There are a LOT of essential oil companies out there.
And if you’re brand new to this world, it can be hard to understand why one little bottle of lavender isn’t necessarily the same as another.
I’ve been using, studying, teaching about, and building a business around essential oils for nearly 20 years. And the longer I’ve been in this industry, the more particular I’ve become about what I will use on myself and my family.
Because I’ve learned something important: The label on the bottle is only the very end of the story.
I want to know where the plant came from. How it was grown. When it was harvested. How it was distilled. Whether the oil was tested. Whether the company can trace its supply chain.
And perhaps most importantly, I want to know whether I trust the people and the processes behind that bottle.
After nearly two decades in this industry, Young Living is the only essential oil company I trust for my own family. Here’s why.
First, a Little About Young Living
Young Living was founded by Gary and Mary Young in 1994, but Gary’s interest in plants, farming, and essential oil distillation began before the company did.
And I think that’s an important distinction.
Young Living didn’t begin with someone deciding, “Essential oils are becoming popular. Let’s start selling them.”
It grew out of Gary’s fascination with the plants themselves—and his determination to understand what it actually takes to produce an exceptional essential oil.
Over time, that pursuit grew into farms, distilleries, laboratories, and eventually a worldwide company.
Today, Young Living sources oils through corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and carefully vetted Seed to Seal-certified suppliers around the world.
But what has kept me here isn’t simply the size or age of the company. It’s the commitment to quality I’ve witnessed with my own eyes!
We Already Know Not to Blindly Trust the Front of the Package
Most of us understand that there’s a whole lot of creative marketing that can go into a product label—especially when companies are trying to appeal to health-conscious consumers.
We’ve seen it with words like natural, green, clean, eco-friendly, free-range, and cage-free. Sometimes the words mean something very specific. Sometimes they don’t mean nearly as much as the consumer assumes they do.
There’s even a name for one version of this: greenwashing—using environmental claims or imagery that can make a product appear more environmentally responsible than the underlying facts support.
The EPA specifically cautions consumers about vague claims such as “environmentally friendly,” “eco safe,” and “green.” (US EPA)
And the egg aisle is a great example of why definitions matter. Terms that sound similar can represent very different standards and living conditions. A beautiful farm scene on a carton doesn’t necessarily tell you how the hens were actually raised.
In other words, we’ve learned to look beyond the marketing language and ask what those words actually mean. So why wouldn’t we do the same thing with essential oils?
We Ask Where Our Food Comes From. Why Don’t We Ask Where Our Essential Oils Come From?
We’re increasingly interested in knowing where our food was grown, how animals were raised, what was sprayed on our produce, and what’s actually inside the products we bring into our homes.
But hand someone a little bottle labeled “100% Pure Essential Oil,” and we tend to assume those three words tell us everything we need to know. But they don’t.
“Pure” printed on the front of a bottle doesn’t tell me:
- Where the plant was grown
- It doesn’t tell me how it was cultivated.
- It doesn’t tell me when it was harvested.
- It doesn’t tell me how it was distilled.
- It doesn’t tell me whether the oil was tested for adulteration or contamination.
- And it doesn’t tell me whether the company selling it actually knows what happened to that oil before it arrived at their warehouse.
That’s why, after nearly 20 years in this industry, I’ve learned to look past the label and investigate the company and processes behind it.
- Where was the plant grown?
- How was it grown?
- When was it harvested?
- How was the oil extracted?
- At what temperature?
- At what pressure?
- For how long?
- Was anything added afterward?
- Was the finished oil actually tested?
- And can the company trace that bottle back through its supply chain?
These are the kinds of questions Gary Young began asking decades ago.
And they’re the questions I believe every essential oil company should be able to answer.
The Story Behind Seed to Seal®
One of the things that initially fascinated me about Gary Young was that he wasn’t content to simply sell essential oils.
He wanted to understand them.
Where was the plant grown? When should it be harvested? What happened to it between the field and the distillery? What material should the distillation equipment be made from? What temperature and pressure should be used? How long should a particular plant be distilled?
And ultimately:
How could you know that the oil in the finished bottle was really what it claimed to be?
Those questions took Gary around the world—studying plants, farming, building distilleries, experimenting with cultivation and distillation, and continually refining his understanding of essential oils.
Eventually, that pursuit became part of what Young Living today calls Seed to Seal®—its quality commitment encompassing sourcing, science, and standards.
And that’s one reason I think it’s difficult to really understand Young Living without understanding a little bit about Gary.
He wasn’t simply the founder of an essential oil company.
He was a farmer and distiller who built a company around his conviction that how an essential oil is produced matters.
And that brings me to the three things I recommend investigating when you’re comparing essential oil companies:
SOURCING. SCIENCE. STANDARDS.
These are my non-negotiables.
And they happen to be the three pillars of Young Living’s Seed to Seal quality commitment.
1. SOURCING
Quality begins long before distillation.
You can’t create an exceptional essential oil from poor-quality plant material.
That’s why one of the first questions I ask about an essential oil company is:
Where did the plants come from?
Young Living sources its oils through corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and Seed to Seal-certified suppliers that must meet the company’s specifications.
Those specifications address things such as plant material, agricultural and collection practices, extraction and distillation, testing, traceability, storage, and other parts of the supply chain.
And that’s important to me.
Because essential oil quality can be affected before a plant ever reaches the distillery.
- The plant species matters.
- Growing conditions matter.
- Harvest timing matters.
- Handling matters.
- Storage matters.
And once an essential oil enters a supply chain, adulteration or contamination can become another concern. That’s why I don’t want to simply take someone’s word for it when the bottle says “pure.”
I want traceability. I want a company that knows the story behind what’s in my bottle—and has systems in place to protect its quality along the way.
2. SCIENCE
Growing the plant is only the beginning.
Years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Gary Young teach about essential oil distillation.
I remember being fascinated by just how complicated it was.
Before that, I don’t think I fully appreciated how much expertise goes into producing an exceptional essential oil.
Consider just a few of the variables:
- When does this particular plant contain the optimal amount and balance of aromatic constituents?
- When should it be harvested?
- Should the harvested plant material rest before distillation?
- If so, for how long?
- Should it be left in the sun or shade?
- What temperature should be used?
- What pressure?
- How long should the distillation continue?
- And the answers aren’t necessarily the same for every plant.
Change the variables and you can lose or destroy the powerful constituents that make the oil work! You can reduce the resulting oil into something that simply smells good, but has not real purpose beyond that.
Gary once said:
“I truly believe that distillation is the most important step in the essential oil process—anyone can plant a plant, grow a plant, or harvest a plant, but distillation determines quality.”
—Dr. Gary Young
That lecture changed the way I looked at essential oils.
A bottle of essential oil isn’t just about what plant went into the still. It’s also about what happened to that plant inside the still.
And then, after all of that, you still need to verify what you produced.
Young Living maintains in-house scientific and laboratory capabilities and also uses independent laboratories for specialized testing.
Depending upon the raw material or finished product being evaluated, analytical methods can include technologies such as gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and other specialized testing.
To someone who simply wants a bottle of lavender, all of that may sound like overkill.
To me, it’s reassuring.
Because I’m not looking for the cheapest bottle of oil.
I’m looking for a company willing to do the expensive, inconvenient work required to know what’s actually inside it.
3. STANDARDS
Integrity has to extend beyond the bottle.
Quality matters to me.
But so does how that quality is achieved.
God gave us this earth and all that is in it to steward. So I care about how plants are cultivated and harvested, how natural resources are treated, how threatened or endangered plant species are protected, and how the people and communities involved in the supply chain are treated.
In other words:
I don’t just want a company to ask, “Can we get this ingredient?” I want them asking, “Can we source it responsibly?”
Young Living’s Seed to Seal standards extend throughout its supply chain and include requirements related to sourcing, agricultural and collection practices, distillation and extraction, testing, traceability, storage, and other quality considerations.
Young Living and its farm partners have also been involved in conservation, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, waste-reduction efforts, and projects supporting local communities.
No company is perfect. But I want to partner with one that understands that doing something right matters even when doing it right is harder and more expensive.
“But Aren’t All Pure Essential Oils Basically the Same?”
This is probably one of the biggest misunderstandings I encounter.
Two bottles can both say Lavender Essential Oil on the front and still be very different products.
Think about wine.
Two bottles can both contain wine made from the same variety of grape, yet soil, climate, harvest timing, handling, processing, and the skill of the winemaker can produce dramatically different results.
Plants used for essential oils are affected by variables too.
Species + growing conditions + cultivation + harvest + distillation + handling + testing all matter.
That’s why I don’t choose essential oils based simply on whether a company says the word “pure.”
I investigate what that company actually does to demonstrate quality.
Why I’ve Stayed With Young Living for Nearly 20 Years
I didn’t choose Young Living because I needed an essential oil company to be loyal to.
I chose Young Living because I wanted exceptional essential oils.
And over nearly two decades, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to investigate other companies, hear criticisms, watch competitors come and go, study essential oils more deeply, visit farms, learn about distillation, and ask harder questions.
Interestingly, the more I’ve learned, the more important Young Living’s commitment to quality has become to me.
Could I buy cheaper oils?
Absolutely.
That’s simply not my priority.
When something is going on my skin, in my home, around the people I love, or—in products specifically labeled for dietary use and according to label directions—in my body, I care far more about knowing and trusting the source than saving a few dollars.
That’s why Young Living is what you’ll find in my home.
And it’s why it’s the company I’ve been comfortable putting my own name behind for nearly 20 years.
And Then There’s the Business…
If you’re reading this because someone introduced you to Young Living as a business opportunity, there’s something else you should know. Essential oils may be what first introduced many of us to Young Living, but Young Living today is much more than that.
The company offers products across numerous everyday wellness, personal-care, nutritional, and household categories.
And that’s significant from a business perspective because these aren’t products people necessarily purchase once and put on a shelf.
They’re consumable products. That means people use them up. And when people find products they genuinely love, they reorder them.
So building a Young Living business isn’t simply about finding someone who needs another bottle of essential oil. It’s about developing customers, serving them well, teaching them how to use their products, building relationships, and, if you’re interested in growing a larger business, developing other leaders who do the same.
Of course, this isn’t a get-rich-quick opportunity. Income isn’t guaranteed, and results vary depending upon effort, skill, leadership, time invested, etc.
But after nearly 20 years, one thing I deeply appreciate is that I’ve been able to build a business around products I was already comfortable recommending to the people I care about. And that matters to me.
If you’re researching Young Living, and you find criticism – even slander, are you really surprised? Every successful company should expect attacks.
So while I could give you a carefully curated list of glowing articles and hope you never Google anything, but I’d rather remind you to always use discernment when hearing criticism:
- Consider if the comment comes from someone linked to a competing company.
- Investigate essential oil adulteration.
- Research essential oil production.
- Look into Young Living’s farms and sourcing.
- Study Seed to Seal.
- Research the direct-selling business model.
- And when you encounter something about Young Living that concerns you, ask about it.
I’ve been around long enough to know there are plenty of opinions about Young Living, Gary Young, essential oils, and the direct-selling industry in general.
You don’t have to pretend those conversations don’t exist. But I would encourage you to do what I did and apply the same standard to every claim you encounter—whether it’s positive or negative:
- What’s the original source?
- What’s the evidence?
- What’s the context?
- Is the information current?
- And can I verify it for myself?
That’s how I would want someone to evaluate any company they were considering trusting with their family’s wellness—or putting their own name behind as a business.
Want to Understand the Story Behind Young Living?
If you’re seriously investigating Young Living—especially if you’re considering building a business—I recommend learning a little more about the man who started it.
D. Gary Young: The World Leader in Essential Oils tells Gary’s story and explores the experiences, travels, farming, research, and distillation work that eventually led to Young Living and Seed to Seal.
It’s an interesting way to understand why this company approaches essential oils the way it does.
ORDER GARY’S BOOK →
Start With the Source
If you’re completely new to Young Living, don’t begin with someone’s opinion of the company—including mine.
Start by investigating how the products are actually made.
- Learn about the farms.
- Learn about Seed to Seal.
- Learn about Young Living’s sourcing requirements.
- Learn about the science and testing.
- Learn about the business model.
And then ask yourself:
If I were going to use these products with my own family—or build a business recommending them to other families—is this a company and a standard of quality I would feel comfortable putting my own name behind?
Nearly 20 years ago, I had to answer that question for myself.
I’m still here. And that should tell you something.
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