Dr. Schulze includes essential oil use in his Natural Healing Programs /Protocols / Products, therefore, I wanted to share a bit of information and some personal thoughts on this subject.

As always you need to do your own research and decide what is best for you.

I have several reasons for this post on therapeutic essential oils.

1. I use them in my daily life and believe they have a huge positive impact on my ‘current‘ state of health.

2. There is a lot of confusion about what essential oils are and how they can be used in Natural Healing.

3. Dr. Schulze talks about and includes essential oils in his teachings/protocols/programs/formulas. He recommended and used them when doing bodywork, for air purification and to cleanse the body by inhalation of essential oils. They are a component of his Tooth & Gum Formula, Anti-Infection Formula, Bug Barrier Formulas and others.

In today’s world, there has been a lot of research done to better understand the ‘WHY’ and ‘HOW’ essential oils benefit us and most importantly education through actual use in clinical experience. Just as the great healers learned much of what ‘worked’ from their clinical experience, much has been learned about essential oils the same way.

From Dr. Schulze’s Patients Handbook:

Organic Jojoba oil and 9% Tea Tree oil

This formula is soothing and emollient to the skin and kills bacteria and fungus on contact. Use this formula when the anti-infection tincture would be to strong or intense. Especially on sensitive areas. This is the perfect solution for dry skin, baby's diaper rash, minor children's cuts, or for dermatitis, exema, psoriasis or any general skin irritation.

100% Essential oils of Eucalyptus, Lime, Lemon, Orange and Grapefruit.

This formula is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral. It destroys germs on contact. It also relieves sinus and lung congestion.

I sprayed this exact formula in my clinic. I needed something strong enough to cleanse and purify the air, but also something strong enough to de-odorize the smell of disease and death.

The fragrance of this spray can lift the lowest of spirits.

Great on your pillow before bed and in your bathroom as as air freshener.

1-4 sprays into the air.

Dr. Schulze also has a Tooth & Gum Formula, but his is liquid (made of tinctures & essential oils). One can put a 5-10 drops directly on a toothbrush, add it to water and 'swish', or put it in a Water Pik (but if used in a Water Pik, the Water Pik MUST be rinsed with plain water after use, or the Tea Tree Oil will degrade the gaskets).

Here's what he says about it on his website:

If used regularly this formula will heal and strengthen the teeth by tightening the gums, reducing any inflammation and stopping any bleeding. This formula is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and will destroy oral infections on contact.

Bayberry bark and Oak galls are two of the most powerful astringent herbs known. They contain tannins and the Galls of Oak may contain more tannic acid astringent than any other plant. Botanical astringents stop bleeding gums, reduce inflammation and bind and tighten tissue. That is why they have been used for centuries after a tooth was pulled to stop the bleeding and tighten up and close the hole. In many countries of the world, this treatment is still used in dentistry. In fact often a black tea bag is just bit on and held against the hole. Bayberry bark and Oak galls contain much more astringent power than just black tea. The Cayenne pepper in this formula also stops bleeding of the gums, but more importantly, it dramatically increases the gum and tooth blood circulation which encourages more rapid healing.

There is a tremendous amount of Cayenne extract in this formula but you will notice that it is not hot. That is because the Tea Tree oil somehow masks the hot flavor, but definitely not the action. Tea Tree oil is also a topical anti-fungal and anti-bacterial that has also been used in dentistry worldwide. In America, this wonderful healing oil was dropped for antibiotics. Considering that you are 4 times more likely to die from taking antibiotics because of anaphylactic shock than from an oral infection, and because the antiseptic power of Tea Tree oil is so well documented, to me this is a much safer route. Echinacea root is similar in action to Tea Tree oil as an oral antiseptic.

Clove oil has also been used since recorded medical history to relieve tooth and gum pain and that is the main reason I included it in this formulation.

Peppermint oil also stimulates oral circulation and covers up bad breath that is caused by tooth decay, oral infections and gum disease.

Herbs and ALL plants including flowers, trees and shrubs have health and healing properties. They are nature’s ‘medicine’.

SCHULZE: Food has nutrition in it, but it takes a lot to break those nutrients down.

Juices are like a blood transfusion.

A glass of fruit and vegetable juice takes very little digestion, if any. It goes right into your body. We look at juices in the same way a doctor would look at an I.V It's something that can go right into your bloodstream.

Juice fasting, through my experience, is more powerful than just water fasting. Juices not only fill you with nutrition - but they empty you out.

If you have any doubt about that, go home and drink a quart of prune juice and you tell me what happens.

Juices are flushing and cleansing to organs of the body.

Juices are enzyme therapy.

Juices contain gigantic amounts of enzymes. And a lot of people nowadays are taking enzymes because of the benefits, but you don't have to, they're in the juices.

Enzymes are heat sensitive, meaning that when you cook food, you destroy all the enzymes. Now, when you eat that food or juice, it's okay. Your body will produce enzymes in order for you to digest that food. But when your body does that - it can't do something else. It only has a limited amount of energy.

So, one of the things that juices do, because they are loaded with enzymes, is they give your body a vacation.

Most of us live enzyme-free diets. If all we eat is cooked food, there are no enzymes in it. By supplying your body with high doses of enzymes, it gives many of your organs like your pancreas, your liver, your digestive system a holiday, because they don't have to try to manufacture chemicals that are coming in through your juices.

"Thinning the blood is one the most important things you can do when you are sick, and juices do that."

An enzyme holiday. And it also thins your blood. This is a major key.

Just as with juicing and tinctures you want to assure that the plants used to produce the essential oil are organic, wild-crafted, harvested at the ideal time and free of any chemical processing. When essential oils are steam distilled it is important that the temperature and the pressure are low. Heat destroys the life of the plant. Using too high of a temperature in the distilling process can destroy the life of the oil.

Just as with tinctures and juices, essential oils give us the benefits of nature’s plants in a therapeutic form.

Why do we benefit from the essential oils obtained from plants? Why not just eat the whole plant? For many of the same reasons we drink juices and use tinctures. By juicing you are able to ingest a much larger amount of nutrients, without the digestive burden of eating the fiber and ’empty’ part of the vegetable and fruit. When you eat your body needs to use its energy to digest and eliminate. When you drink juices, very little energy is needed for these functions, freeing the body’s energy to be used for cleansing and healing. The body and blood can utilize the nutrients, enzymes and other components of the juice almost immediately.. nourishing, cleansing, restoring and rebuilding a healthy state.

When you take tinctures, the benefits of the herbs go directly into the bloodstream and are quickly utilized, aiding the body in cleansing, healing, restoring and rebuilding.

Essential oils require no digestion. They are quickly taken into the blood and the cells. They assist the body in cleansing, in detoxification of organs, the blood and lymph. They assist the body in regaining a healthy balance.

The unfortunate thing about essential oils is that we cannot produce them in our own kitchen as we can juices and tinctures. Essential oils require huge amounts of plant materials and a steam-distillation process to obtain them.

When you make fresh juice, you strive to grow or purchase the best produce available to you. When tincturing, you grow or purchase the best herbs available to you.

When entering the world of essential oils, you will not be able to ’make’ your own oils... therefore you have a challenge. You need to become educated and do the research required to make an informed decision when you go to purchase essential oils. The interest in and excitement around essential oils has created ‘MARKETING’ opportunity for many. A new money-making category in the world of ‘natural products’. It is unfortunate that most products on the market today containing essential oils do not contain essential oils that are alive/have frequency. Worse the product is chemically treated, cut or adulterated and contain ’isolated substances’. Not only will you not get the healing properties you are looking for, but you may well be adding to the toxic burden in your body.

Be an informed consumer. Healthy plants and proper distillation produce superior essential oils with powerful benefits.

Just as when purchasing products that use Dr. Christopher’s name, products from Dr. Schulze or Unyquity’s Herbal Apothecary Storefront, you need to be informed and educated when purchasing essential oils.

Some tips to assist you before you purchase an essential oil:

Questions to ask and have answered;

1. What is the source from which this oil comes?

2. How was it grown?

3. What parts of the plant were used (flowers, stems) and at what stage of growth was it harvested?

4. What was the distillation process and where was it distilled.

5. What other substances/ingredients does the product contain? If the essential oil has been diluted with a ‘carrier oil’, what is the amount of essential oil in the formula/bottle? Many times there is a very small amount of essential oil in products sold this way. What may sound like a good price for a quality essential oil, may be a high price for the MAIN oil contained in the product and the small amount of the essential oil you are actually getting. I prefer to purchase my essential oils undiluted. I then KNOW what amount of essential oil I am paying for and gettin. I do my own dilution or formulation (as for skin, personal and care).

6. Is it safe for internal use? If the answer is that ‘NO essential oil is recommended to be taken internally‘, in my opinion, the company does not sell essential oils that are of a quality that will give you health benefit. They are selling aroma-grade oils or oils that have been cut / adulterated / chemically treated.

Essential Oil Supplement -- 100% Pure Grade A Essential Oil Distilled with Low Pressure and Low Temperature -- For dietary or topical use -- When using as a supplement, dilute 1 drop in 4 oz. of liquid -- EC AFNOR Standard.

From the Essential Oils Desk Reference, Fourth Edition

(with permission)

Essential oils and human blood share several common properties. They fight infection, contain hormone-like compounds, and initiate regeneration.

Working as the chemical defense mechanism of the plant, essential oils possess potent antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. They also ward off attacks by insects and animals. The ability of some essential oils to work as hormones helps them bring balance to many physiological systems of the human body. Oils like clary sage and sage that contain sclerol, for example, have an estrogenic action. Essential oils also play a role in initiating the regeneration process for the plant, the same way the blood does in the human body.

This similarity goes even deeper. Essential oils have a chemical structure that is similar to that found in human cells and tissues. This makes essential oils compatible with human protein and enables them to be readily identified and accepted by the body.

Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and diffuse throughout the blood and tissues. The unique, lipid-soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to the makeup of one cell membranes. The molecules of essential oils are also relatively small, which enhances their ability to penetrate into the cells. When topically applied to the feet or elsewhere, essential oils can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes.

The ability of some essential oils, like clove, to decrease the viscosity or thickness of the blood can also enhance circulation and immune function. Adequate circulation is vital to good health, since it affects the function of every cell and organ, including the brain.

In the human body, essential oils stimulate the secretion of antibodies, neurotransmitters, endorphins, hormones, and enzymes. Oils containing limonene have been shown to prevent and slow the progression of cancer. Other oils, like lavender, have been shown to promote the growth of hair and increase the rate of wound healing. They increase the uptake of oxygen and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the fuel for individual cells.

Ninety-eight percent of essential oils produced today are used in the perfume and cosmetic industry. Only about 2 percent are produced for therapeutic and medicinal applications.

Because essential oils are composites of hundreds of different chemicals, they can exert many different effects on the body. For example, clove oil can be simultaneously antiseptic and anesthetic when applied topically. It can also be antitumoral. Lavender oil has been used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress, and hair growth.

From the Essential Oils Desk Reference, Fourth Edition (with permission)

Because the sense of smell is so incredible, it is important to understand why we have these sensitivities and reactions. Let's go back to the early days of steam distillation, which is one of the most common ways of extracting oils from plants, trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs. This is done by sending steam into a chamber that holds the raw product. As the steam rises, it stimulates the oil membranes in the plant, causing them to open, thereby releasing the oil molecule that has a micro-fine membrane around it, which is there to protect the oil. If the membrane is fractured while the oil is being released, the oil is damaged, and the molecular structure of the oil is altered. in nature, as the evening cools, the oil comes closer to the surface. As the day begins, the sun's warmth causes this membrane to relax, open and release the oil into the atmosphere.

Vertical steam distillation gives us the greatest potential for protecting the oil and maintaining its integrity in order to protect its therapeutic benefits for fragrance and balancing the body. All of this must work on the areas in the brain that are connected to the limbic system, which affects emotional trauma release, appeases anxiety and helps overcome depression. In ancient distillation, low pressure (5 pounds and under) and low temperature were extremely important in order to have the therapeutic benefits of this gentle process.

Marcel Espieu, who has been the President of the Lavender Growers Association for more than 20 years in southern France, has said that the best quality of oil would be produced when the pressure was zero pounds during distillation.

Temperature also has a very distinct effect on the oils. At certain temperatures, the oil fragrance, as well as the chemical constituents, can be changed. High pressures and high temperatures seem to cause a harshness in the oil where even the oil pH and the electropositive and electronegative balance are greatly affected.

For example, cypress requires 24 hours at a maximum of 245 degrees at 5 pounds of pressure in order for all of the active constituents and properties to be released. But if it is distilled less than 22 hours, 18-20 of the primary constituents will be missing, which are absolutely essential
to the therapeutic application of the oil and the expected response.

However, most of the distilling operations throughout the world distill cypress for only one hour and 15 minutes to 3 hours.

Lavender is distilled in France with a steam temperature of up to 350 degrees and up to 155 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes. Although the oil is easily sold and marketed, it is of very poor quality. The problem we have in America is that people are more concerned about price than quality.

Naturally, you can sell lavender oil inexpensively if you can produce a pound of oil in 15 minutes versus a pound of oil in an hour and a half. To maintain the highest grade of oil and to be able to get all the properties in the oil that create the therapeutic effect in the healing of burns, reducing of headaches and fevers and overcoming insomnia and PMS, that oil must be of the highest grade and quality.

In the larger fields of the world during the distillation time, one can see chemical trucks hooked into the distillers pumping solvents into the water already in the boiler. This increases the oil production by as much as 18 percent.

However, when you put a chemical in the water and force this with steam into the plant, it causes a fracturing of the molecular structure of the oil, altering its fragrance and constituents because you cannot separate the chemicals from the oil after it comes through the condenser.

Most of the lavender oil sold in America today is lavandin, which is a hybrid and is grown and distilled in either China or Russia. The oil production in both locations test high in radioactive isotopes. They bring it into France, cut it with synthetic linalol acetate to improve the fragrance, add propylene glycol or SD 40, which is a solvent that has no smell and increases the volume, and then sell it in the United States as lavender oil. We in America don't know the difference and are happy to buy and sell it for $5-7 per half ounce in health food stores, beauty salons, grocery and department stores and through mail order.

Frankincense is another example of an adulterated oil. The frankincense resin, or gum, that is sold in Somalia costs between $30,000 and $35,000 per ton and when steam distilled is very expensive. However, frankincense that is sold for as low as $25 per ounce is distilled with alcohol.

When these cut, synthetic and adulterated oils cause rashes, burns or other irritations, we wonder why we don't get the benefit we were expecting and come to the conclusion that essential oils don't have that much value.

There are first, second, third and fourth stages of distillation, with each one becoming weaker and weaker to which synthetic fragrance constituents are added and then sold to the unsuspecting public. Many people have jumped on the bandwagon because of the money-making potential that they see with essential oils. They buy cheap oils, rebottle them, label them as 100 percent pure essential oils and market them without ever knowing their origin or who was responsible for the distillation.　

When you apply essential oils to the body you are increasing cellular frequency, circulation and increasing the oxygen delivery to the cell. As you take them internally for food flavoring or supplements, you are supplying your body with oxygen and nutrients.

As you diffuse the oils in your home you are eliminating airborne bacteria as well as pulling the chemicals and metallic out of the air, which are also airborne.

From the Essential Oils Desk Reference, Fourth Edition (with permission)

Today much of the lavender oil sold in America is the hybrid called lavandin, grown and distilled in China, Russia, France, and Tasmania. It is brought into France and cut with synthetic linalyl acetate to improve the fragrance. Then propylene glycol, DEP or DOP ) solvents that have no smell and increase the volume) are added and it is sold in the United States as lavender oil.

Often lavender is heated to evaporate the camphor and then is adulterated with synthetic linalyl acetate. Most consumers don’t know the difference and are happy to buy it for $7 to $10 per half ounce in health food stores, beauty salons, grocery and department stores and through mail order. This is one of the reasons why it is important to know about the integrity of the company or vendor from which you purchase your essential oils.

Frankincense is another example of a commonly adulterated oil. The frankincense resin that is sold in Somalia costs between $30,000 and $35,000 per ton. A great deal of time-- 12 hours or more-- is required to properly steam-distill this essential oil from the resin, making the oil very expensive. Frankincense oil that sells for $25 an ounce or less is cheaply distilled with gum resins, alcohol, or other solvents, leaving the essential oil laden with harmful chemicals. Sadly, when these cut, synthetic, and adulterated oils cause rashes, burns, or other irritations, people wonder why they do not get the benefit they expected and conclude that essential oils do not have much value.

Some commercial statistics show that one large, U. S. corporation uses twice as much of a particular essential oil as is naturally grown and produced in the entire world! Where are these “phantom” essential oils coming from?

In France, production of true lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia) dropped from 87 tons in 1967 to only 12 tons in 1998. During this same period the worldwide demand for lavender oil grew over 100 percent. So where did essential oil marketers obtain enough lavender to meet the demand? They probably used a combination of synthetic and adulterated oils. There are huge chemical companies on the east coast of the U.S. that specialize in creating synthetic chemicals that mimic every common essential oil. For every kilogram of pure essential oil that is produced, it is estimated there are between 10 and 100 kilograms of synthetic oil created.

Adulterated and mislabeled essential oils present dangers for consumers. One woman who had heard of the ability of lavender oil to heal burns, used “lavender oil” purchased from a local health food store when she spilled boiling water on her arm. But the pain intensified and the burn worsened, so she later complained that lavender oil was worthless for healing burns. When her “lavender” oil was analyzed, it was found to be lavandin, the hybrid lavender that is chemically very different from pure Lavender angustifolia. Lavandin contains high levels of camphor (12-18%) and can itself burn the skin. In contrast, true lavender contains virtually no camphor and has burn-healing agents not found in lavandin.

Adulterated oils that are cut with synthetic extenders can be very detrimental, causing rashes, burning, and skin irritations. Petrochemical solvents, such as dipropylene glycol and diethylphthalate, can all cause allergic reactions, besides being devoid of any therapeutic effects.

Some people assume that because an essential oil is “100% pure”, it will not burn their skin. This is not true. Some pure essential oils may cause skin irritation if applied undiluted. If you apply straight oregano oil to the skin of some people, it may cause severe reddening. Citrus and spice oils, like orange and cinnamon, may also produce rashes. Even the terpenes in conifer oils, like pine, may cause skin irritation on sensitive people.

Some writers have claimed that a few compounds, when isolated from the essential oil and tested in the lab, can exert toxic effects. Even so-called “nature-identical” essential oils (structured essential oils that have been chemically duplicated using 5 to 15 of the essential oil’s primary chemical compounds in synthetic form) can produce unwanted side effects or toxicities. Isolated compounds may be toxic; however pure essential oils, in most cases, are not. This is because natural essential oils contain hundreds of different compounds, some of which balance and counteract each other’s effects.

The 4 P's of quality therapeutic grade essential oils:

Plants
An oil's potency can be affected not only by selecting the proper plant to cultivate, but also by where the plant is grown, the quality of soil in which the seed is planted, and even the time of day it's harvested.

Selecting the correct species of plant for desired oil potency, planting under optimal conditions, using ideal soil and natural methods to encourage growth, and knowing the precise time to harvest each crop. Only those plants that produce the most active and widest array of therapeutic compounds should be selected.

Preparation
Once the optimal soil, plant, cultivation, and harvesting conditions have been adhered to, the plants must be distilled properly useing a gentle, technique for steam-extracting the most potent essential oils.

Proper temperature must be maintained throughout the distillation process, and pressure, length of time, equipment, and batch size strictly monitored.

Purity
A company whose standards prohibit the acceptance of any diluted, cut or adulterated oils and meets strict purity standards.

Every batch of essential oils should be subjected to rigorous, state-of-the-art analysis at a chemistry lab for Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer testing, and heavy metals analysis. Oils that exhibit even the slightest hint of possible adulteration or tampering should be rejected.