I have been invited to a DoTerra "class" and looking at all the info I have easily found makes me somewhat nervous. First of all, it seems to be very, very mormon. I do not know if the company itself is, but of the sales reps I am aware of 100% are mormon.

I have also been reading testimonials about how 'miraculous' these oils are and how they are 'curing' people left and right. If you start using them you will never need a doctor again! All is said with lots of pseudo scientific jargon to make it sound legit.

And finally, I really hate MLMs in general. So I am not anxious to start giving my money to these people over any other people.

That said, I am interested in attending the class and just seeing what they have to say.

I was just wondering, what do any of you out there know about this company? Is it mormon owned, or Utah based? Any info to share with me?

It is Mormon owned. The guy who started it is actually my bestfriend's mission president. Both my aunt and grandmother (100% TBM) are involved in Doterra and have climbed pretty high up the ladder. You can tell a difference when you use the oils but I don't know how much of it is just the placebo effect. Anytime a kid has a runny nose, can't sleep, or scrapes a knee they claim, "There is an oil for that!" At first I was a little interested, but now it is just annoying.

The company is based out of Orem, Utah. The founder is Dr. David K. Hill, a chiropractor. You can google for reviews of their products and of competitor's products as well. You should comparison shop in the internet for any essential oils in which you have an interest. Prices vary quite a bit.

There are some interesting comments, both pro and con, on this blog. Two posters claim that the company has a number of Mormon executives. Apparently some of them used to be affiliated with Young Life. Take the comments with a grain of salt:

http://wingedseed.com/blog/2009/11/19/one-more-time-there-are-no-fda-certified-pure-therapeutic-grade-essential-oils-part-i/

100% mormon sales force?!

ah-hah, I knew it! After seeing a couple of my TBM friends talk about these oils on FB, I started getting a little suspicious.

I have a work colleague who uses them and says that he prefers them for giving priesthood blessings because of how pure they are and the blessing will be more holy.

Umm...

I uh...

*Awkward silence fills room...*crickets...

I tried not to have too strange of a look on my face when I said "that's interesting."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2013 01:29PM by Mormon-0|Science-1.

My Facebook feed has become cluttered with all kinds of testimonials from my friends who either use or sell DoTerra oils. My favorites are all the ones about how much DoTerra has "blessed" their lives so they can better safeguard their families. I'm pretty sure they can't hurt, but I really question how effective they are.

Example: one friend who swears up and down that these are so much better than an actual doctor had a child who was really, really ill. She kept posting everyday about how sick her kid was, but she wasn't going to take him to the doctor because she had faith that DoTerra was going to heal him. This went on for more than a week, with her posting daily updates on what the oils were doing for her son.

She ended up in the emergency room with her little boy. Afterward, she posted some excuse about how DoTerra WOULD HAVE worked, if she had just used more of them, and maybe a different combination!

this stupid woman is a danger to her children.

If you do some research into the company, you will find that they are actualyy being sued by Young Living Essential Oils for stealing formulas and trade secrets that have belonged to YL for years...typical Mormon fashion IMHO. Go to work for a successful company long enough to gain their trust, then jack their formulas and start a ponzi scheme. I'm sure he was "inspired" to do it better for his "family's welfare" if he did, in fact, steal the formulas.

Your stupid friend deserves the church.

Another snake oil MLM patterned after "Young Living," another smelly oil purveyor. DW got a DoTerra oil for me that's supposed to cure indigestion by rubbing some on your chest. I much prefer a cheaper alternative, generic rantidine OTC pills. They actually work, while all the oil does is stink.

Me, personally I would go to the sales meeting and stock up on a bunch of free samples.

But promise nothing!

My ex was really into it. I insisted that if she was going to season our children (they always smelled like oregano) that she verify their claims had some basis in fact.

Surprisingly, some of the oils do have some scientific research behind them. Tea tree oil, for example, is a natural antibiotic.

So some of the oils might be beneficial. YMMV. Either way, I'm personally not spending any money on it.

I was offered a job with DoTerra not too long ago (internal industrial hygiene/safety etc.).

They also wanted me to do analysis of their products for promotional material and safety material highlighting health benefits of use (something I'm not qualified to do nor comfortable with in the first place).

The interview process was disjointed and strange. And very Mormon. Everyone was beautiful (out front). Everyone in the back--not so beautiful and not so trim. Mmm...

It was like an MLM fan club.

They wanted me to commit to several years and start with a pittance for a wage. No thanks. After everything else I saw I turned down their meager offer and walked.

A disgusting and oily business (no pun intended). If it looks like a fish and smells like a fish...

I wouldn't waste your time or needlessly expose yourself to these folks.

It seems as tho they get 'type cast' and cannot get back into the real work force.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2013 07:42PM by mav.

That fact alone should tell you it's a scam or the company doesn't care if a proper analysis is done. Probably looking for a "rubber stamp" type of person.

Lavender oil takes away the pain of a bee sting immediately, every time.

Melaleuca oil works on minor burns. It also takes the pain away immediately. But it smells horrible.

I've tried others and I couldn't tell you if they do anything or not. Which makes me think they probably don't.

Regardless, I can't stand it when people who are selling something jump at the chance to tell you that their product will fix whatever is ailing you. Maybe the trick is to ask them to borrow it, and if it works, you'll buy it. Then maybe they won't be so anxious to share.

Also, if the cure stinks to high heaven, maybe it's not worth it. I knew some kids who used some "immune-boosting" oils, that had cloves in them. I bet those kids lost friends over it.

If you like essential oils, you'll love homeopathic medicines, oh and healing crystals.

They all work. I swear.

I defer to Popeye; he knew a good Oyl when he saw her. If I must play serious, though, aloe vera gel on burns and scrapes, even poison ivy, is effective and cheap, in my experience.

My wife was invited to a doTerra meeting just last night. She always feels so awkward when her best friends are trying to get money out of her for something she isn't interested in at all.

All these Utah county pseudoscientific MLM scams drive me absolutely crazy, so I did a few searches and found some really good articles worth reading:

http://skeptoid.com/blog/2013/02/02/essential-oils-a-perfect-example-of-alternative-medicine-exaggeration/

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/doterra-multilevel-marketing-of-essential-oils/

They are good oils. So are a lot of other brands, but of course they claim to be the best, the only true oils, and all others are crap. Apparently the oils that humans have been using for thousands of years weren't "real" or "pure". All other brands are so impure they are practically poison. There's nothing wrong with their oils, but they are overpriced, of course. The thing that bugs me is that they "teach" people how to use them without actually teaching them anything. They talk about how their oils are so pure you can take them internally, and on other brands' bottles it says not to talk them internally! Because they are full of pesticides and poison! Not because some oils just shouldn't be taken internally!! Hello, just because something comes from a plant doesnt mean you can ingest it, or slather yourself with any quantity you want. They teach "classes" which is basically an hour or two with somone who knows practically nothing about it. Real aromatherapists study for years.

Once on facebook my sister mentioned that her son was sick, and some idiot told her to rub the On Guard blend on his feet. This blend contains clove and cinnamon and other oils that would burn an adult's skin, let alone a two year old's!! I responded and this person kept arguing so I finally just stopped discussing it and sent an email to my sister directly saying DON'T RUB THAT OIL DIRECTLY ON HIM!!!!!

Yeah, that's straight up dangerous and will lead to injury and lawsuits!

Diluted enough, most essential oils can be used topically, and some ingested, but what does that say about doterra? Their crap oils are very diluted???

Clove oil, DILUTED!, very useful for toothache, still the primary effective ingredient in some dry socket packing material formulations, okay for home remedy of toothache - very DILUTED - until you can see a real dentist. Tea tree, useful for cleaning and antiseptic, best DILUTED a lot for use on sensitive skin. Some people swear by lavender. Orange oils actually have a track record for helping with depression, but by aromatherapy only.
Lots of essential oils make nice soaps and perfumes.

But most of the touted oils and uses are as effective as homeopathy and crystals as someone else said!

David Hannum was right.

(edited to give credit where credit was due.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2013 06:36PM by Levi.

From what I've seen with these (my wife is an addict) these oils are about aroma therapy. What ever that is. So if I break my leg, fragrant oils will help it. Or what ever along those lines. They should make BBQ or popcorn oils. Those are worth smelling at least.

DoTerra is a flat out scam. I sat through a "party" with my wife recently just to see what it was all about. I could tell pretty fast that it was shady.

First the claims - they tell you that a world renowned and respected Doctor started this company/certified the products or some such nonsense. So in the middle of the presentation I google the guy on my phone...turns out he's a chiropractor - not exactly who you want to be getting medical advise from on chemicals.

So then I pick up the book the sales people have and start flipping through. The first section is a metric ton of BS - complete pseudo-science, that looks good because they have some high color charts/images of cellular structures. But in no case do they present any evidence as to how the oils actually do anything.

Then I flip to the front flap...and read the "Disclaimer". LOL. It's full of awesome. Basically says these products aren't for curing/healing anything. Comedy gold.

But here's the kicker...the rest of the book, nearly 3/4 of it, is dedicated to oil combinations you can use for nearly every malady you can think of, including right up to things like HIV and yep, cancer. And it reads as if these oils will help with these conditions. That big old disclaimer is nowhere to be found in this portion of the book. They are taking advantage of people who don't know better. It's false advertising, and frankly I wish there were laws against these companies.

As others said, tea tree oil, lavendar, coconut etc., can be used for things like minor cuts, scrapes, burns etc., but rubbing one on your head to fix hairloss? Rubbish.

LOL!

I do know that essential oils are not necessarily harmless.

Parsley oil, for example, is toxic and can be absorbed to dangerous levels through the skin.

All medicines, even "natural" ones, have a range of effects, some of them not necessarily desirable.

I think what I'm trying to say is: always research before using.

Tom in Paris

wanna get rich in utah? start an mlm the belief in testimony alone gene is strong here



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 08:33AM by sparkyguru.

The whole healing oil thing has taken a wee bit of fact and misused it, distorted it, made bogus claims about it and generally created a steaming pile of scam-worthy crap. Then they've injected it into the MLM gullibility machine. They say lotteries are a tax on those bad at math. Well, MLMs are a tax on those who stubbornly refuse to learn math.

Go to www(dot)zytocompass(dot)com

A doTERRA friend uses this energy machine to help you choose the right oil.

Pseudo-sci.

Probably Mormon.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 11:28AM by Mormon-0|Science-1.