Quality, quality and more quality is THE watchword at Compagnie des Sens. We are also proud to tell you: we only offer and will offer only products of exceptional quality or nothing. This involves significant work of selection, analysis and regular checks, but also rarely choosing the cheapest lots...
This article was updated on 17/01/2024Nature produces nothing standard
Before addressing the question of our quality requirements for each of our ranges, it is important to clarify this crucial point: a natural product cannot be completely standard. A plant is not a factory, it will not produce the same product systematically and rigorously.
The main consequence for you is that behind the name of a natural extract there are in reality a multitude of different products, which have nothing to do with each other. And yet, they have the same name. More concretely, will act on the composition of your natural extract (essential oil, vegetable, hydrosol, medicinal plant, powder, etc.):
- the precise variety of the plant (there are several dozen different lavenders);
- the soil where it grew (this is not anecdotal, depending on the chemical composition of the soil, the plants do not produce the same aromatic molecules at all);
- the way it is grown (with or without pesticides for example);
- the weather (considerable impact for certain plants, either linked to sunshine or precipitation);
- the way it is harvested (by hand or mechanically, pre-wilted or not, at what point in the plant's life cycle, etc.);
- and of course the mastery of the extraction process, whether distillation, pressing, drying (these professions are much more complex than it seems, and the skills are not homogeneous).
So many factors that can influence, sometimes strongly, the actual composition of a natural extract! When you buy a "Tea Tree essential oil", however, you must keep in mind that there can be as many differences between 2 Tea Tree oils as between 2 tomatoes: organoleptic differences (color, taste, odor ), but also and above all chemical difference and therefore effectiveness.
“Just as between 2 tomatoes you will not have at all the same nutritional properties, similarly between 2 natural extracts you will not have at all the same properties”
How to guarantee therapeutic quality?
Guarantee the absence of pesticides
Natural extracts are very often used for treatment, via direct therapeutic virtues, their nutritional properties, via cosmetic properties, etc. In all cases, treating yourself with a pesticide is totally absurd. When a plant has received a pesticide, the natural extract contains it! Every day our analyzes confirm it, the pesticide passes into the essential oil, it passes of course into the vegetable oil, and it remains in the dry plants after drying. In short, if your product comes from a plant grown with pesticides, it contains them too.
Without even talking about ecology and ecosystem protection, it is strongly recommended to use organic natural extracts from the moment you have an ambition that concerns your health.
This is why the Compagnie des Sens only sells and has never sold organic products, and regularly checks the absence of pesticides in its products, including when the cost difference is very significant. Your health, above all.Guarantee the absence of fraud
The fight against fraudulent batches is a perpetual struggle when one wishes to sell good quality natural extracts: mixing with another less expensive material, dilution, change of name, addition of synthetic substance, etc. The fraudster's imagination is limitless and requires daily vigilance.
Clarification: in 99% of cases, when a natural material is defrauded, it is the work of an intermediary and not the farmer (the farmer loves his product too much to damage it).
Many natural products travel (not everything grows a few km from us), and the fight against fraudulent batches can therefore only be based on trust. It requires investing significant human and technical resources, as well as real expertise.
This vigilance is particularly necessary due to prices: if a brand is not resolutely proactive in fighting fraud, it mechanically attracts fraudulent lots because they are of course often less expensive than the others.
Guarantee maximum efficiency
At this stage, many brands consider that the job is already well done. The batch is ORGANIC, there is no fraud or variety/species error: what more could you ask for? At Compagnie des Sens, we demand optimal efficiency.
Of course, we check that our Italian Helichrysum does not contain pesticides, that it has not been cut with another oil, that synthetic neryl acetate has not been added to it, that it is of the right variety. But that is not enough. Between 2 acceptable batches of Italian helichrysum, there is a world of difference in terms of composition and therefore effectiveness.
To systematically guarantee optimal quality, the brand must:
- carry out a biochemical study of each batch it receives (this requires a real investment);
- be able to analyze it to exclude those who are not perfect (this requires real expertise);
- and make the results of its analyzes public (this requires real transparency).
In other words, natural extracts must be selected in order to guarantee stability of effectiveness that nature cannot guarantee every time. This is what the Compagnie des Sens does.
“That’s Compagnie des Sens quality: a quality that seeks to guarantee that your natural extracts are perfect, systematically”A requirement adapted according to the materials
Essential oils
They are all : certified organic, chemotyped and integral, 100% natural and pure.
We verify :
- For each batch of essential oil, we check that its origin is optimal, that its smell is consistent with what we normally have, and the same goes for the color. These checks require already have real in-house expertise.
- We also systematically carry out biochemical tests to ensure that the essential oil contains everything it should contain, in particular: an analysis of the refractive index and a precise analysis of the composition of the essential oil ( gas chromatographic analysis).
For what ?
- Origin : because this is often decisive! Depending on their origins, essential oils often have very different properties and efficiencies.
- Color, smell : although seeming unscientific, these two criteria often allow us to detect doubtful batches, such as for example an essential oil whose distillation was not carried out at the correct temperature.
- Refractive index : to evaluate the purity of the essential oil and the quality of the distillation.
- Composition : this is the most important criterion, as essential oils sometimes have varied compositions. Even a pure and chemotyped essential oil can sometimes have a composition that is less than optimal, or even clearly defective. Analyzing each batch by chromatography is therefore imperative.
Vegetal oils
They are all: certified ORGANIC, virgin, from first cold pressing or macerated in an ORGANIC oil, unrefined.
We verify :
- For each batch of vegetable oil, we carry out a precise organoleptic check, to ensure that nothing is wrong with this vegetable oil. After years of practice, we are now able to spot a problematic batch by its appearance in most cases.
- Of course, we are not satisfied with that. Each batch undergoes additional biochemical analyses, including mainly: an analysis of fatty acid composition, as well as a peroxide analysis to verify that the latter are neither oxidized nor degraded. These 2 analyzes aim to guarantee you a vegetable oil with an optimal composition, freshly pressed.
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and encourage short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell : so many clues that allow us to identify HV, and to pre-identify doubtful batches.
- Analysis of fatty acid composition: to ensure that it is the right plant, the right oil, and that it is not mixed with anything else.
- Peroxide value : to check that the oil has not oxidized during too long storage.
Bud macerates
They are all : certified organic and macerated in France.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, odor, alcoholic strength and density.
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and encourage short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell : so many clues that allow us to identify bud macerate.
- Alcohol strength and density : to check that the proportions of the mixture have been respected. For example, a mixture that is too rich in alcohol will see its alcoholic strength increase while its density decreases.
Clays
They are all : pure, 100% natural certified by Ecocert.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, odor, pH at 1% in water and contaminants (heavy metals and microbiology).
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and favor short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell : so many clues that allow us to identify the clay. For example, color is linked to the oxidation of iron contained in clay.
- pH at 1% in water : to characterize the clay suspension.
- Contaminants : to ensure that the clay has not absorbed too many heavy metals or bacteria.
Hydrosols
They are all : 100% natural, certified ORGANIC, pure, preservative-free, microfiltered at 0.2 microns.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, odor, pH, microbiology after distillation.
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and favor short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell : so many clues to identify the hydrosol and check that its quality is not altered.
- pH : in the event of an unusual result, microbial development may be suspected.
- Microbiology : to ensure that the hydrosol is not contaminated by unwanted bacteria.
Dry plants
They are all : 100% pure and natural, from organic farming and certified ORGANIC.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, odor, contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, foreign bodies, pesticides, microbiology).
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and favor short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell : so many clues which allow us to validate the identification of the plant.
- Contaminants : to ensure that no toxic and/or undesirable elements are found in your herbal teas!
Superfoods
They are all : 100% natural, from organic farming and certified ORGANIC.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, odor, taste, contaminants (such as heavy metals).
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and encourage short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell, taste : so many clues to ensure that the quality of the product is not altered.
- Contaminants : to ensure that the products are not contaminated.
Bee products
They are all : 100% pure and natural, from French organic farming and certified ORGANIC.
We verify : origin appearance, color, odor, taste, contaminants (pesticides, heavy metals).
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product and encourage short circuits, when possible.
- Appearance, color, smell, taste : so many clues to ensure that the quality of the product is not altered.
- Contaminants : to ensure that the products are not contaminated.
Salts
They are all : 100% natural and raw.
We verify : origin, appearance, color, smell.
For what ?
- Appearance : to ensure that the salt is not clumped.
- Color, smell : all indications that the quality is not altered.
Spices
They are all : 100% pure and natural, from organic farming and certified ORGANIC.
We verify : origin appearance, color, odor, taste, contaminants (pesticides, heavy metals).
For what ?
- Origin : to guarantee the traceability of the product.
- Appearance, color, smell, taste : so many clues to ensure that the quality of the product is not altered.
- Contaminants : to ensure that the products are not contaminated.
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