The Truth about vaping essential oils exposed after many years of studies, research and development.
FOREWORD : We wanted to mention the inspiration for writing this article. There are dozens of professional writers, who have written blogs "around" this subject matter. Some are okay, with tidbit's of accurate information,
but for the most part, they are widely inaccurate, and not based on hard science, and these writers tend to have limited vaporizer device engineering expertise. Furthermore, they often quote doctors, or essential oil
experts, who also have no true understanding about the science behind it all, and who have never experimented in this field, or ever tried anything related to this subject matter. Therefore, their professional opinions suddenly become not so professional and trustworthy. Because of this, there are many uncertainties, and lot's of misinformation circulating around the web.
We wanted to share and disclose our scientific finding and studies, all of which is based in real life testings and science, with those of you who care to seek the truth on matter.
In order to understand this all, it is first important to discuss these "tar" compounds mentioned above further, and their impact on the human body.
First lets mention, that as human beings we ingest and inhale most, if not all of the compounds produced from heating oils, every moment, of day, of our lives. Some days we take in more, depending on our diets, our cooking
habits, and our environments (where you live). For example, we are based in Los Angeles, the air is incredibly dirty. You can actually see the black toxins floating overhead and see them coating your car.
Most people think that by hiding indoors, in their clean living room, bedroom, kitchen, or car, they are safe from these VOC's, but in fact, we are subjected to far greater doses of VOC's while indoors. Most furniture, clothing,
carpets, chemical cleaners, detergents, plastics, woods, and foods, are made with or naturally contain and exude mass amounts of VOC's.
In fact it turns out, that sitting on your new couch, or in your new car, or sleeping in your bed, is when we are exposed the highest counts of VOC's. The only place worse, might be your place of work ; offices, labs, schools,
hospitals, banks, public transportation, are all examples of places that contains even greater unhealthy levels of VOC's according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website.
Other people with healthy diets and lives believe they might be safe from VOC's. When in fact those people, including those consuming raw diets, plant based diets and meat based diets are also exposed to high amounts of VOC's
daily.
Some foods that naturally contain high levels of formaldehyde for example are ; apples, watermelon, banana, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, grapes, potatoes, spinach, tomato, mushrooms, beef, pork, poultry, and fish. Some
companies add different forms of VOC's and formaldehyde's to further preserve meats, fish, and veggies. See full list from the CDC table below. Some companies use natural and organic preservatives that naturally
contain high counts of VOC's to mask or hide that fact they are preserving. That is why it very important to rinse well all packaged and processed foods.
That takes us to another question, rinse our fruits, veggies and meats with what ? Household tap water ? Well there are even worse compounds found in most home tap water and pipes. Compounds that will damage human
cells far worse then any VOC. This is why we recommend every person use a RO (reverse osmosis water system), or a gravity-fed filter system, but that is a conversation we will save for another blog post.
The last group of people to mention, is those who consume processed, packaged, preserved foods, or products. The counts of VOC's can be tremendously high when compared with nature. But it is the counts of harmful inorganic
compounds that you should worry about in those foods and drinks. Compounds that can age, degrade, and destroy all metabolic functions, to the point of mutations, cancer and possibly death in the case of life long abusers.
Now, let's dive into essential oils.
According to our "wonderfully accurate" friends at Wikipedia; "An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (defined as "the tendency of a substance to vaporize") aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile essential oils, ethereal oils, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it contains the "essence of" the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. The term essential used here does not mean indispensable as with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid which are so called since they are nutritionally required by a given living organism. In contrast to fatty oils, essential oils evaporate completely without leaving a stain (residue) when dabbed onto filter paper.
HOW ARE ESSENTIAL OILS MADE ?
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam or cold press. Other processes include expression, solvent extraction, absolute oil extraction, resin tapping, wax embedding. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for adding scents to incense and household cleaning products.
Essential oils are often used for aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine in which healing effects are ascribed to aromatic compounds. Aromatherapy may be useful to induce relaxation."
There are a few last dot's to connect before we get to the final conclusion.
Now that we understand what EO's are not, let's discuss what they are.
Now that does not fully answer the question, can you vape essential oils and is it safe. To answer these questions fully, we must dive even deeper into this conversation.
But first, we must also mention that;
CAN YOU, AND IS IT SAFE TO VAPE OR VAPORIZE ESSENTIAL OILS ?
Humans are actually born with a specialized olfactory bulb, our sense of smell, that can detect harmful scents, tars, and some VOC's in the air. Think about the smell of burning plastic, or rubber.
Without knowing what it is, we instinctively know that this smell is bad for us. If you put any oil in a standard handheld vaporizing device, you can actually smell and taste it cooking, then
burning, then converting into carbons and tars after some time. Same with cooking oil in a pan on your stove. It will burn, and that smoke, and vapor is toxic and is a known carcinogenic.
On another topic, this entire conversation is actually the base premise for marijuana oil makers, and vape device makers. Many of oils and devices marketed, are specialized, and are designed to
work with each other. They work together to bake the oil into at vapor mist, that the user can inhale, with as little burning as possible. However no matter how clean the extract, and
how advanced the device is, the oils will slightly burn, and will partially convert into tars and carbons, that will slightly damage the users lungs. Over long term periods of use, their lungs
will feel the impact of this abuse.
You can use CERTAIN TYPES, of PURE Essential Oils, that are SAFE TO INGEST, in SMALL AMOUNTS in a FORMULATION, using a LOW HEAT DEVICE, in quick bursts, for short periods of time, without the risk of burning, or tars, or VOC creation
and buildups. Please note, as discussed above, many essential oils, foods and drinks, start with some VOC's, and therefore they will end with some VOC's. The trick is to end up with less, not more then you started
with, and to make sure that these levels are far below the safe zones as set by the CDC, and less then what you might ingest from say eating a slice of fresh organic farm raised watermelon, driving your new car, or wearing
your new shirt for the first time.
Meaning that if you have the proper device, designed to spec, and an exact oil, that is safe to ingest and inhale, and if it is extracted using certain methods, and you water down that oil with other (non-oil) carriers,
then yes, you can safely vaporize and inhale some essential oils.
The key here is small amounts, of pure essential oils, that are edible, mixed with things like VG vegetable glycerine and distilled water.
If you insist on trying this at home, a good mix to test and try with would start like this : 20% H20 - 75% Organic Pharmaceutical Grade vegetable glycerine. This will make up 95% of your mixture. Then start with 1% of your pure edible essential oil, and work your way up to a maximum of 5%, until you get the desired results you are looking for. If you are using an adjustable vaporizer, set it to the lowest power setting, and lowest heat setting. Use the highest OHM coil possible. See what works for you, keep sessions short, taking 2 - 4 second heating's at the most. Heat applied for long periods of time will denature the oil, and turn it rancid. Meaning when you use it a few days later, it will not have the same flavor / effect, and will taste bad/rancid. Try with cold pressed orange oil for energy, or with a steam distilled lavender oil to use before bedtime. Or one of our favorites is rose oil.
I will add that 99% of devices are not compatible with this, and that most over the counter oils are not compatible with this. Meaning that if you are not an oil maker, and a chemist, with a lab, and an device engineer
or enthusiast, then you should not try this at home. Trust us when we say this, as we have tried this, with nearly every device, with nearly every oil, and with nearly every combination of oils, for many-many years
in the VitaStik Laboratories. In fact I would say we are the worlds foremost experts in this discussion, considering we created this segment of the market in early 2014, and we have every tool possible to test before,
and after, what you start with, and what you end up with after heating.
Our thought on the matter is simple and straight forward. If you start with one thing, and end up with the same thing after a quick and gentle heating, then it should be safe. But if it converts into something else,
than it is most likely not safe. Furthermore, you must start with edible, organics, that are already designed to be ingested. If they are not edible, then you certainly should never heat these organics, and
then inhale them. This would be a true recipe for disaster.
But remember, a good rule for life in general is, "everything should be in moderation". To much of anything can be bad for you. To much water, to much oxygen, or to much exercise can even kill you ...everything in moderation.
That is why we only recommend 5 - 20 activation's per/day, as needed, throughout the day, for a quick InstaMood vitamin aromatherapy mood enhancing boost.
Aromatherapy is an ancient science, and essential oils are the basis of that science. Modern vaporizers and diffusers are a great advancement in the field of aromatherapy. But oils and devices are complicated, expensive,
and messy. VitaStik wanted to create a fast, affordable, easy to use, simple, handheld, portable device. We take the guess work out of formulations, and safety. We invite you to give it a try, and let us know
what you think. Since early 2014 we have millions of satisfied customers worldwide.
If you do not love the direct inhalation method, then can try the Blow Through Method on our Breath Activated Aromatherapy Stick. See video below for exact details. Macy is using our AMORE STICK - with Rose Water Oils. The
world's first flower water diffuser stick.
OPENING PAGE PHOTO CREDITS : The beautiful
@LianaBeauty
Thank you for sharing this amazing image in pink.
CHARTS BELOW BORROWED FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, AND THE CDC, TO ILLUSTRATE THE HIGH LEVELS OF VOC'S NATURALLY FOUND IN THE HEALTHY FOODS. Please note : these foods are safe, and within safety levels,
but they do lay on the higher side of the spectrum.
Foods Known to Contain Naturally Occurring Formaldehyde I. Fruits & Vegetables
Food type |
Level (mg/kg) |
Apple |
6.3 – 22.3 |
Apricot |
9.5 |
Banana |
16.3 |
Beetroot |
35 |
Bulb vegetables (e.g. onion) |
11.0 |
Cabbage |
5.3 |
Carrot |
6.7 – 10 |
Cauliflower |
26.9 |
Cucumber |
2.3 – 3.7 |
Grape |
22.4 |
Green Onion |
13.3 – 26.3 |
Kohlrabi |
31 |
Pear |
38.7 – 60 |
Plum |
11.2 |
Potato |
19.5 |
Spinach |
3.3 – 7.3 |
Tomato |
5.7 – 13.3 |
Water-melon |
9.2 |
White Radish |
3.7 – 4.4 |
Shiitake mushroom (dried) |
100 – 406 |
Shiitake mushroom (raw) |
6 – 54.4 |
II. Meat and meat products
Food type |
Level (mg/kg) |
Beef |
4.6 |
Pig |
5.8 – 20 |
Sheep |
8 |
Poultry |
2.5 – 5.7 |
Processed meat products (including ham and sausages) |
≤ 20.7 |
Liver paste |
≤ 11.9 |
1
Foods Known to Contain Naturally Occurring Formaldehyde (Continued) III. Dairy products
IV. Seafood
Food type |
Level (mg/kg) |
Goat’s Milk |
1 |
Cow’s Milk |
≤ 3.3 |
Cheese |
≤ 3.3 |
Food type |
Level (mg/kg) |
Cod |
4.6 – 34 |
Shrimp (raw) |
1 – 2.4 |
Squid |
1.8 |
Fish ball |
6.8 |
Crustacean |
1 – 98 |
Bombay-duck |
≤ 140 |
Formaldehyde was also reported in studies to develop after death in marine fish and crustaceans and accumulate during the frozen storage of some fish species. Its levels can be as high as 400 mg/kg in Bombay-duck after cold storage.
V. Others
Food type |
Level (mg/kg) |
Alcoholic beverage |
0.02 – 3.8 |
Soft drinks |
8.7 |
Brewed coffee |
3.4 – 4.5 |
Instant coffee |
10 – 16 |
Syrup |
<1 – 1.54 |
Sources: From World Health Organization and others.
Writer Kathryn Tuggle from Good House Keeping covered a story about Essential Oil Vaping and The Personal Diffuser Stick.