Unfortunately, as is common with an expensive, high-demand oil, it is not uncommon to find helichrysum essential oil adulterated. The most common ways in which one may find an impure oil is to purchase the highly sought after Corsican Helichrysum italicum and find it diluted with oil made from less superior helichrysum species, or even Helichrysum italicum grown in areas other than Corsica. In audacious cases, the less-desired helichrysum oil may be sold directly as Corsican Helichrysum italicum essential oil.

Most incidences of adulteration of helichrysum oil are not so flagrant; in fact, unintentional adulteration of helichrysum oil may be even more common. Many cultivators of helichrysum grow more than one variety of the plant. Occasionally, these plants are harvested and distilled together, producing an essential oil that contains more than one subspecies. Officially, this oil should be labeled a helichrysum blend, but that is not always the case.

The only way to establish the authenticity of any helichrysum oil is to have the essential oil commercially tested using gas chromatography or mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), or to be provided a specifications sheet by the distiller producing the oil.

For a full explanation of what a GC-MS report tells you read: GC–MS Reports for Essential Oils: What They Are and What They Are Not

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