The quality and purity of the essential oils you are purchasing will have a direct impact on their effectiveness and the results you will obtain with their use.

I noticed a major interests in my post about the 8 essential oils everyone should have in their medicine cabinet, so I decided to add a post on what you should be looking for in a high quality essential when purchasing one.

Unfortunately there are many companies who are not able to provide a source for the essential oils they are selling, nor certification for their quality and purity. This is a sure no no! Furthermore, just because an essential oil is sold in a store, you should not be blinded by a pretty label….

Overtime I have come up with 5 qualities I look personally look for when purchasing an essential oil. Although I certainly have a favourite brand, I do dabble in other brands, sometimes to compare, other times to experiment with new oils. 

I never purchase an essential oil unless a product follows these 5 mandatory criteria:

1. For the integrity and long term use of the essential oil, it is vital you purchase oils stored in amber, or dark glass containers. Although a pure, high quality essential oil can have a shelf life of up to 10 years, storing your oil correctly will maintain its qualitative virtues and be more effective over time.
2. The essential oils you choose to purchase should also be identified by their botanical name, and have a warning label. The bottle may sometimes be accompanied by an insert for lack of space on the label, and that’s perfectly fine as well. 
3.  As often happens, price is related to quality; and essential oils are not a product you want to skim on. Producing a high quality EO is a complicated process and each bottle requires a high amount of plant matter. In conclusion, a good quality pure essential oil will never be inexpensive!
4.  You should also make sure oils are certified for quality and purity. Whereas “therapeutic grade” or “clinical grade” are just marketing terms coined by the big essential oil companies (there is no standardized terminology for essential oils nor an overseeing body attesting to the quality), you still want to make sure your supplier can provide reassurance on where the oil is sourced and the production process it goes through!
5. The extraction process of essential oils is vital, and is the most important element in producing a high quality, long lasting, and effective product. There are different ways to extract oils, and some depend on the plant itself, but ideally, if we are looking at the basic essential oil kit we should all have in our homes (see article on the 8 essential oils everyone should own), these are best steam distilled. Steam distillation allows the retention of the plant’s most essential nutrients, and maintains the chemical composition of the oils in it purest state.

If you are therefore not purchasing only to have a pretty smelling oil, but are also keen on using essential oils for the incredible, nature-derived health and wellness benefits they possess, you must be diligent in the choice you are making!

“I invite you to drink in the divine nectar of aromatic love and let it penetrate you in the deepest, most profound ways. Trust that the oils are working side-by-side to heal, regenerate, and teach you. The more you use them, the more they’ll reveal their secrets to you”
― Elana Millman

Barbara C.

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