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When buying essential oils, it is important to know what to look for so the oils you’re buying are of the highest quality.
Essential oils, nature’s concentrated plant extracts, offer a wide range of therapeutic benefits, from stress reduction and mood enhancement to symptom relief for various conditions. Buying high-quality essential oils is critical to fully enjoying their benefits without adverse side effects.
The quality of essential oils can vary significantly due to factors such as cultivation practices, harvesting methods, and distillation processes.
Even oils labeled as ‘pure’ may be of lower quality if they are extracted from inferior crops or harvested at an inappropriate time
This comprehensive guide to buying essential oils will equip you with the knowledge to identify high-quality essential oils, ask the right questions, and understand the importance of these factors in your purchasing decisions.
Table of Contents
10 Tips For Buying Essential Oils
1. Research the Brand
This is the absolute first thing you should do before buying essential oils. The single best way to ensure you’re buying the best quality essential oil is by only buying from a reputed brand.
Here are a few ways you can research the reputation of any essential oil brand.
Go to the website and read about the company. Who is behind the brand? Is it a certified Aromatherapist? What certifications does the company have? Does the company practice sustainable and cruelty-free practices?
Every one of these factors and all of them together speaks volumes about the type of company you’re buying from.
Other than the website, check third-party reviews and read what they say about the company. Steer clear of companies with too many bad reviews about the quality of the oils or their customer service.
Why is it so important to research the brand? The fact is there are way too many spurious companies trying to cash in on the popularity of aromatherapy with low-quality oils.
Researching the brand is key to identifying reputed essential oil brands. A company that values its integrity will not compromise on the quality of the essential oils they market.
Scroll down to see my recommended top three essential oil brands.
2. Packaging Matters
Essential oils must be stored and sold in dark-colored glass bottles to preserve their quality.
Both the color and material of the bottle are crucial. Pure essential oils are highly concentrated and can react with plastic containers, compromising their quality. Glass is impervious to corrosion and reactions with concentrated substances, making it the safest choice for storing these oils.
Exposure to light can degrade the components of essential oils. Dark-colored glass bottles shield the oil from excessive light exposure, protecting its precious components and preventing premature degradation.
A reputable company will always sell essential oils in dark amber, cobalt blue, or dark green glass bottles with a fitted lid. Avoid brands that sell oils in clear glass bottles or plastic containers.
3. Read the Label
The labels on essential oil bottles hold crucial information about the contents inside the bottle.
Two of the most important pieces of information to look for are the common name and the Latin or botanical name of the plant from which the oil is extracted. Here’s why both matter.
Common Name: Knowing the common name of the essential oil makes it easier for you to conduct further research and learn more about the specific benefits, uses, and potential risks associated with that particular oil.
Latin Name: Understanding the Latin name is crucial because many plant species have multiple varieties, each with distinct chemical components and therapeutic properties. Knowing the exact plant variety ensures you are using the oil that best suits your needs.
For example, when purchasing lavender essential oil, the label should not simply say “lavender.” It should specify the specific species of lavender from which the oil was extracted. The aroma and therapeutic properties of Lavandula angustifolia differ significantly from those of Lavandula latifolia.
If the oil is marketed as organic, ensure that the label clearly states it is “certified organic” by a recognized organization.
4. Check The Product Page On The Manufacturer’s Website
This tip picks up where the earlier one leaves off. Essential oil labels can be so small it’s difficult to fit all the properties in that space. Even if it does contain all the details, reading the text is difficult.
Reading the product page for that essential oil will give you all the information you need and it will be laid out in a way that’s much easier to read too.
The product page for any essential oil should contain these details:
- Common name
- Botanical name
- Country of origin
- Extraction method
- Plant Part
- Contents of the bottle
- Strength of aroma
- Aromatic Scent
- Blends well with
- Shelf life
- Cautions
- Safety Data Sheet
What you see above is the product page for organic lavender essential oil. It is the perfect example of what an essential oil product page should look like.
Plant Therapy’s essential oil product page includes the safety data sheet and whether it is safe for kids, pregnant women, nursing mothers, pups, and ponies.
5. Watch Out For These Terms
If any of the following terms are mentioned anywhere on the label or product page of the oil, avoid that brand:
‘Fragrance oil or Perfume oil‘ – These are nothing but a combination of chemicals that smell good. They are NOT essential oils and do not have any therapeutic or restorative properties. Some may contain a small amount of essential oil but the major component will be some synthetic chemical.
‘Aromatherapy oil‘ – There’s no such thing as aromatherapy oil. Essential oils are used for aromatherapy but there is no aromatherapy oil. Aromatherapy is the science of healing by smell and essential oils are a product that facilitates healing by aromatherapy.
‘Nature identical oil’ – The term ‘nature identical’ oil is intended to distract the reader from the word ‘identical’ and focus instead on the word nature. The fact is, ‘nature-identical’ and ‘natural’ mean two completely different things.
If any of the above terms are mentioned anywhere on the label or product page of the oil, strike that brand off your list.
The terminology used to describe essential oils is important. The terms above are misleading and intentionally used to deceive consumers. While they may not be downright deceptive, they are designed to sound “natural” and imply higher quality without actually meaning anything.
6. Look for Any Mention of Additives
Pure essential oils do not and should not contain any additives. They should not contain preservatives to prolong their shelf life, chemicals to boost their efficacy or any other additional ingredient.
The contents in the bottle must contain 100% pure essential oil extract and nothing else.
Reputed companies adhere to very stringent measures from start to finish. They choose plants from select growers and ensure that the harvesting and transportation to the steam distillery are carried out under proper conditions.
The extracting process and bottling are then carried out while maintaining optimum conditions and under highly stringent standards.
Essential oils extracted under such rigid quality control are 100% pure and will last a long time. They don’t need additives in the form of preservatives or boosting agents.
Adding preservatives or any other type of additive compromises the properties of the oil and renders it unsuitable for therapeutic use.
7. Understand The Meaning Of Therapeutic Grade
There is some debate over the terms “therapeutic grade” and “aromatherapy grade.”
You’ll see these terms often used to describe a brand’s essential oils, but the fact is there’s no official government body that grades or certifies essential oils as such. It’s important to note that these terms have no legal meaning.
Some companies may use the terms to emphasize that their products are genuine and neither diluted nor contaminated with additives.
While the ultimate intention may not be to deceive their customers, you should know that they don’t necessarily indicate medicinal properties. Understanding this distinction can help you set realistic expectations.
8. Look for Third Party Testing
Reputed brands send every bath of essential oils they produce to recognized, independent, third-party organizations. These organizations evaluate each batch for purity, potency, and other factors. Oils that pass the test receive a seal of approval.
Companies that get their essential oils tested by reputable third-party organizations often proudly display this information on their website. It’s like the ultimate seal of approval and a strong indicator of product quality.
What I love about Plant Therapy is that the brand provides a test report for every batch of essential oil, reassuring potential buyers about the quality. This can be a valuable factor to consider before buying essential oils.
9. Compare Prices Of Individual Essential Oils
Here’s where things can get a little tricky. Prices vary not just from one brand to another but even from one essential oil to another.
Several factors go into pricing essential oils, from the harvesting and extraction techniques to the type of essential oil itself and the brand.
The one fact that remains constant is that essential oils are expensive. That’s because they are concentrated extracts of various plant parts. It takes large quantities of the plant part to obtain a single ounce of essential oil, which explains the high cost.
Some essential oils require massive amounts of raw material to obtain a single drop.
To get some perspective on the price, here’s how much raw material is needed to extract a few common essential oils.
It requires approximately:
– 1 pound of lavender flowers to obtain 5 ml Lavender essential oil.
– 242,000 rose petals to distill 5 ml Rose essential oil
– 63 pounds of Melissa plant to distill 5 ml Melissa essential oil
– 17 lemons to extract 5 ml Lemon essential oil
This gives you some idea as to why some essential oils such as Rose and Jasmine are so much more expensive than other oils such as Lavender and Lemon.
Never buy from companies that sell all their essential oils for the same price. And if you find a rock-bottom price for an expensive essential oil, it isn’t pure. Period. Don’t buy it!
10. Test the Quality by Buying An Essential Oil Sampler Set
I added this last tip because it applied to me when I was just getting started with aromatherapy. I read tips and guides about buying essential oils but they were always another person’s opinion. I wanted to test it out for myself.
After researching some of the top essential oil brands, I settled on Plant Therapy and ordered this Top 14 essential oil sampler set. This was a great way for me to personally test the aroma of each essential oil.
I used them individually in my diffuser and also experimented with blends and other DIY projects. I was happy with the results and have expanded my collection of Plant Therapy oils over the years.
Use this tip and buy an essential oil sampler set from the brand that you think is best suited for you. I highly recommend these essential oils brands. They tick all the boxes mentioned in my guide to buying essential oils.
Plant Therapy – Read my in-depth Plant Therapy Essential Oils Review to see why this is my #1 recommended brand for buying essential oils.
DoTerra
Barefut Oils
Edens Garden
Rocky Mountain Oils
Your next steps: Click on the links and explore the essential oil brands mentioned above. Choose one and order an essential oil sampler set or even just buy a couple of essential oil bottles to test out the quality before you buy more.
Ideas For Using Essential Oils
You’ll find lots of ideas for using essential oils on Aromatherapy Anywhere. Here are a few to get you started:
How to Use A Diffuser For Essential Oils – Knowing how to use an essential oil diffuser for aromatherapy is important.
25 Ways To Use Essential Oils Without A Diffuser – From home care to DIY bath and skin care products, you’ll find plenty of ways to use essential oils without a diffuser.
How To Use Essential Oils In The Bath – Using essential oils in the bath can turn an everyday routine into a luxury spa experience.
How To Use Essential Oils In The Shower – Perfect for when you want to get the benefits of essential oils but don’t have time for a long, luxurious bath.
Related Reads:
How Many Drops in 10ml Essential Oil – Knowing the exact quantities of essential oil by volume makes it easier to calculate the cost and quantity required for making DIY items using essential oils.
Essential Oil Safety Guide – 15 safety tips to ensure you use essential oils safely.
How to Store Essential Oils To Maximize Shelf Life – These tips will help preserve the integrity of your oils for a longer time.
Essential Oil Extraction Methods: The Science Behind The Scents – Want to know more about how essential oils are produced? Read about the different methods used to produce different oils.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to serve as medical advice. Please consult your doctor before using any natural medication or if you experience any unusual symptoms. See Full Disclaimer here.
