"Aroma-Pedia" by Well Beings Aromatherapy Products

HOW TO BUY ESSENTIAL OILS

The following is a guide to help you select vendors of pure, high quality essential oils.

• Beware of terms such as "fragrance oil", "perfume oil", "aromatherapy oil", or "nature identical oil" being sold as an essential oil.  These terms indicate that what is being offered is not a pure, single essential oil.  Some vendors try to classify these imitation fragrances as "aromatherapy" substances.  They are not.  Beware of these vendors who inaccurately use the alternative medicine term aromatherapy for their own personal profit.

• There are many botanicals where an essential oil is unable to be derived, this should be noted by the vendor as such.

   

• The term "pure essential oil" is overused.  Although an oil may be pure, it may be distilled from poor quality stock, could have been sitting in inventory for years or could have been improperly stored or handled in a way that may have damaged or contaminated the oil.  Don't be impressed solely by the term "pure".  Know what you are buying by being an informed consumer.

• Try to avoid buying oils from vendors that don't list the essential oil's botanical (latin name) and country of origin.  There are multiple varieties of many plant sources.  For instance there are multiple varieties of Lavender, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus, etc.  Each has a different chemical makeup and aromatherapeutic property.  Often times the fragrances are also different.  Is the birch oil from the Canadian birch, betula lenta or is it from betula alba?  The latter being considered a carcinogen.The country of origin is also important because the natural climate and soil conditions of a specific geological area can affect the resulting properties of the final oil.  The best Lavender oil for instance comes from the high mountain regions of France.

• Be cautious about purchasing oils from street fairs, craft shows and other limited time events as some of these vendors are selling products simply for profit.  Note however that many exceptional vendors participate in these same events and  offer good products to their customers.  This is just a caution for the inexperienced who are not able to judge quality first hand.

• Beware of vendors who sell all of their essential oils for the same price.  The cost paid by the vendor for quality essential oils varies greatly by species and to a lesser degree the oils origin.  If a vendor is selling all of their oils at the same price then there is a good chance that the lower priced oils have been inflated in cost or that the higher priced oils are of poor quality or have been diluted or otherwise adulterated.  Some vendors offer "essential oils" that have been diluted with almond, grape seed or other vegetable oils, but they fail to mention this fact.  In some cases the essential oil is stretched with mineral oil.  Lavender oil for instance is often sold containing  only a small portion of real oil, yielding an inferior product.

• If you see an essential oil offered at a price that seems too good to be true, it probably is!  Essential oils are costly because they are extracted from plants that generally yield small quantities of oil.  Expensive oils are sometimes made up of a combination of less expensive ones.  For example, rose EO is often produced with geraniol and citronella; sometimes the citral in "lemon oil" comes from litsea cubeba an all together different plant with different properties; coriander EO is easily simulated with orange EO and turpentine.

• Avoid buying essential oils that are packaged in plastic bottles as the essential oil can dissolve the plastic and consequently contaminate the oil.  Also avoid buying essential oils that are packaged with a rubber eye-dropper.  Again the essential oil can dissolve the rubber bulb and contaminate the oil.

• Avoid buying essential oils that are sold in clear bottles as the clear container allows light to enter and damage the oil.  Only buy oils that are stored in amber (brown) or other dark colored glass bottles such as dark blue or green.  Aluminum is only acceptable if it is lined with a suitable material.

• Always feel free to ask your vendor or potential vendor questions.  A quality vendor will always be happy to answer your questions.  Feel free to contact us at anytime at info@wellbeingsonline.com.  We will do our best to assist you.

The information contained within this site is presented for information only.  This site is not intending to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any condition or illness.  Not responsible for omissions or errors, typographical or otherwise.
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