Essential oils have exploded in popularity over the last decade, touted as natural remedies for nearly any ailment. Multilevel marketing (MLM) giants like DoTerra have ridden this wave to billions in revenue. However, the combination of alluring health claims and financial incentives requires deep scrutiny. Behind enthusiastic anecdotes lies a lack of rigorously substantiating science. Heartbreaking stories of misinformation and financial loss temper hype. The real story inhabits messy gray areas around how we discuss and regulate promises of better living through chemistry.
The Allure and Uncertainty of Essential Oil Science
Marketers brazenly dub oils “natural medicine” for anxiety, inflammation, hormonal balance, pain, and more based on roots in ancient practices like aromatherapy. However, few large-scale human trials exist confirming lavish modern assertions.
Small studies show modest benefits like improved sleep and temporary pain relief from topical application. For example, inhaling lavender oil decreased anxiety in dental patients (Source). Geranium oil also reduced pain during menstruation according to one study (Source).
However, evidence firmly establishing essential oils as cures remains sparse at best. No studies confirm treating heart disease or reversing autoimmune conditions despite wide-ranging claims. Resources like Cochrane Systematic Reviews analyze available data on essential oils’ efficacy. They find some helpful effects but not confirmation as panaceas.
Safety data also proves limited. While likely safe in small doses for most people, many oils cause skin irritation or reactions in sensitive individuals (Source). Improper ingestion also risks toxicity, especially in children. Concerns around long-term impacts or interactions with medications need further research.
In summary, small studies confirm select benefits from aromatherapy. However, according to biochemist Bruce Ericson, “It’s misleading and potentially dangerous to go around publicly calling them medicines and cures without the rigorous proof we expect of drugs” (Scientific American, 2015). Reasonable claims should align with available evidence.
The Complex Incentives of Multilevel Marketing
Critics argue MLMs like DoTerra (which boasts over $5 billion in lifetime sales) exploit people’s hopes through slick marketing and financial structures rewarding hype (Source). Distributors must purchase products to qualify for higher tiers awarding bigger commissions. This means constantly sinking costs to chase success, as a 2018 AARP study of 350 MLMs found (Source).
Eighty percent of DoTerra distributors occupy the lowest ranks, depending on retail sales to recoup expenses. However, mandated target margins as high as 43% make sustaining retail volume difficult (Source). Critics argue the system leaves many distributors in the red, propped up by a tiny minority at the top.
Defenders counter that direct selling offers income opportunities and flexibility lacking in traditional employment. Some distributors passionately praise oils’ benefits and the personal growth fostered. Stories highlight entrepreneurs achieving financial freedom with enough grit and hustle.
The truth likely inhabits messier middle grounds. Sweeping claims that all distributors deliberately mislead or that all MLMs constitute illegal pyramid schemes seem oversimplifications. However, the structures clearly enable quackery in the name of income. Most participants indeed lose money, indicating fundamental issues (Source). Even discounting extremes, the incentives around essential oils merit concern.
Ethics Get Murky: From Overpromises to Manipulation
Gray areas abound regarding how claims align with evidence. For example, advising peppermint oil for tension headaches seems reasonable despite lacking robust clinical proof. However, social media posts touting frankincense to “reverse autoimmune disease” raise ethical issues. Desperate or uninformed people may embrace false hopes, wasting money and time.
And the lack of regulation around essential oils compared to stringently verified drugs enables exaggeration. The FDA recently warned DoTerra against advertising oils as COVID cures with no substantiation (Source). But no systematic policing mechanism exists across platforms like Instagram or distributors’ personal pages. This leaves the door open to marketers winning over consumers with emotionally-charged transformations that science cannot currently validate.
Some even leverage unethical psychological tactics centered on guilt, fear, and exclusion. Posts chide doubters as constituting negativity to “rise above” or lacking the vision to “take control of their lives.” This preys on susceptible people desperate for change or community.
And according to whistleblowers, deceptive tactics permeate upper ranks despite codes of ethics. Diamond leaders allegedly manipulate data to maintain façades of success benefiting no one but themselves (Source). The drive for profits supersedes integrity.
Social Forces Fan Distortion
Of course, no company or sales model operates in a vacuum. Critics argue social forces like Instagram, Facebook groups, and influencer culture feed distortion and hysteria around essential oils specifically.
The visual, emotional nature of platforms like Instagram lends itself better to sensational promises than dry scientific analysis. A study by NewsWhip showed essential oil content spiked across Facebook after 2016 (Source). And layers of psychological tricks keep users engaged – the so-called “Like button trap” releasing dopamine with every affirmation (Source). This hooks buyers, driving viral hype with no friction from fact-checkers.
Unregulated Facebook groups of hundreds of thousands like “Learning about DoTERRA oils” further reinforce hive mentalities. Criticism meets hostile dogpiles, information silos breed, and selective anecdotes viewed as irrefutable proof drown objectivity (Source). No checks exist on claims from arbitrary “wellness experts.”
The result? A self-reinforcing feedback loop benefiting from platforms built to drive engagement over truth. Nuance loses out to narratives giving people exactly what they want to hear.
And when promises finally reveal as empty, the platforms facilitating them escape responsibility. Unlike government-regulated advertising, social networks enjoy protection from liability for false claims under 1996 Communications Decency Act Section 230 (Source). Users bear consequences alone despite stacked information architectures enabling distortion. This erodes faith in institutions for the already struggling.
The Aftermath: Financial and Emotional Carnage
In the wake wasteful spending and health impacts from misinformation lie painful human stories. A common thread connects people across MLMs like DoTerra: financial and emotional devastation when promises of financial freedom and miracle cures fail to materialize.
A 2018 AARP study found that nearly 50% of MLM participants lost money. Roughly 25% lost over $500 in a single year (Source). These losses disproportionately impact middle-aged women struggling financially.
And behind dollar figures hide feelings of shame, anger, and ostracization. Invested distributors face alienation from loved ones doubting their new passion. Critics get blocked for questioning claims. Desperation and denial take over.
Whistleblowers detail profound disillusionment upon leaving. Diamonds guilt lower tiers working multiple jobs into buying more oils “in faith,” dismissing all doubt of eventual success. In reality, over 99% of distributors spend rather than earn according to DoTerra’s own data (Source). But questioning the path risks accusations of disloyalty and community exile.
Lives regress under mountains of credit card debt, destroyed relationships, and health conditions receiving oil treatments instead of medical care. “Wellness coaches” prove ill-equipped to help, reiterating promises of oils’ powers if only people believe and buy more.
The lucky escape after wasting hundreds, not thousands on false promises. But intense bitterness remains over exploitation and measurable impacts to finances, health, and personal connections. And substantive accountability stays elusive.
Seeking Solutions: Policy, Education, Responsibility
The essential oils boom and permeating culture around selling encapsulate complex dynamics requiring nuanced discussion. Simply dismissing practices as scams and demanding shutdowns seems reactionary when legitimate benefits exist for some. However, clearer guardrails could limit damage from unsupported claims and marketing tactics.
Potential ideas include requirements for balanced disclosures regarding scientific proof, adverse reactions, and income realities. Distributors should receive unbiased data during training. Explicit warning labels on oils and marketing materials could supplement partial measures like FDA warning letters. Standardized testing methodologies would also help validate composition and potency claims.
However, addressing larger cultural forces proves more complicated. Better social media protections seem needed when algorithms and engagement-based business models enable distraction from due diligence. But solutions balance uneasy against free speech barriers. Fostering greater scientific literacy and skills assessing medical claims can empower more people to make informed decisions aligned with their risk tolerance.
Responsibility ultimately filters down to individual choices – how we share information, question narratives, and treat others. Progress lies not in accusations but compassion paired with honesty, critical thinking, and realistic expectations. Caution should remain paramount along with caring for human wellbeing over ideology or income. Within gray areas around essential oils reside both suffering and redemption.