Happy new year; She's here!

Life update

Our sweet Loretta Grace has finally made her presence and we could not be more overjoyed! Thank you to all that have come along this journey with us and prayed for us. As my maternity leave has officially started, any intake forms, emails, or texts may be delayed in response by 1-2 business days while we adjust as a family of three.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
​

Message from amber

To all my past clients and women who have given birth, y'all are rockstars!!! I hope to share my birth story soon, but in the meantime I am blown away by the love and support I have received in texts, calls, meals & visitations.
God made a woman's body so perfect for birth and I am humbled and blessed to be able to experience such a miracle in itself. Something I will never forget is the strength and courage in trusting and surrendering to Him.
 God's design is flawless.
​

---

Aromatherapy: Does Brand Really Matter?

The question everyone is asking. Some individuals will preach to you yes while others still have their suspicions. Trust me, I was one of the yes crowd pleasers until my path of becoming a certified aromatherapist opened a whole new meaning of the essential oil industry. We have to remember that this too is an industry of profit and value. As essential oils are regaining popularity in the world, consumers are troubled with what brand to choose best for their family.
I will be completely transparent with you: I started out with an MLM that is known as the leading essential oil brand in the world. I was introduced to it through a high school colleague wanting to pursue the business side of things. I too was like "why not" & hopped on board and took off. It wasn't until I was questioning the fact of why essential oils work this way in our body. I could not get an answer from anyone because in retrospect the company is not teaching them the therapeutic properties of oils, only how to market the product. That was when I took it upon my self and started doing research.
The internet is a powerful tool, which I am sure you already know, but like anything else you need to cross reference your findings and take everything into consideration. I encourage you to look into the brand you are using and not just take my word. Instead, let this be a starting point for you and see what you find.


That being said, lets dive right in.


The Short Answer is Yes...
Plain and simple does brand really matter? Yes it does. There are companies out there like I stated above that just want to take your money because essential oils are regaining popularity in the world. Health and wellness is not their number one priority for you. Once you can weed out those brands, which I will teach you how later in this post, then you need to look further into the company and see what kind of precautionary measures they are taking, where they are sourcing the botanicals and herbs, and how these oils are being processed, packaged and shipped.
In the United States there are zero laws and regulations on the use of the term aromatherapy. That simply means anyone can slap a label on a bottle with some type of substance and say it's good to go. Now is that necessarily a bad thing? No. It simply means we as consumers must do our due diligence to educate ourselves on the products we buy and use (just like anything else in the world).
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A BRAND:

1. Where are you purchasing this product?
2. Do they provide any third-party testing like GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) or COA (certificate of analysis) reports?
3. Are the essential oils 100% pure and undiluted?
4. Do they provide the botanical name, origin and method of distillation?
5. Do they promote ingestion?
6. How much is the product compared to other brands and why?

Some big questions that may have your head spinning, but don't lose hope! Let me break it down even more..

• I ask the first question because I believe it is important to find out where this product is coming from. Are you ordering it off of Amazon where it could possibly be handled by more than one company or even a local store in the dollar section where they have a high cost oil like Frankincense for $1?
• Even if you do not know how to properly read either of these reports, if a company is willing to show you what is in their products then that right there automatically gives the green light of purchase in my book. 
• When shopping for essential oils you want to be sure that you are aware if they are pre-diluted or not. Like I previously stated there are no regulations to aromatherapy meaning that if you purchase a pre-diluted bottle of oil then there could be 1 drop of actual essential oil and the rest could be a carrier/filler.

Another thing I believe is of value in mentioning is that when you pick up a bottle of essential oil and see that it states "certified therapeutic grade" it means nothing. This is simply a trademark that a brand has registered with and paid a fee to add to their bottle. 
Again, there is zero laws and regulations for the term aromatherapy. 

• Do they tell you the proper name, where the plant or herb has been sourced and how they bottled it? The botanical name is a big one. Let's say you go to the store and there is a bottle of lavender for sale. You read the botanical name and it states "Lavandula latifolia". This is indeed lavender, but a different kind known as Spiked Lavender which has completely different therapeutic properties than true lavender more known as "Lavandula angustifolia." No where on the bottle will it say that, only the botanical name.
•  Do they promote ingesting essential oils? This is yet again another hot topic in the aromatherapy world. If you have ever noticed, only MLM's promote the use of ingesting oils, but they do not provide guidelines on how to properly administer a dose to our system. My question is why? The answer: I am still seeking it for myself. For now, I like to stick with other methods of application to the body. 
• Lastly, why is a bottle of Rose oil triple digits with one company, yet half the cost with another? Well it's kind of ironic that the answer lies in questions 2, 3 & 4. Once you find your answers to those this question should be an easy one to see. My personal answer: You are paying for the name, not the product.

All this to be said, these are questions I believe are important to ask yourself when picking out a brand. The company I use to affiliate myself with denied my request to provide answers to my questions thus why I chose to look for alternatives, and I am happy to report that there are a ton to choose from! 
​

Now a question for you.

​Would you be interested in a newsletter going over my opinions on different brands? If so please comment below if there is a specific brand you would like me to review. 
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and learned something along the way.
As always I would love any feedback, questions, comments or concerns you might have!
Have a great day and God Bless!