What ‘grade’ are Nature’s Sunshine Essential Oils?

The truth is that there is no such thing as a ‘grade’ of essential oil.

Terms like ‘Certified Therapeutic’, number designations or letter grades assigned to essential oils are strictly marketing language created by the very corporations that utilize them. Which begs the question, how meaningful are these self-certifications? Not very. There is no independent, third party body that evaluates essential oils and assigns them a rating or a ‘grade’. At Nature’s Sunshine, we focus on the authenticity of our oils by providing transparency through the complete product life cycle. In order to consistently meet phony man-made standards which these ‘certified’ oils necessitate, many manufacturers will tamper with the oil that comes from nature. Tweaking an oil’s natural phytochemical profile with adulterants, synthetics or lower grades of plant species is commonplace. That’s why Nature’s Sunshine’s SureSource™ guarantee is so important. It provides tangible proof that the oil that leaves the distillery matches the oil delivered to your doorstep and that no funny business happens in between. Other companies with ‘certified’, made-up grades simply cannot match the validity of our SureSource

What is the difference between Certified Organic, Organically-grown and Wild-harvested oils?

• Organic Oils: Certified Organic oils are officially recognized by the National Organic Program, the same level of certification used for USDA Organic labeling. This means that oils are produced sustainability, without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
• Organically Grown Oils: NSP scours the globe to find the highest quality plant sources. Hence, our oils often come from small, family-owned farms in developing regions as remote as Tunisia or Madagascar. While these farms follow organic cultivation practices, they simply cannot meet the high costs of Organic certification. We list oils that come from these farms as ‘organically grown’. Botanical supply experts inspect sites to ensure that organic practices are in place and, as with all of our oils, third party and in-house GC/MS testing verifies the materials are pure and free of contaminants like chemical pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or other adulterants.
• Wild-Harvested Oils: Wild-harvested oils come from plants growing as they are found in nature. Untamed, free and natural, these plants are watered by the rain and nourished by the soil and sun. They are untouched by the hands of man until harvest time.

What is the shelf life of Nature’s Sunshine Essential Oils?

Our essential oils can be expected to maintain full aroma for two years when stored under ideal conditions. We recommend storing Essential Oils in a cool, dark place. Oils will last even longer when refrigerated, but refrigeration is not necessary.

Do any of Nature’s Sunshine Essential Oils have child proof caps?

Yes, our RECOVER blend features a childproof cap. This blend has a high amount of Wintergreen oil which can be toxic if ingested, especially by children. RECOVER is the only blend or single we feel warrants a child proof cap.

Are there any cautions I should be aware of before using Nature’s Sunshine Essential Oils?

Natures’ Sunshine provides safe instructions for topical use on every bottle and cautionary statements for skin sensitivity or photo-sensitivity when warranted. Oil that can cause skin sensitivity is Peppermint. This oil should be used sparingly in topical applications and should always be diluted with carrier or massage oil. Avoid sensitive areas. Oil that can cause photo-sensitivity is Lemon. One should avoid sun exposure after using these oils topically.

Why are Nature’s Sunshine Essential Oils not labeled for internal use?

Safety and Quality go hand in hand. From raw material sourcing to formulation and production and the multiple layers of testing in between, Natures’ Sunshine ensures that we are creating high quality products of unmatched potency, consistency and purity. Our Authentic Essential oils are no exception, backed by the strict criteria of our SureSource guarantee which encompasses two layers of GCMS testing; once at the distiller and once again in NSP’s own labs. We ensure that all the proper phytochemical constituent peaks displayed in these tests match perfectly which verifies that no adulteration has taken place from the time the oil was distilled to the time it is received. GCMS testing shows that the oil is free from any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, synthetics or any other type of contaminants.

All of our products come with recommendations for safe and proper use designed to be easily understood by the average consumer. However, Essential Oils have a slightly steeper learning curve. We know that many companies in the marketplace label their essential oils for internal use. This leads to many people who are not properly educated on the use of essential oils using them internally without any knowledge of how, when, how much or what kind of essential oil to use or for what purpose. Not to mention that some oils have possible safety concerns.

Nature’s Sunshine believes that a more conservative approach is best. The safety guidelines set forth by the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) places emphasis on internal use only under the supervision of an aromatherapist with advanced training. Nature’s Sunshine agrees with NAHA and supports a more cautious and carefully monitored approach with internal use of essential oils. Because not every user of our oils is expected to be an expert, we are not comfortable labeling our oils for internal use.

However, we are fully confident that an expert aromatherapist or health professional trained in the appropriate use of essential oils will find our guaranteed authentic oils to exceed the quality, safety and purity standards required for all clinical practice applications.

We are committed to providing extensive education for our customers and will continue to monitor the NAHA recommendations and will cautiously address the issue of internal use as needed.