How much is one drop?
Have you ever wondered how much is “one drop” of essential oil?
Well, it’s not a straight-forward answer. The exact weight will depend on the viscosity of the oil. One drop of a viscous essential oil (e.g. patchouli) will weigh more than one drop of a lighter essential oil (e.g. lemon). As a guideline, 1 drop of essential oil is usually in the range of 20-40mg.
This week, I came across an interesting image on Facebook, shared by Life Holistically:
If this is true, this suggests that one drop of an MLM-branded essential oil could actually be bigger than one drop of essential oil from another company.
You might be thinking — so what? There will inevitably be differences among bottles of essential oils.
What does this mean?
If there is a larger orifice reducer (i.e. the “dropper” in the top of the bottle) this means that a larger drop of essential oil will pour out.
Are MLM companies doing this deliberately so that people use up their bottles more quickly, and order more? It may sound cynical, but we already know they advocate dubious methods of using essential oils in ways that expedite emptying the bottle.
Why does it matter?
With all the casual advice online about using “just one drop here” and “just one drop there”, this is hugely relevant. If your “drop” of MLM essential oil is almost double the size of a regular “drop”, this means you could be using almost twice the recommended dose.
Social media is awash with recommendations to add “one drop” of essential oil to a glass of water, or rub “one drop” neat on the skin. If some drops are much larger than others, this could cause serious problems in the long-term.
I have seen blog posts advocating the ingestion of up to 14 drops of essential oil every day (this is NOT recommended, by the way!). If this person was using an MLM essential oil with a larger-than-average orifice reducer, she could potentially have been ingesting more like 20 or more drops!
What are your thoughts? Do you think some essential oil bottles pour larger drops than others?
What to read next: 10 Reasons To Avoid Raindrop Therapy
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