How to buy Essential Oils
Does brand really matter?
It’s probably the million dollar questions in the essential oil and aromatherapy industry.
The truth is, it does and it doesn’t.
For example, you could go into a health shop and find cost effective oils that are nothing more than fragrance and perfumes but at the same time you could stumble upon a reputable brand in a department store like Marshalls.
It’s precisely why consumers are so confused about how to buy them and why the cost varies so considerably.
So in this blog we will explore some brand criteria as professionals we feel are important and why that matters.
What is Adulteration
Adulteration is taking what should be a pure essential oil in a bottle and diluting or substituting it with something else. It’s not always a toxic alternative but in some cases it can be. For example Sandalwood was reportedly adulterated with a type of mold smells and appears like sandalwood, the essential oil but was nothing more than a liquid type of mold or bacteria. Gross!
Another example is taking an expensive oil like Melissa and diluting it down with a similar essential oil like lemongrass or replacing it all together. To the untrained nose, they are the same and even to the trained nose if it’s done right we may not be able to identify this type of adulteration.
Finally another example is just taking the essential oil and diluting it in the bottle with a carrier oil but selling it as pure. This could happen with let’s say peppermint essential oil and the company selling it adds a little jojoba oil to it to stretch it a bit further.
It’s not adulteration if the company clearly labels what is in the bottle and they can sell blends and diluted oils. It’s also not adulteration if they opt to use a less commonly known name, like calling Japanese Peppermint vs just obviously labelling it Cornmint.
What to look for in an essential oil company
The interesting thing is what to look for in some ways is clear and in others truly up to the consumer. For example some consumers prefer to buy from very specific business types while others are okay with just about anything (free trade, mlm, etc.).
We will talk about the different things to consider and why it's important to you and us as professionals.
Here’s what we look for:
GCMS reports by batch
Sourcing
Price
Reputation of the company
GCMS reports by batch
GCMS stands for Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. This is a test that analyzes the compounds found in essential oils and their composition.
GCMS reports can identify if the oil is adulterated, since our noses can sometimes be unreliable. It’s best these are provided by third party companies, as any company could say they are being honest but proof is always helpful.
A soil evaluation is not the same. Something else could still end up in the bottle.
Sourcing
Plants can actually become endangered if they are not adequately cared for the essential oil process. Over production and manufacturing historically almost affected some essential oils like Frankincense and has actually made some plants illegal to sell, pick, manufacture etc.
Along with those considerations, how the oils are sourced is also important. This may be more a fair trade qualification, but we feel that companies should be honest and not be nickel and dimeing farmers or taking advantage of the vulnerable. So a solid sourcing background is ideal for our purchases.
Sourcing should also be more direct than through several channels, because the farmers who own the plants be not have sold through buyers that operate through many channels. In fact some countries have experienced theft from unreliable sources.
Price
Price does matter. You likely won’t find an essential oil for under $10 and some bottles will go as high as $200 depending on the oil.
Prices should vary by oil, if a company is selling all their oils or $20, this suggests they aren’t selling real essential oils at all.
If the price is super low, we are also skeptical. It takes a square cube of rose petals to make 5ml of rose essential oil, so the cost is more. While sweet orange grows quickly and easily and is extracted from the peel, so the cost is much less.
If you couldn’t mail it to yourself for that price, it's likely not a true oil.
There are also the considerations for business structure as it relates to price. Some companies charge more or less because their business costs are more or less. Take large network marketing companies, they have a larger payroll to pay out, so often those oils come with a slightly higher price point even though they could effectively source them for far less than most smaller companies.
The smaller companies charging higher rates are likely paying higher rates to get the oils in and honestly the higher price points is usually a more telling sign of a true oil vs an adulterated one.
Reputation of the Company
This is important to an aromatherapist and maybe the consumer, because if you plan to buy oils long term you want to use companies with good reputations.
This can be affected by customer service, initiative they participate in like charities, sourcing influences reputation and when things go wrong how do they respond.
For example some business models are actually very supportive of smaller businesses. Or many businesses participate in charitable events, and activities, which is great for a healing modality. Or they may have previously made a mistake and it came at the expense of the customer or they made up for it in an inspiring way.
Where can I find oils that meet all this?
Anywhere and nowhere! We know it is not helpful, but honestly some experiences have been the local health shop sold less than stellar brands that had a history of adulteration while the local Walmart for once actually stocked real essential oils. It all sounds shocking but it's been known to happen.
More often than not, online is the best place to look. Look for aromatherapists in your area and see what brands they use.
Look at the criteria we suggested and decide if the company you are choosing meets or exceeds these and if these even matter to you. We think most of them should, after all you are likely buying essential oils for health support, so you probably don’t want a bottle of fragrance or buying from a company that is misleading.
And as an aromatherapist we have a certain level of liability for using brands that could be adulterated so do your own due diligence in your brand selections.
We actually don’t list brands here. We pride our education in remaining brand neutral because we feel you could effectively obtain essential oils from many companies that are reputable and just as great as another company. While our course provides some brand ideas, we support your choice to choose the brand that works best for you. And we welcome everyone and anyone looking to learn and become a fully accredited professional!
LEARN MORE WITH ESSENTRIA
Want to learn more about how to use essential oils in your home? Check out our free no strings attached online course here.
Plus consider joining us in our Facebook group Love Essential Oils with Essentria where we post tips and tricks on how to use aromatherapy safely in your daily life.
Want to learn more about how to become an aromatherapist, check out our certification courses and bundles offered online here.
