The saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” And it’s true. It’s no different with essential oils. It costs a lot of money to bring high quality essential oils to market. From the moment the seed is planted to the moment the oils are harvested, each part of the process requires a lot of time, money and expertise. That’s not even counting the quality testing that should take place before each essential oil is bottled. 

When companies offer premium essential oils like Frankincense for $10 a bottle, it should make you raise your eyebrows. It’s just not possible to bring a premium oil like Frankincense to market for $10 without cutting corners. 

By cutting corners, I mean that the oils are adulterated in some way. Companies can adulterate the oils by adding a cheaper oil to a premium oil like Frankincense. Or they can adulterate by adding synthetics or fragrance (hormone disruptors) to more expensive oils so that they are more cost-effective to the company. 

Sure, you’re saving some money because the oils are cheaper, but these same companies then go on to promote their oils as “100% pure.” And in the case of adding fragrance there’s more harm done because of the hormone disrupting factors involved. 

Conclusion: Oils that are cheap in price are almost certain to be cheap in quality.

This is another really weird practice in the essential oil world. When companies offer all of their oils at the same price, I scratch my head, because it doesn’t make any sense. Lemon essential oil should not be the same price as Rose essential oil because authentic plants will not all cost the same.  

I mean...you can’t even go to the grocery store and buy an apple for the same price as a red bell pepper.  So why would Frankincense be the same price as Lavender? It shouldn’t be. When you see all of the oils at the same price, they are most likely not authentic. 

Conclusion: Oils that are all priced the same is a huge indicator that they are not authentic.

There is a “right” way to store essential oils. Dark amber or cobalt glass containers are the industry standard. Essential oils are light sensitive so if they are stored in clear or light colored containers, that’s a red flag that the company doesn’t know what it’s doing. Glass is also the proper material for storing oils because essential oils can eat through plastic. 

Conclusion: Oils that are not stored properly means the company doesn’t know what they are doing. Stay away.

Synthetics and fragrance don’t belong in essential oils. Essential oils by definition are natural oils obtained from plants. If they come from a petri dish (like synthetics and fragrance do) than it can’t be called an essential oil. When you’re considering an essential oil company, take a look at the ingredient list. 

For single oils, companies may just have the scientific name of the plant and that’s their way of saying, “This bottle only contains essential oil from this plant.” 

Fair enough. But keep an eye out especially for the blends. This is where companies will slip in synthetics and even fragrance. Also, companies sometimes will use the words “Key Ingredients” or “Essential Ingredients” to describe their blends but this is just word-smithing to avoid revealing ALL of their ingredients. 

If you have to get in touch with customer service or contact them for ingredients, that’s another red flag. Sometimes companies will do this because they need to “explain” why certain ingredients are in their products. Don’t fall for it.  Ingredients should be plainly listed with the product information.   

Conclusion: Check the ingredients - especially on the blends.  Be wary of companies that don’t reveal ALL ingredients in plain sight.

Industry standard (and a sign of a reputable essential oil company) is to have the botanical name on the bottle. This rule applies for single oils, not bottles containing blends (multiple essential oils). 

If the company has not listed the botanical name on the bottle they are not professional enough to sell to aromatherapists who would never purchase a bottle of oil that didn’t have the botanical name. To know what you’re looking for, it’s going to be a Latin name. Ex: Lavandula angustifolia is a type of Lavender.  Don’t buy from a company that is missing this important quality indicator.  

Conclusion: Don’t buy oils from companies that don’t have the botanical name listed on the bottle for their single oils.

Every essential oil company is marketing their oils as “100% pure” and “therapeutic grade.” But how can you really know if a company is taking the necessary steps to ensure quality? Instead of banking on vague promises like, “All of our oils are 100% pure therapeutic grade” look for indicators that show you HOW the company is fulfilling on that promise. 

Do they mention testing on their website? If so, what kinds? At minimum they should mention a GC-MS test, but very high quality companies will go way beyond this. Not only that, but they will have dedicated a portion of their site to essential oil quality that goes beyond fluff words. “We ensure quality” is not enough. 

Conclusion: Look for information that shows you how the company is committed to quality. The more specific the better. 

So… how can you know that you’re getting high quality oils? There’s no easy answer. You have to look into the different options and do your research. This is why I’ve created an essential oil guide that reviews the most popular essential oil companies and I’ve graded them from A to F. Truly, there’s a very small portion of essential oil companies that really get it right. 

After researching the most popular essential oil brands in the industry, doTERRA is the #1 brand our family trusts.