Aromatherapy - Introduction - Purchasing Essential Oils

Purchasing Essential Oils

The most important thing to bear in mind when purchasing essential oils and other aromatherapy products is that all oils are not created equal.

For reasons mentioned previously, avoid perfume oils as they are not equivalent to essential oils and do not offer therapeutic benefits. If you plan on using aromatherapy products only for their pleasing scent, you will still be better off purchasing good quality essential oils. By doing this, you prevent yourself from being exposed to unnecessary, potentially harmful, synthetic chemicals.

Be selective of where you purchase essential oils as quality can vary widely. It is difficult to obtain good quality oils in Canada as the absence of labeling laws pertaining to essential oils and other aromatherapy products often results in false claims on a product being "undiluted" and/or "pure". Essential oils can be purchased through mail order or often at local health food stores. It is wise to shop around as some health food stores may sell lower quality oils at premium prices.

Essential oils can vary drastically in both quality and price. Factors that may affect the quality and price of the oil include: the rarity of the plant, the country of origin for the plant, the conditions under which that plant was grown, the quality standards of the distiller, and how much oil is produced by the plant. Essential oils can often be purchased as blends of several essential oils. The advantage of blended, pure essential oils is the savings you receive from not having to buy each oil separately.

Obtaining good quality oils from catalogues, health food stores, and other shops, is very difficult. Natural essential oils have a limited shelf-life as they are made from active plant material. Essential oils tend to lose their therapeutic properties after sitting on a shelf under fluorescent lighting for an extended period of time. Ultraviolet rays from the sun also alter their natural chemical properties. Be sure to purchase your essential oils from a company that carefully monitors the turnover of oils in the store.

Another consideration when purchasing essential oils in Canada should be product labels. As mentioned previously, there are currently no labeling laws directly associated with essential oils. Though a label may claim to be 100% pure and natural, it may also have been diluted or chemically altered. And even if the oil does contain pure, natural essential oil, the method of extraction is not specified. Since essential oils are available for public use, the companies producing them bottle the oils in a very low dilution for safety reasons.

Ideally, those selling essential oils should be knowledgeable in their use or be able to direct you to someone who is. Also, be skeptical of clear, glass bottling that does not provide adequate protection against ultraviolet rays.

Most essential oils are sold in a bottle that contains an orifice reducer. An orifice reducer is a small, usually clear insert inside the bottle opening that acts as a dropper. Simply tip the bottle and you can dispense the oil drop by drop. When using droppers, be sure to store the bottle upright.

Essential oils are highly concentrated and a little goes a long way. It is recommended to purchase smaller quantities of oil as this helps keep your costs down, allows you to experiment with many different oils, and does not limit you to two or three varieties. A 5mL bottle of oil provides approximately 100 drops essential oil. If you use only 2 to 4 drops at a time, the bottle will last quite a while.