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To be considered therapeutic, an essential oil needs to be tested and certified as pure, natural, complete, genuine and authentic.

Pure, Natural and Complete:
No other essential or vegetable oils, or synthetic materials are added.
No decolorizing, recolorizing or deterpenization (for perfumes) has been done.
Plants may or may not be redistilled.
The isolate is produced by physical means only, typically steam and/or water distillation.
The exception is citrus oils which are produced by crushing the peel, known as cold pressing.
Essential oils are produced from a specific plant, in a particular geographic region, harvested at a particular time, are chemically unique and yield maximum potency for therapeutic use.
Producers ensure purity at the source and conduct a thorough chemical analysis.

Genuine and Authentic:
In addition to being pure, natural and complete, oils plants are distilled under conditions assuring maximum authenticity and are never redistilled.
Oils come from plants that are are grown and harvested in the most favorable environmental conditions to ensure maximum potency.
Only plants from a specific species are distilled.