I’m often asked why I chose Young Living and what sets them apart from the other companies. People will as questions like, “Aren’t they all the same?”,  “Lavender is Lavender, right?” (Wrong!) or, “Why does it matter where the oils are sourced?” And lastly, one I’ve heard the most (and said myself a couple years ago) – “Young Living is just another one of those Partner Opertunity companies right? I’d rather go directly to the source…”

Well I’m here to take a few minutes to explain a few reasons why Young Living, in my opinion, based on my research and knowledge over time, is in deed the best of the best for me and my family. 

There’s so much online from bloggers, oily mamas, and others who may believe differently or have had experiences where they’ve been turned away from YL, and that is simply their experience and I respect their choices and what they have to say. However, this company is growing each and every day, with an average of 75,000 kits sold monthly and $1 billion of annual revenue coming in with projections skyrocketing so like I always say – either they’re doing a lot of people dirty here, or there’s something in this company and their products worth investing and believing in. I choose to take the latter to heart.

Before reading the following: If you’re someone who has found anything online negatively attributing to the quality of Young Living’s reputation, product quality, or otherwise, please email me with your questions and I feel confident that I can happily research for you and debunk your findings. 🙂 

REASON #1: PASSION & DRIVE FOR HIGH QUALITY FROM THE START

Young Living has been in business for 26 years, leading the industry in experience and knowledge of their trade. It all started in 1993 when D. Gary Young and his wife Mary started their first organic herb farming and distillery operation. Gary had already valued the magical powers of EO’s, but wanted to strive to develop a consistency in the varying quality of what was available in the market at the time. That was something that was so important to him from the beginning. His wife had the direct-selling skills down from previous experience so they decided to apply that to Gary’s EO passion and create this business together.

Their company became fully established in 1994 after they cultivated even more farmland in the great states of Utah and Idaho, growing of course the beloved Lavender, Peppermint, Clary Sage, and others. The demand was growing vastly, which fueled the fire behind their drive to develop their business quickly and efficiently. They developed the largest and most technologically advanced EO distillery in the country, along with their proprietary Seed to Seal process and promise (which I’ll get into more later), which is what we all stand behind in this company – ensuring the integrity, potency, and unmatched high quality in their oils through each step of their distillation and bottling process.

REASON #2: WORLDWIDE ESTABLISHMENT AND SUCCESS

Young Living has grown to be the world’s leader inn the EO and wellness industry. They’ve got their headquarters in Utah and offices all across the world in countries such as Austrailia, Europe, Canada, Singapore, and Japan. Their farms stretch all over the world as well, from their 1,400 acre farm in Mona, Utah to places like Peru, Taiwan, Hawaii, France, Ecuador, and Canada. They’ve developed 13 worldwide offices, serve 20 different markets, have 16 corporate-owned and partner farms, with over 3,000 employees, providing jobs all over the world through their farms, offices, warehouses, distilleries, and distributors. 

REASON #3: FARM OWNERSHIP, CONTROL, AND TRANSPARENCY

They are one of VERY few companies (only other one I know of is a company called Florihana) that owns their own farms AND distills their oils onsite. And yes, Young Living’s farms are open to the public. How cool is that? Their open door practices allow any of us to visit the farm or distillery and validate their practices of operation. This company cultivates, harvests, and distills on their own land and have 100% control of the entire process. They also purchase from a farm source directly who’s practices meet the high Seed to Seal (real next Reason) standard and is tested along with all of the other oils to ensure the quality reaches that of their own farms. They also co-op which means that several companies purchase from the same farm source, as well as partner with farms and have exclusive rights to the products that come from it. Having this kind of close-knit relationship with farmers and co-op land owners is so important in maintaining consistency and quality in their products.

REASON #4: PROPRIETARY SEED TO SEAL (“STS”) PROCESS

Young Living only sources their oils from corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and STS-certified suppliers, making sure that every seed and drop is of the highest and purest quality possible. What does Seed to Seal reflect? Their goal through this process is to ensure that every single product of theirs is free of heavy metals, pesticides, and unwanted harmful ingredients, and made from the highest and purest ingredients with the upmost quality. Their methods are sustainable and environmentally-conscious, and partners strive for the same ethical and law-complying business practices as well, and YL does their best to ensure that these standards are met. 

REASON #5: RIGOROUS STRINGENT TESTING ON EVERY OIL

Every oil goes through extremely rigorous and strict stringent testing through unbiased third-party validation, with up to 20 tests per oil. These tests measure things from the pH of the oil to it’s thickness, consistency, combustibility, metal content, of course – purity – and sooo much more. They use 6 independent external labs (not labs of their own like many companies) including CNRS France, and other forensic labs who work directly with Scotland Yard and even our own FBI. Pretty impressive, don’t ya think? 

REASON #6: HIGHER THAN USDA-CERTIFIED-ORGANIC STANDARDS

Every oil has been tested free of pesticides and synthetics of any kind. Some companies add synthetic additives to their oils and still label them to be “pure” when in fact they aren’t – not Young Living. These oils are 100% authentic, therapeutic-grade, and completely pure. According to the USDA, produce can be called organic if it’s been certified to have been grown in soil that had no prohibited substances applied for 3 years prior to harvest. This includes synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. To be Certified Organic also means that the product must contain a least 95% of an organically produced product. But that’s not good enough for Young Living. They won’t farm on any land that hasn’t been organic for at least 50 years (take that FDA!). They also want 100% of their product to be organic, not just 95%. When something is labeled Certified Organic, 5% of it could still be synthetic, which we often don’t realize. So that FDA label doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best product out there anyway. So when you take all of this into consideration, “Seed to Seal” is a higher standard than FDA-Certified Organic. The other reason their oils aren’t labeled as Certified Organic is because there are so many farms outside of the United States, so that type of certification wouldn’t even be available for those oils. Young Living would have to pay for the organic label too, driving the cost up unnecessarily. Also, being Certified Organic means that farmers would use FDA certified organic pesticides (which aren’t clean), which YL wouldn’t want to do because those pesticides aren’t clean, and YL doesn’t use any chemicals whatsoever on their crops anyway, so why bother with the FDA organic label at all? It just doesn’t matter in the end. We think seeing “Certified Organic” is the end-all be-all, but it’s not in some cases. And guess what – there are absolutely no government regulations on Essential Oils in the US. The FDA actually considers EO’s to be bundled in with any other plant-derived ingredient, synthetically-produced or not. So when that bottle of product from the store says “FDA-approved”, that should mean nothing to us because they wouldn’t seem to care if it’s synthetic or naturally-based. 

REASON #7: THEIR ABUNDANCE OF ESSENTIAL OILS, BLENDS, AND DIETARY PRODUCTS

Along with their 84 single oils and 109 blends, they’re the only company to feature an FDA-approved dietary product “Vitality” line – a vast array of health and wellness-supportive goodies that I just swoon over every time I glance through their Product Guide. 

REASON #8: THE POTENCY OF THEIR FRAGRANCE

Every single time I share Lavender with someone, and I mean every single time, they go, “Ooooo….!!!!” and usually follow that up with, “yea my Lavender does not smell like that!” or “I never used to like Lavender but wow… that’s amazing!” or “I can’t stop smelling my Lavender!” These oils, because they are the real deal, make our noses, brains, hearts, and minds happy. They just do and it’s that simple. Not every oil will smell “good” to us, but that’s because of what it’s made from – not everything is meant to smell like a pretty flower. But because these are therapeutic-grade, the benefits you’ll get from using these oils far outweigh the fact that you don’t like the way it smells. You’ll start to love the way it smells over time though because your body will start to associate the benefits it’s receiving to the smell of the oil. I never used to like the smell of Digize but now I’m seriously in love with it!

REASON #9: THE SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED OILERS

One thing I’ve completely taken advantage of is the vast community of others who all strive for a life filled with a healthy practice, of course infused with EO’s. Our Facebook Groups are so encouraging, help us get inspired with what to diffuse, apply, blend, roll on, and more… It’s been so awesome to connect with people along the way and share in the bond we have together! THIS is the reason why the company is set up the way it is – for the rich and nurturing continued education! So many people have contacted me saying they’d purchased kits or oils in the past from other companies but never really knew how to use them. Well, we are here to guide you!

REASON #10: THE HEALTH & WELLNESS BENEFITS IT’S PROVIDED ME AND MY FAMILY

There are many factors that contribute to overall health of course, but the ways we’ve seen these oils support our bodies has been incredibly inspiring, encouraging, exciting, and simply FUN to experience. The emotional balance and physical support we’ve experienced since switching to Young Living has been undeniable and we aren’t looking back anytime soon. My husband has his stash upstairs at his bedside, and we have piles all over the house of that ones we use in our daily routine. Some of them remain the same, while other times we like to switch up what we use and when. We love what this company has done for us and want to share it with everyone we know and love… And with that, thanks so much for reading!