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Tips on How to Buy Essential Oils

Corinna Underwood | May 27, 2008

Essential oils are readily available in health shops, some pharmacies, beauty stores and online aromatherapy specialist stores. Most suppliers stock a wide range so it’s not difficult to find even the less popular oils.

Beware of synthetic, these are less effective. Also avoid essential oils that have already been diluted with a carrier oil. Check the label; it should say 100% essential oil. Avoid labels that say “fragrance oil,” or “perfumed oil,” these are not pure essential oils and often only have a very small amount of pure oil in them.
Always buy essential oils in a dark bottle as sunlight can speed up the deterioration of the oil. Never buy oils in plastic bottles as the oil may dissolve the plastic and this will contaminate the oil. The containers should always be made of brown or dark blue glass.
Not every brand of essential oil is the same. Before you purchase any oils take a look at a few different brands and compare their scent. When you smell an essential oil, hold the bottle about three inches from your nose and breathe in deeply. Try to avoid smelling too many different kinds of oils at the same time otherwise you will desensitize your sense of smell and be unable to judge the scent. Also breathing with the bottle too close to your nose can give you an unpleasant headache.
Don’t buy oils from a company that has a fixed price for every different type of oil. Essential oils vary in price range depending on the plant or tree that the oil comes from. For example lavender oil is relatively inexpensive because lavender is easy to grow and most of the plant can be used to extract the oil, rose oil however is more expensive because it takes many pounds of petals to make just one ounce of essential oil.
Choose a brand that lists the common name of the essential oil and the Latin name on the bottle. This way you can avoid confusion. Some types of oil have the same common name but different varieties such as pine oil which comes in several varieties - Pinus sylvestris, Pinus mugo and Pinus palustris. The company should also be able to give you full details on the country of origin and the method used to extract the essential oil.
Avoid purchasing bottles that have a layer of dust on the bottle, this is a sign that they have been standing in the store for some time so their potency may be compromised.
Organic essential oils may be of a higher quality than non-organic oils, but this is not guaranteed.
If you are unsure of which oils you would like to buy and are using an online vendor, purchase a few bottles to try out and request two or three samples. Many vendors will supply you with a small amount of free samples, though some will charge a small fee for samples. This is a good way for beginners to start or for more experienced users to try out new essential oils.
Buy your essential oils from companies who have been established for some time and have a good reputation. One way of finding out about aromatherapy oil carriers is to join an online aromatherapy network. This way you can find advice and share information with other members.
The strength and stability of your pure grade essential oils should be consistent from batch to batch.
Try and find a quality wholesale dealer, if you buy your oils in bulk you can usually get a much better deal on them. Essential oils can be bought buy bulk in quantities of between12.5kg and 50kg. This kind of quantity comes in sealed drums. Individual aromatherapy bottles can be bought separately made of the appropriate dark glass and will hold 10ml of essential oil.
Avoid oils such as carnation or lilac as these are synthetic oils.
Contact the company whose oils you intend to buy and ask them the following questions:
Do they have representatives who visit the growing areas and inspect the quality of the raw plant?
Do they have inspectors to check the distillation process to make sure that the oils have not been compromised by using chemicals?
Are the plants organically grown or non-organic?
If they are organic can you see the organic certification?