Aura Cacia Essential Oils

A key to Aura Cacia's leadership is sourcing pure, authentic essential oils -- dealing face-to-face with the people growing the plants and extracting the essential oil whenever they can. Frequent trips to places like Europe, the Ukraine, Oregon and Australia to visit suppliers and processors illustrate their commitment to finding the best sources for their oils.

Aura Cacia also tests every oil they receive to make sure it meets their high standards. Their industry-leading testing program, which now includes gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) -- allows them to guarantee that they are providing you with the highest quality essential oils available. Whenever possible, they offer oils that are certified organic, as well.

Aura Cacia makes aromatherapy accessible with innovative ready-to-use products that let even beginners realize the full benefits of their 100% pure essential oils in a variety of ways that can easily be a part of any lifestyle.

Essential Oil Quality

Every Aura Cacia essential oil must pass a battery of tests to ensure its authenticity, quality and purity. We perform four major tests in the scientific analysis on every essential oil:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS)

Gas chromatography separates the individual constituents of an essential oil and measures the amount of each constituent present. It confirms an oil's botanical identity by comparing presence & amount of each constituent. GC can screen for non-natural or missing constituents, or constituents occurring in unnaturally high ratios, signifying adulteration. With the addition of mass spectrometry capabilities in 2007, Aura Cacia testing capabilities have reached a new high. MS specificially identifies the constituents in essential oils by name and pinpoints the adulterants that are commonly used.

Specific Gravity

Measures the weight of an essential oil at 25 degrees C. Every oil is made up of a unique constituents. At a given temperature, these constituents have a predictable weight. If an oil has been adulterated, the weight may be thrown off.

Optical Rotation

Measures direction, left or right, and the degree to which light rays bend or rotate as they pass through an essential oil. Every oil is made up of unique constituents, which predictably influence the direction and degree to which light rays bend as they pass through the oil. If an oil has been adulterated, the degree of rotation may be thrown off.

Refractive Index

Measures the speed at which light passing through an essential oil is refracted. Every oil is made up of unique constituents. These constituents predictably influence the speed and number of degrees at which they refract light. If an oil has been adulterated, the speed and degree of refraction may be thrown off.

Quality Expertise

Aura Cacia's Director of Research, Dr. Denys Charles, leads our in-house testing program. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and frequently publishes his studies in peer-reviewed journals and books. He also lectures on advanced aromatherapy topics at Purdue University and other universities and conferences. He is a reviewer for the Journal of Essential Oil Research, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and others.