About GC/MS

We get requests, and occasionally, demands, for GC/MS documentation. And why don't we list them on the website? So here’s the scoop.

Most of the oils we sell are 30 ml and under. These are personal use sizes. We are under no obligation to GC all of our oils—and it would not be financially feasible. We usually GC with a new supplier, or if something smells unusual, so we do GC some. Once we are satisfied, we let it ride. Any company who sells these same sizes of oils is highly unlikely to GC them all, despite what they say.

Many businesses simply copy and paste the GC they receive from their supplier, onto company letterhead, and then post it.

We don’t do this, and you can probably see why.

If you are starting to produce a product range, especially for skincare or anything that goes on and remains on, the skin, you have to GC (and other tests) all the products yourself. Your company name and reputation relies on it. If you have a professional lab making your products for you, they will most likely have the necessary documentation. If you do it yourself, you’re gonna need all the paperwork, including GCs, for all ingredients, including essential oils. You can’t really take the shortcut to not GC them yourself. If someone tests your products in a reputable lab, and there are constituents/ingredients that don’t belong, and are not declared, you will have a big mess to clean up, including fines.

We do GCMS tests on our frankincense and frankincense/myrrh co-distillation. That’s because we produce them ourselves and we sell in bulk (kilo) sizes. However, again, if you are using our frankincense in a formulation for a product that will be sold to the public, especially through a third party retailer, you will need to GC our frankincense as well. We don’t GC every batch; we do about once a year, and it’s for information only. You will need your own if you are making a skin care range. Of course you don’t need for your personal use, or even to resell as a pure oil, or in a blend, as far as I know. We send a copy of our MSDS, COA, etc, with orders over a kilo.

But we don’t post it online, just because other companies do.

And we certainly don’t post other companies GCs for oils that we buy, just because other companies do. Those reports might be perfectly accurate. But we assume that other small producers can’t do this every time. GCs are north of $100 each, plus the postage, and a member of your staff to deal with it. And we are offering personal use sizes of 30, 10 and 5 ml.

So, to recap: If you buy kilos and up from our frankincense or frankincense/myrrh, we will furnish a GC. It might or might not be of that exact batch, but it will give you a good idea of our frankincense composition. Chances are that will be fine for your records, but if you are making a professional skin care range, for resale, etc, you will need to either GC it again, or have your lab do it. That’s for your protection.

If you buy 30 ml and down, of any oil, it doesn’t come with a GC.

Some recommended labs:

Eurofins (worldwide) eurofins.com

Phytochemia (Quebec, Canada) https://phytochemia.com/en/home/