I’ve been using doTERRA essential oils for almost 8 years now (2023) and I actually wrote this article a few years ago. It was originally published on another website that I’ve now closed down, but I’m finally getting around to re-posting it here as nothing has changed my view of doTERRA and their oils.
I love them just as much today, as I did when I joined.
My intuition told me that doTERRA essential oils were special the first time I laid eyes on them, and the video I’m sharing below also confirmed for me that I’d made the best choice.
When I first saw doTERRA oils in the waiting room of a kinesiologist I was seeing in Australia, I don’t know how, but I just kind of ‘knew’ that they were going to be something special, and my intuition has proved correct.
doTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing Model
A huge part of the reason why doTERRA essential oils are the best is the way they are sourced…
doTERRA’s sourcing model is very different from that of Young Living. Young Living grow all their plants in the USA, and while that’s great for the farmers in America, it doesn’t provide the best plant material for essential oils.
Let me explain…
You know that plants grow better in some regions than others. Right? For example Idaho is known for its potatoes. The climate there is perfect for spuds! The rainfall, the soil… You can grow potatoes in other regions, but they might not do quite as well.
And we can grow Lavender in our back yard. But is that lavender going to be as perfect and have all the beneficial compounds vs lavender grown in Bulgaria or France? Probably not.
doTERRA source their essential oils from all over the world. The plants grown for doTERRA oils are grown in the perfect climate and environment, often in where they are native, so that they are as healthy as they possibly can be, and are filled with the compounds that make their essential oils super effective.
An example of this is the Manuka essential oil grown and distilled here in New Zealand. Manuka grows best here because our climate is perfect for this hardy native.
Another is the Douglas Fir essential oil also grown in New Zealand. This beautiful oil is sourced from the management of the Douglas Fir tree that is a pest in the South Island!
Douglas Fir grows more prolifically here than it does in its native country because it loves our climate and soil. Using the Douglas Fir this way is perfect as it means we get the best Douglas Fir essential oil from young healthy trees, while at the same time, managing this invasive pest that doesn’t belong in our hills!
doTERRA’s Co-Impact sourcing model focuses not only on the using the best plant material while also looking after the environment, but it also focuses on people.
Co-Impact sourcing benefits growers in regions and countries where people are struggling.
Many of these are third world countries where regular work and money are hard to come by. The growers in these countries love to work with doTERRA because they get fair pay, they know they will be paid on time, and their families and communities are better off. They also, in some areas, get the opportunity to eventually own the land they grow their crops on thanks to opportunities created by doTERRA.
doTERRA – Proven Purity
The video below was taken at the doTERRA Dream convention in Utah, September 2018, and in it, researchers from Roseman University (read more about it on their blog) tell how they tested oils from major essential oil companies without the companies knowing, and how surprised they were by the results. I won’t go into detail, you can watch the video or read their article for more on that. But suffice it to say, doTERRA came out on top by far.
I decided to write this post to explain why I personally chose doTERRA over Young Living because I see so many others trying to make that decision, and struggling to work out which is the best way to go.
Luckily for me, even without the amazing research done at Roseman, it was simple… I just knew doTERRA was the one.
Adulterated Young Living Cinnamon Oil
When I was first making the decision to join doTERRA, a short time on Google allowed me to learn enough to confirm what I already knew – doTERRA was the company for me – and Young Living had some seemingly serious problems.
The first article I found was this one – https://garyyoungfraud.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/the-day-young-living-broke-my-heart/
The author talks about how independent testing proved that Young Living Cinnamon oil had been shown with multiple tests to have been adulterated.
Sadly it seems that Young Living first tried to ignore it, then deny it, then cover it up.
That isn’t the type of company I want to work with or buy products from.
The author of the articles on that website has had other essential oils tested. Multiple doTERRA oils were tested, but only one had an issue.
And that issue was NOT with adulteration, but instead a labeling issue where one oil in a blend hadn’t been included on the label. doTERRA corrected the problem as soon as they were notified.
Most companies make mistakes, especially when they’re new and growing as fast as doTERRA did. Not all companies are willing to fix their problems immediately.
This impressed me.
Companies that lie, hide their mistakes and put their profits before their customers sadden me…
There were a number of other issues I found when searching for information about Young Living also, not the least of which was a scandal regarding the founder Gary Young and the death of his baby.
There are also other articles such as this more recent story of two leaders, both earning very large incomes ($1 million plus per year) from Young Living, who resigned due to concerns about things they saw going on in the company.
The founders of doTERRA originally worked for Young Living but resigned at the same time because they too were not happy working for Gary Young.
The Difference Between doTERRA and Young Living
Both of these companies are big players in the essential oil industry. Both have done a lot to make the public aware of the benefits of using essential oils.
And although both have their naysayers, those who are all bent out of shape because they couldn’t create the success they wanted and so now blame the MLM business model, doTERRA has a clean record when it comes to its product.
There is no adulteration.
They test every batch of oil using over fifty different tests.
And they basically provide the largest range of consistently pure and effective essential oils as confirmed by not only the Roseman University study, but by other independent laboratories also.
The one last thing that made me fall in love with doTERRA, was that they support Operation Underground Rescue (OUR) and have done since its inception. OUR rescue children from slavery and child sex trafficking.
doTERRA have specific products where 100% of the money goes to OUR so that distributors who want to support their work can do so via these purchases.
I think this is beautiful and incredibly worthwhile. If you’d like to know more about OUR and what they do, visit their website.
If you’d like to try doTERRA essential oils, you can or contact me for more info.
