Information on Essential Oils

The art of distilling essential oils from plants began with the ancient Egyptians, who used the oils for many different ceremonial and healing purposes.
Physicians around the world have been treating patients with essential oils for a variety of health issues for a long time. They create excellent results without the side effects or secondary stresses to the body of today’s allopathic medicine.
Science is now beginning to confirm what the ancients knew so well — essential oils, the pure “essence” of a plant, provide both psychological and physical benefits when used properly and with wisdom.
 
There are many actions that essential oils can create within the body such as anti-inflammatory benefits, pain relief, antibacterial benefits, stimulation of proper digestion, cellular detoxification, expectorant effect, and antispasmodic uses. Out of all the thousands of plants in this world, only about 300 actually render essential oils. The essential oils of aromatic plants are stored in special cells, ducts or glandular hairs, and are located in many different parts of the plant such as flowers, blossoms, fruit skins, seeds, stems, leaves, roots or bark. As a result, the oils can encompass a wide range of aromas and tastes.

Fragrance oils or “fragrances”, are not the same as essential oils. Perfume oils and fragrances contain unnatural chemicals and do not provide the therapeutic benefits of pure essential oils. As a matter of fact, many fragrances or perfume extenders can actually be toxic to the body, particularly to chemically sensitive people!

Although the name ‘essential oil’ implies an oily substance, in fact, essential oils are not oily or greasy.
Essential oils don’t contain any glycerol molecules – the molecules that give fatty oils their characteristic slippery texture and leave a greasy residue.
Distilled essential oils contain no fat, whereas fatty oils are 100% fat. Rather, essential oils are composed of hundreds of constituents that may have a combined antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic and immune-stimulating effect.

How can TRUessence Essential Oils be used?

TRUessence essential oils can be used in many ways!  Applied ‘neat’ on location or blended with a carrier oil, they’re great in massage, reflexology, first aid, and as a personal fragrance. Diffuse them for their aromatic benefits in your home, office, or place of business. Incorporate them into your daily personal care and household cleaning routines. Add them to baths for relaxation or therapeutic needs. Use them for flavoring and health-enhancing benefits in your dressings, sauces and foods.

Aromatherapy:

Essential oils affect people first through their sense of smell. Your sense of smell is actually the most rapidly responding of all your senses, it’s the source of all moods, emotions, creativity and motivation. How can that happen? The smell of freshly-baked apple pie can elicit responses in one’s body within seconds. The mouth may begin watering, a sense of warmth can pervade the body, and emotions tied to past family events may quickly come to your awareness — all from the scent of freshly baked apple pie. Through the beautiful aromas of various essential oils, an overall sense of well-being can be created or enhanced.

Topical Application:

When essential oils are applied topically, almost instantaneous absorption occurs through the skin, moving into the blood stream, then to the deprived area. Swelling decreases, blood circulation returns, the pain is diminished, and mobility is restored.
When applying essential oils to the bottom of the feet, the constituents of that oil will travel to every cell within 20 minutes of application.
 
Bioelectric Activity:

This electric activity is a coherent and harmonic balance of energy, which helps maintain life. At a cellular level, a person does not live or die all at once, but rather one cell at a time. If our diet is lower in frequency than the body, the cell’s ability to live is in jeopardy and can die. The death of cells creates a place for toxins, which then creates a host for disease to thrive. Using essential oils may elevate the body’s frequency. When elevating the body’s frequency, disease no longer has a supportive environment.
 
Ingestion:
Essential oils possess subtle energies able to interact with the body’s own energy system to promote wellness and healing. Many oils taken internally will support the immune system, the detoxification and cellular health needed for a vibrant life.

Direct Application

Apply neat directly to the skin on location.
Rapid absorption delivers benefits throughout the body within minutes.
When trying new oils, always test a small area of skin.
You may also mix essential oils with a carrier oil. A standard ratio is 2 to 3 drops of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil.

Direct Inhalation

Put several drops into the palms of your hands, rub together, or put on a tissue or cotton ball.
Cup your hands over your nose and mouth. Breathe deeply.

Massage

Mix 12 – 15 drops (5 for children) of your favorite essential oils with one ounce of Message carrier oil. To use a carrier oil other than Message oil, be sure that it’s a high quality, pure organic carrier oil.
 
Foot Rubs
 
Apply 1 – 2 drops of selected essential oil to the reflexology points of the feet. Or mix 10 – 12 drops (5 for children) of your selected essential oils with one ounce of massage carrier oil. Most people are not aware that the feet have the largest pores of the body, and the largest concentration of pores in the body – so the use of essential oils on the feet can be particularly effective.

Wear As A Perfume or Cologne

Apply pure, therapeutic essential oils to pulse points as you would with any perfume.

Personal Care Items

Infused your high quality, organic personal care items such as your shampoo, conditioner or body wash with the healing benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oils. Add a few drops of essential oil into the bottle and mix it, or add a couple of drops of your chosen essential oil each time you shampoo, condition your hair, or wash your body. Create your own essential oil-infused personal care products or purchase ready made products from ForeverGreen. The choice is yours!

Bath

Add 2 – 3 drops of essential oil to warm bath water with Epsom salts or sea salt. You may also purchase ready made bath products infused with essential oils from ForeverGreen Apothecary.
 
Diffusing
 
Set a mood or cleanse the air with mists of healing and protection.
We do Not recommend diffusing essential oils with any method that generates heat.
We recommend that you use a diffuser that is designed specifically to disperse a fine mist of essential oils into the room. This way the integrity and healing properties of the oils are preserved and not altered in any way. ForeverGreen offers a state-of-the-art Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser. Aside from cold air diffusion, it has humidifying effects and multiple settings.

Vaporizer/Humidifier

Lavender oil is ideal for a baby’s room to calm and soothe with a healing aroma.

Create A Compress

Rub several drops of oil on desired location.
Cover the area with a hot, damp towel. Cover the moist towel with a dry towel. If the ‘heat’ of the oil used becomes too intense, apply Message oil – or any high quality, organic, pure vegetable oil – on location to dilute intensity.

Cleaning/Disinfecting In or Around Your Home

A few drops of essential oil may be added to the dishwasher or washing machine to clean and disinfect.
Some essential oils create an environment that is unfriendly to germs and bacteria. Some favorites include Lemon, Peppermint, Tea Tree and Spice of Life.

Cautions for using essential oils:
 
At times, a skin rash or break out on location may occur. If it does, discontinue use of the oil for a few days, and then try again. The location where the rash or skin eruption has occurred can be calmed by rubbing Message Oil, or an equally high quality organic carrier oil.

Additionally, when using hot, spicy oils such as Oregano, Thyme, Lemongrass, or Spice of Life, it is recommended that you dilute them with Message Oil or a high quality organic carrier oil.

It is recommended to dilute Oregano and Thyme oils at least 1 part to 10 with carrier oil. These oils are very hot to the skin, and should always be diluted when using.

If a rash or little bumps occur when using an essential oil, is it an allergic reaction?
 
Not necessarily. Because the skin is the largest eliminative organ of the body, it is also one of the easiest to trigger a detoxification response from. Pure and undiluted oils may trigger a detoxification response. If this occurs, stop the use of the essential oil, drink lots of clean, pure water, and let your body ‘rest’ from the use of your essential oils for a few days, then try again. If a person has been on prescription medications, they may detoxify quickly, and often through the skin. It is wise to be aware and cautious when using 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils.

Essential oils that contain constituents with hormone-like activity are NOT recommended for use during pregnancy. Fennel and Moon being two of these oils.
In addition, it is recommended that you not use Peppermint when pregnant.

When using the oils with infants, always dilute the chosen essential oil. Recommended proportions would be 1 – 2 drops of selected essential oil, to 1 Tablespoon of Message or high quality organic carrier oil.
When using essential oils with children, a good ratio of essential oil to Message oil would be 1 – 5 drops of essential oil to 1 teaspoon of Message or high quality organic carrier oil.

When using citrus oils such as Lemon or Orange, or a blend that is high in citrus oils, such as Charity oil, avoid exposure of the areas where the oils were applied, to direct sunlight. Exposure to direct sunlight can trigger a change in skin pigmentation (you might look like you have a bruise on the area), or a slight rash. Although it’s not harmful, it can be socially inhibiting.

Why TRUessence Essential Oils?

With a commitment to essential oils that is "true," TRUessence, a division of ForeverGreen, set out to work with the very best. Forging a partnership with essential oils expert and master aromatherapist Alexandria Brighton, TRUessence brings to the world only the most pristine organic and/or wildcrafted pure therapeutic-grade essential oils. Hence, TRUessence!

While there is no rating system for assuring quality, you can recognize the pure, pristine nature of TRUessence essential oils by their unadulterated aromas, the clear energies of each bottle, the assurance of quality on file for each and every batch, as well as the assurance of Alexandria Brighton.  Her 25+ years of master blending and global aromatherapy work stands behind the efficacy and quality of each and every bottle!

TRUessence essential oils are stringently sourced from providers who meet Alexandria’s strict standards of quality control—from seed to bottle. A representative sample of each lot is tested before purchase. The country of origin and specific botanical species of each oil must be known for proper evaluation, as differences in plant varieties and geographical location will impact the composition of, and constituents in, the oil.

TRUessence defines each different type or species of essential oil with its own unique item number.  Every lot is tested using gas chromatography, flame ionization detection, and mass spectrometry to verify its chemical composition and ensure that it is all-natural and completely free of synthetic additives or extenders. Physical testing includes aroma, refractive index, specific gravity, optical rotation, and closed cup flash point. Test results must be maintained within a very specific acceptable range for each oil or it is rejected. As geographical location and plant species produce unique characteristics in the oil, and natural variation is inevitable with any truly natural product due to weather conditions and other factors, these tests ensure that TRUessence oils are 100% pure and natural, and that their quality can be counted on to be consistent with every bottle.

The ability to trace the origin of the oils is of utmost importance to TRUessence and ForeverGreen.  Recognizing that essential oils are used in a multitude of ways—from cosmetics to aromatherapy to food products and nutrition—it is imperative that only the most pristine therapeutic-grade oils be sourced for TRUessence. The food industry’s GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Guidelines mandate lot traceability, and these guidelines are an integral component of the company’s quality control system.

Nowhere will higher standards be found than with TRUessence essential oils.  When we state that TRUessence essential oils are 100% pure, you can be assured that they are 100% pure!

Alexandria Brighton

Since entering the world of aromatherapy well over 20 years ago, Alexandria Brighton has emerged as one of the foremost authorities on this ancient healing art. An internationally recognized aromatherapist, formulator, and educator of essential oils, she has formulated unique therapeutic blends for numerous companies in the United States and Canada, creating everything from medicinal blends to cosmetic blends.

As a result of Alexandria’s commitment to providing only the highest-quality therapeutic-grade essential oils, she has over the years forged long-standing personal relationships with some of the finest and most ethical distillers around the globe. She has traveled to India and the Himalayas in search of oils produced by small distillers whose dedication and artistry are such that their precious oils will never see mass commercial markets. Her relationships with both national and international medical aromatherapists and researchers provide her with the most up-to-date information on both the use and safety of essential oils for aromatherapy.

Alexandria’s deeply intuitive nature, spiritual insights, wisdom, and ability to process and integrate the education and information she gathers has set her apart as a cutting-edge educator. Over the past 20+ years, Alexandria has taught countless workshops, training thousands in the art and science of aromatherapy, natural health, and Feng Shui. Her dedication to staying current on the latest research and advances in this ancient field is part of what sets her apart as a master educator in the world of aromatherapy.

Additionally, her selfless approach to life and to teaching, along with her willingness to share her own unique recipes and suggestions for using essential oils in every aspect of everyday life—including methodology and instruction on their proper use—endear her in the hearts of seminar attendees across the globe.

We are honored that Alexandria has chosen to partner with ForeverGreen in the development and creation of the TRUessence line of essential oils. Through her expert guidance and wisdom, utilizing the relationships she has cultivated over her extensive career, TRUessence proudly offers a wide range of therapeutic-grade essential oils and oil blends which are second to none in quality and purity.

In addition, Alexandria continues to share her life’s work and passion with essential oil devotees around the world. Through teleconferences, workshops, seminars, and cutting-edge training modalities—much of which has never before been taught—we can sit at the feet of this masterful and engaging educator as she expands our knowledge of the power and promise of TRUessence essential oils.