Description

Batch BL-003 (March, 2019)

This limited small batch of Sweet Birch (Betula lenta) essential oil was sustainably wild-harvested and steam-distilled on our Forest Farm in the wilds of Madison County, NC. Native to the Southern Appalachians, Sweet Birch often grows quickly in disturbed areas where larger mother trees are nearby. In this case, we harvested saplings from an abandoned logging/fire road on our Forest Farm. Re-opening the road is an important part of our forest management plan as it will provide access for invasive species management as well as fire crews should the need ever arise (don’t worry, we won’t be logging).

This batch produced just 40ml of precious essential oil so we can only offer it in the 2ml and 5ml sizes at this time. The primary chemical constituent of Sweet Birch essential oil is methyl salicylate, which is pain relieving.* It is found in its lab-synthesized form in all sorts of pain-relief topical products. Since the concentration of methyl salicylate is so high in Sweet Birch oil (as well as Wintergreen oil), it can be easily faked/adulterated with lab-synthesized methyl salicylate. In fact, Sweet Birch and Wintergreen oils are among the most commonly adulterated/faked essential oils (as far back as 1918; another MLM scandal).

Sweet Birch essential oil should be kept away from children and pregnant/nursing mothers. Its pleasant wintergreen aroma is particularly enticing but undiluted or ingested, it can be quite toxic to the liver (like aspirin’s salicylic acid but one teaspoon can contain the equivalent of up to 90 children’s aspirin pills). Methyl salicylate is approved by the FDA as a trace food ingredient but it can build up in the liver, so we recommend dilution to 1% for regular topical use (so 1ml of pure essential oil to 99ml of carrier oil). Higher concentrations can be used for infrequent use. For comparison, most topical OTC pain treatments contain around 30% methyl salicylate.

Unlike most essential oils, Sweet Birch oil is denser (thus, heavier) than water. This makes for a dramatic view of the oil separating from water. Note, the following video is from a prior distillation.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.