# I can't get away from essential oils/multi-level marketing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278 "2014-11-21T18:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/21 "2014-11-25T20:00:37Z")
Younique, Visi (I think it’s a supplement company) and some sort of hemp oil supplement company. Interestingly, Silpada is based in my hometown and I have a friend who works there. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/22 "2014-11-25T20:04:56Z")
What the hell are “essential oils”? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/23 "2014-11-25T20:05:47Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > What the hell are “essential oils”? Oil-based products whose sales are essential to the marketer’s profitability. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/24 "2014-11-25T20:11:26Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > What the hell are “essential oils”? from le wiki: > [@](#): > > An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetherolea, or simply as the “oil of” the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. **An oil is “essential” in the sense that it contains the “essence of” the plant’s fragrance** –the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. Essential oils do not form a distinctive category for any medical, pharmacological, or culinary purpose. They are not essential for health. bolding: as opposed to every flower-based perfume in existence. They push the essential oils at my yoga studio, going so far as to spray some onto towels so you can cover your eyes with them while meditating or wipe the mat down so it smells nice, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/25 "2014-11-25T20:19:45Z")
And, of course, the sellers are scrupulous in noting this dry and technical meaning of the word “essential.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/26 "2014-11-25T20:22:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m a bit confused, things that sell better when people pressure their friends into buying it (nail wraps, oil diffusers, make up, vacations etc) are exactly what MLM is meant for. The two sentences I wrote were my train of thought. Me answering my own question. Q) I wonder why they don’t just sell this stuff on store shelves? A) I guess they lend themselves more to people pressuring their friends into it. Dig? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/27 "2014-11-25T20:34:56Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > from le wiki: > > bolding: as opposed to every flower-based perfume in existence. > > They push the essential oils at my yoga studio, going so far as to spray some onto towels so you can cover your eyes with them while meditating or wipe the mat down so it smells nice, I guess. Oh, fragrant oils. Jesus, calling them “essential” is the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long time. I’d been hearing about these “essential” oils all over the place for a while now and never had any idea what they were. How could some oil I’d never heard of until six months ago be essential to anything? I guess it isn’t. Which I knew already, but at least I know now exactly what nonsense I’m ignoring. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/28 "2014-11-25T21:20:37Z")
You haven’t been getting your daily dose of lavender extract?! :eek: Tell me, do you ever have trouble sleeping? Or nagging aches and pains? Why, it’s amazing you’re still alive! ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/29 "2014-11-25T21:21:59Z")
They’e been calling them “essential oils” for at least 35 years. Meaning they are the essence of the plant/flower/herb. I love them! But they are easy enough to buy at the natural foods store or the herb shop (which smells so wonderful I want to live there). ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/30 "2014-11-25T21:35:29Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > They’e been calling them “essential oils” for at least 35 years. Meaning they are the essence of the plant/flower/herb. > > I love them! But they are easy enough to buy at the natural foods store or the herb shop (which smells so wonderful I want to live there). I keep some around as well, but I certainly don’t think that my orange sugar scrub (with a few essential oils) is going to cure anything, beyond removing some dead skin cells. I certainly wouldn’t pay inflated prices for them. The one near me was the Miche Bag – a purse that you changed with different “covers”. Since I’m more of a Coach \*\*leather \*\* (not those things with initials, god help us) gal, I was not in their demographic. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/31 "2014-11-25T21:57:22Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > In my newsfeed it’s [Younique](https://www.youniqueproducts.com/) the “amazing” 3-D fiber lashes. Okay, that stuff actually does rock. How much does it rock? I paid thirty fucking dollars for mascara for my wedding in August, wore it twice and lost it. I just paid another thirty fucking dollars for another, because it rocks that much. I haven’t spent $60 on mascara in the last 10 years combined. Until now. Because that shit rocks. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > On the positive side, being inundated by the “essential oil” crowd is better than having to hang out with people who are into oil-pulling or drinking their own urine, which must be an absolute barf-fest.I am shocked, _shocked_ to hear this.\* > > \*not that males are immune to falling for various kinds of woo. Oil pulling does have science behind it for oral health. Not for the cancer/arthritis/detox stupid other claims, [but for gingivitis and plaque and bad breath, it’s apparently not entirely woo](http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/oil-pulling). Who woulda thunk? Essential oils aren’t “essential” to your life. They’re pretty essential for the plants. 😉 Look, all an essential oil is is one of many different compounds that’s not water soluble. They’re not oils in the sense of being fatty acid chains, but they’re not dissolvable in water. They’re terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes and a few others. They’re incredibly highly concentrated and caustic. They should never be used undiluted (“neat”) on the skin, nor should they be consumed internally unless under the supervision of a doctor or well trained aromatherapist, nor should they be used on small children or on cats and dogs. And that’s why I personally despise Young Living and DoTerra. They teach their “certified” “Consultants” all these dangerous practices which are specifically verboten to actual professional aromatherapists. AND they use meaningless terms on their labels and marketing, like “therapeutic grade”, to convince people that any other essential oils are crap. They’re not. There’s no such thing as “therapeutic grade” in essential oils. It’s a marketing term, that’s all. Because of their MLM strategy, almost everyone who uses YL and DT essential oils has learned about them from a friend. And that, I think, is why they’re so bloody stupid and stubborn when you point out that putting the bioequivalence of 200 oregano plants on your tongue is a bad fucking idea. They want to trust their friends, so you can present them with all the professional advice in the world and they keep chugging their caustic beverages. Someday, soon, they’re going to kill someone. And then we’re going to hear all about the danger of essential oils, and they’re going to get regulated right off the market. And I’m going to be fucking pissed off, because I’ve studied the hell out of them and use them safely and very effectively. Assholes. This is a really good article about the terribleness of YL and DT. I didn’t write it, but I agree with it so much, I wish I had. [Why I don’t use doTerra, Young Living or other Multi-Marketing Brands of Essential Oils](http://www.granolaliving.com/2012/07/why-we-dont-offer-doterra-young-living-or-other-multi-marketing-brands-of-essential-oils/) ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/32 "2014-11-25T22:49:33Z")
I can’t remember the exact quote I once read, but it was something like: MLMs are a way to try and convert friendships into money I think the original quote was better - as it implied (if my memory was correct) that this was a one time transaction ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/33 "2014-11-25T23:49:56Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > \*not that males are immune to falling for various kinds of woo. Unless it’s touted as a remedy, or better yet, a cure, for impotence. :dubious: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/34 "2014-11-25T23:54:41Z")
Your local grocery store probably has essential oils, especially at this time of the year, and many pharmacies stock them too. They’re usually kept behind the counter, because the bottles are so small and therefore easy to shoplift. The most common brand is Lor-Ann, and they are mostly used by candy-makers. A drop of oil will flavor a cake or a batch of candy. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/35 "2014-11-26T00:00:36Z")
I know someone who seems to have three or four of those MLM things going - Jamberry, Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, and one of the weight-loss supplement things. Pretty tiresome.d ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/36 "2014-11-26T00:36:00Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Your local grocery store probably has essential oils, especially at this time of the year, and many pharmacies stock them too. They’re usually kept behind the counter, because the bottles are so small and therefore easy to shoplift. > > The most common brand is Lor-Ann, and they are mostly used by candy-makers. A drop of oil will flavor a cake or a batch of candy. Wow, that’s a pretty sweet price on Roman Chamomile! I will have to try them out, thank you. Never heard of them before. So, here’s another reason to hate on Young Living and DoTerra. [Lor-Ann’s Roman Chamomile is $34.95 for one ounce](http://shop.lorannoils.com/shop-all-products/super-strength-flavors/1-ounce-and-larger-sizes/chamomile-oil-natural). It tells me the source is Italy, which is a good place to get Roman Chamomile from. It has the Latin name on the label so I can tell that it’s the correct plant, which is good. It does not mention whether it’s organic or not (although I don’t honestly care a lot about organics), so that’s a strike against it, but it’s a pretty small strike. [Aura Cacia](http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Chamomile-Aura-Cacia-EssOil/dp/B000J0LBG8/ref=sr_1_11?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416960081&sr=1-11&keywords=roman+chamomile+essential+oil) is a respectable brand of essential oils. Not the tops, but a perfectly respectable one. They have Roman Chamomile for $15.01, but that’s only a 0.125ounce bottle. Teeny tiny. So that’s $120.08 per ounce. Ouch. Again they have the Latin name, which is good. They can tell me it was wild-crafted in Morocco, which is pretty fair indication that it wasn’t loaded with pesticides. They tell me it was steam distilled, which is good information, as I know that means it wasn’t extracted with chemical solvents that can give it off odors and increase skin irritation. NOW is like the Target of essential oils. They’re fine, they’re not great. They’re a big company, and their oils are only rarely found to be adulterated, and usually not with anything dangerous. I use them mostly for essential oils I use a lot of, and in blends with other things. [They have Roman Chamomile for $38.93 for a whole ounce.](http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-CHAMOMILE-OIL-PURE/dp/B0014UFYFQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416960081&sr=1-6&keywords=roman+chamomile+essential+oil)That’s a good price, but I don’t know a whole lot about it, other than Latin name. No country of origin, information about farming or harvest or production of the essential oil. If I didn’t have experience with them, I would probably shy away from them for those reasons. But I’ve been doing this long enough that I know they’re okay. Kismet Potions is the creme de la creme of essential oils. If NOW is Target, Kismet is…is…is some really nice store I can’t afford to shop at. Gucci, let’s say. The owner has personal relationships with the people who grow the plants that her essential oils are made from. They’re largely organic if they come from countries with organic standards, and equivalent farming practices or ethically wild-crafted if not. [Kismet has American grown wild-crafted Roman Essential oil for $130 an ounce.](http://otrpu.cesjg.servertrust.com/product-p/eocha-30mil-10.htm) It’s not cheap, but it’s the good stuff. If I need to use something solo, for more medicinal purposes than “mmm…that smells nice…” I use Kismet. (But I don’t buy the whole ounce!) Now… Young Living. Let’s see… [$50.93.](http://www.amazon.com/Young-Living-3512-Chamomile-Roman/dp/B00161JO7W/ref=sr_1_10?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416960081&sr=1-10&keywords=roman+chamomile+essential+oil) For…how much? I have no idea. It’s not labelled. Three of the four reviewers say it’s 5ml, or 1/6 of an ounce. So they’re charging $305.58 per ounce. Looks like the Latin name is correct, but I have no idea of the country of origin, farming, or production. DoTerra: [$36.30 for 5mL](http://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-Roman-Chamomile-5-ml/dp/B004O223AA/ref=sr_1_7?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416960081&sr=1-7&keywords=roman+chamomile+essential+oil). $217.80 per ounce. Latin is there, but again, no country of origin or information about the farming or production. So. Not only do they use bullshit marketing terms. Not only have their products been found to be adulterated with synthetic chemicals and blends of cheaper essential oils. Not only do they teach people unsafe practices. Not only do they make your friends annoy you for money…but their prices are absolutely outrageous, even when compared with the best stuff on the market. Caveat emptor, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/37 "2014-11-26T00:37:33Z")
While I’ve been using essential oils for years and years, I had never heard of oil pulling until this thread. Weird. But I don’t think you could get into too much trouble swishing coconut oil around in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/38 "2014-11-26T00:44:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It may be easier to sell if you’ve got the MLM salesperson there to explain the concept. The consumer might not understand the product if she sees it on the store shelf. Remember that old one based in Michigan. Cannot remember their name right now, but they preyed on men as well as on women. Are they still around? They didn’t really want to sell anything, just sign up people to sign up people to sign up people. I worked it out and if any one followed up their sign up 2 a month and have them sign up 2 a month in less than 2 years every one in the world would be working for you. They didn’t like it when I went to the white board and drew that up for their victims who had come to the meeting. Amway, that is it! Finally remembered. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/39 "2014-11-26T06:31:35Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Remember that old one based in Michigan. Cannot remember their name right now, but they preyed on men as well as on women. Are they still around? They didn’t really want to sell anything, just sign up people to sign up people to sign up people. I worked it out and if any one followed up their sign up 2 a month and have them sign up 2 a month in less than 2 years every one in the world would be working for you. They didn’t like it when I went to the white board and drew that up for their victims who had come to the meeting. Amway, that is it! Finally remembered. Amway, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278/40 "2014-11-26T13:11:41Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Oil pulling does have science behind it for oral health. Not for the cancer/arthritis/detox stupid other claims, but for gingivitis and plaque and bad breath, it’s apparently not entirely woo. Who woulda thunk? [/quote] If you don’t have access to mouthwash and decent dental care (and your SO doesn’t mind living with someone swishing oil around in their mouth for 20 minutes or more every day - some advocates go far beyond this) it could help with oral hygiene. It’s not the True Road To Health that its supporters claim. \*"Oil pulling is a suggestive misnomer, implying that something bad is being pulled from the mouth (toxins and bacteria). What little scientific evidence exists shows that it is probably not as effective as standard mouth wash, and what benefit it has is likely entirely due to the mechanical act of swishing to remove particles and bacteria from teeth and gums. There is no reason either theoretically or based upon any evidence to recommend oil pulling (which should be renamed “oil-swishing”) instead of standard modern health care with flossing, tooth-brushing, and mouth rinse. However, it does appear to be better than nothing, and might have a role in developing countries without access to modern oral care."\* > **[Oil Pulling Your Leg](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-pulling-your-leg/)** > > Oil pulling is a traditional Ayurveda method of oral care. It involves swishing sesame oil or a similar oil, perhaps mixed with other substances, in the mouth for 10-20 minutes as a means of preventin [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-away-from-essential-oils-multi-level-marketing/705278.md?page=3)