What to Look for When Purchasing Quality Essential Oils
How do you know that you’ve purchased a quality essential oil? First, you make sure you’re working with a reputable supplier. The fact that you are reading this at aromatherapy.net means you’ve already on track. We would never sell you products we knew were inferior or were not of the highest quality.
But even without our word, you should know enough to identify a good, quality essential oil when you see it. If you’re interested in getting the full therapeutic and medicinal value from an essential oil, you should ensure it’s in the purest form possible. Our suggestions will help you make a smart purchase every time:
- When you can, check that oils have been harvested organically and responsibly. In general, the fewer chemicals involved in extracting or bottling the essential oil, the better.
- Read labels carefully. Many perfumes can be labeled like essential oils, making things confusing for the consumer. “Lavender aroma” is not the same as an actual lavender essential oil. “Carnation aroma” is a mixture of black pepper and ylang ylang essential oils whose combined essence is similar to the more costly carnation essential oil.
- Check the prices. Because the difficulty of extracting essential oils varies widely, this should reflect in their prices. Some oils will always be more expensive, including jasmine, melissa, rose, and neroli essential oil. If you find these essential oils at much lower prices, it’s likely that they have been diluted or adulterated with synthetic substances. Some suppliers have been known to dilute the oil in a carrier base and pass it off as the pure essential oil. Others add synthetic chemicals to the essential oil, which can cause nausea, headaches, and skin irritation.
- Test the essential oil with blotting paper. Essential oils aren’t actually oily, for the most part. Base, or carrier oils, are. You can easily test to see if an essential oil has been diluted with a carrier oil. Just place a drop of essential oil onto blotting paper and wait for it to evaporate. If it leaves behind an oily patch, it has likely been diluted and won’t be as therapeutically potent. (Note: Some essential oils, like vetiver, are more viscous and will leave an oily patch.)
- Check the appearance of the essential oil. Good oil will not be cloudy and will maintain its clarity.
Once you purchase them, remember to store your essential oils properly when you’re not using them. They should be kept in dark-colored glass (not plastic) bottles in a cool, dark, dry place. Most essential oils will retain their therapeutic properties for about two years if you store them properly and keep them tightly sealed.