oils (and certain companies in particular) get no love from the powers that be. Young Living is the first and most ethical company in the EO industry. We get a lot of scrutiny, too! We lead the front on research; labeling that complies with FDA standards; and inside plus 3rd-party testing on all our products and essential oils.

We are S-L-O-W-L-Y turning this giant ship of uninformed consumers and sub-par standards around.

Start by reading labels.

Want to take the challenge? Most health-conscious people have done this. I’ve done this. You might find this fascinating, too. Open just ONE of your cabinets or cupboards and read all the labels. Force yourself to scan all your products in there for these three words:

Fragrance, Synthetic, and Perfume

After you get through the stuff in your cabinet with these words: Synthetic, Fragrance, and Perfume (yeah, I’m going to say that several times so you remember, for sure!), you must do this next very difficult step.

Put them in a pile to take to the hazardous waste facility in your town.

I know that sounds extreme, but these three words are the dirtiest words and they signify a much bigger iceberg under there. If you want more proof, then continue reading what’s in those bottle and jars. See what you discover about the other ingredients. My guess is there’s probably some pretty nasty stuff.

Where do you find information on harmful ingredients?

Take advantage of sites like Pub Med and Daily Med, EWG.org and apps like Think Dirty. It’s remarkably easy to access scientific research and documentation on common products and ingredients.

What’s even more exciting is that research is now being done by biochemists studying ingredients found in nature; not just those biochemical constituents and ingredients created in a lab for less money and more efficiency. They are discovering that there’s really no comparison between those compounds created to mimic natural ingredients and the ones found authentically in nature.

After you filter your products and throw out everything with those three words (Perfume, Fragrance, Synthetic) in them, then you’ll move on to your other products.

Something as innocuous as an eye shadow or hair product could be keeping you below the level of health you deserve. If you’re wondering why you’re having some issue or concern that plagues you, you may find the answer by researching those ingredients.

If you absolutely can’t live without your favorite product, at least look up all the hard-to-pronounce chemicals listed on the box. You may have a differently feeling about that “must-have” product you saw on Instagram or your favorite glossy magazine.

Know that you are joining a huge swell of people who are starting to demand more transparency and integrity from our companies.