Living healthy is the hip thing to do, at least in the circles I run. As a person who is concerned about what goes into my body and my home, avoiding harsh chemicals where I can is important to me. I clean my house with a vinegar based solution and spray a lavender mist in the air when I’m feeling anxious. Essential oils are a part of my life, and they enhance my holistic experience. Since you found your way here, I think it’s safe to assume that you are interested in introducing essential oils and their benefits into your life. According to reviews, the best essential oil brands are listed below are the leading creators in the business. There is a lot of information in the following paragraphs so I am going to attempt to anticipate your questions and answer them thoroughly.
Table of Contents
Best Essential Oil Brands Comparison
| IMAGE | Brand | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant Therapy |
| CHECK THE PRICE |
| Young Living |
| CHECK THE PRICE |
| Now Foods |
| CHECK THE PRICE |
 | Eden’s Garden |
| CHECK THE PRICE |
| doTERRA |
| CHECK THE PRICE |
Uses For Essential Oils
Depending on the essential oil you have on hand, these powerhouses can aid with physical ailments, help elevate your mood, and coax you into a sweet slumber. As for our homes, cleaning with essential oils creates an environment that is free of viruses, bacteria, and fungus, which is imperative during cold and flu season.
Oils can be found in products like and bars of soap. They are used as primary ingredients in cleaning products for your home or yoga mat spray and some are the fighting force behind some successful insect repellents. Essential oils are great when we want to soak or detox in a bath or massage them into our sore muscles. A great place to apply lavender oil is at the temples when you are feeling stressed.
Diffusers, a vaporizer pen, a humidifier, balls of cotton, and handkerchiefs are just some of the other transmission vehicles for the essential oils you might want to have on hand. How do you know which means you would want most? That requires a thorough look through a ton of information to familiarize yourself with what oils are available and which would work for your goals.
How To Choose Superior Goods
Depending on where the essential oil is extracted and shipped, there are government regulations ensuring that you are getting a superb product. In the United States, the production of essential oils is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration under the Federal Food and Drug, and Cosmetic Act as well as the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Depending on the intended use of the essential oil in question, in the States, it can be considered either a drug or a cosmetic, and each product is viewed on a case-to-case basis.
As for the advertising in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission is the agency that makes sure the claims made by essential oil companies are in fact true. For oil that is used as room fragrances or deodorizers are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Not all oils are made or sold in the United States. Oil created and sold in the European Union are under the eye of the Association Francaise de Normalisation of AFNOR. They regulate trading throughout the EU and set the standards and goals for several items including essential oils, which are checked for water content, acid value determination, phenol content (a carbolic acid that can be caustic to the skin, used as a cleaner), and chromatographic profiles. (I will get into chromatography later.)
The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was founded to secure the standardization of several activities including technological, economic, scientific, and intellectual. Their involvement with essential oils includes creating international guidelines for conditioning, packaging, storage, labeling, and sampling. You can contact the ISO if you are looking for a standard report for any individual essential oil, they do charge a fee.
So, What is Chromatography?
Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) is a chemical test that has techniques to reveal additives in essential oils. It analyzes the constituents in oils and isolates them so that all the components of the oil are separated by molecular volume. Some refer to this as the “fingerprint” of that product.
The nice thing about this test is that if the oil contains any additives GC/MS will let us know. This process is expensive and smaller distillers are sometimes held back due to the cost. It takes an expert to read the results, which can reveal whether someone put a filler in with your sandalwood oil.
It’s important to know that passing this test is not always a guarantee of quality, but it is a standard test for most of the suppliers as you will see below on our list.
Are There Other Tests?
Yes. Depending on the line, it seems that certain oils go through some vigorous examinations. Here is a list of other trials your oils might have endured.
Organoleptic: Conducted by using the human senses.
Ribo Printer® Identity: Bacterial strain identification.
Residual Solvent: Identifies volatile compounds.
Static Headspace Extraction: Turns a solid or liquid into a gas
Gas Chromatographic Separation (HSGC): Analyzes volatile compounds
Flame Ionization Detection (FID): Measures hydrocarbon (HC) concentration.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR): Identifies simple compounds along with many other chemical applications.
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): Separates compounds.
Microbiological: Checks for harmful microbes.
Pesticide Check: Identifies pesticides.
Heavy Metal: Reveals any heavy metals.
Chirality: Separates compounds for purity.
Top 5 Essential Oil Company Reviews
When it comes to the best essential oil brands here are so many makers of essential oils so it’s going to be difficult to determine which are the smartest choice for your purchase. Ideally, you would be able to try every essential oil product available but that would not only take a long time, it would cost you a lot of money. So, I researched which organizations are were rated well and top notch. I took a look at the products they offer for beginners, and read their websites to find what they were all about. With the information, I compiled a list of the 5 foremost essential oil organizations for you. My results are based solely on their placement in other essential oil lists, what products are offered for the beginner, the price of that product, and their return policy.
Plant Therapy
- Quantity: 14 bottles/10ml each
- Oils/Blends: 7 singular scents/7 synergies or blends
- Return Policy: 30-day money back guarantee / 90 days full refund
When first reading the “our story” section of this company’s website, you learn that they feel they are set apart from the other essential oils because of the people involved in making their product great. This includes their aromatherapy team, customer service team, warehouse crew, and the customers. Plant Therapy emphasizes their dependence on their customers and their feedback. They feel that even negative feedback continually pushes them toward creating the foremost product that they can.
Their oils are first organoleptically reviewed, which means it is put on a strip and checked for scent over time and then sent to the third party for Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)The Plant Therapy’s beginner option is the Top 14 Essential Oil Set, which is a great deal. All of the fourteen oils included are 100% pure, undiluted, and are therapeutic grade. Inside you will find Bergamot, Clary Sage, Cinnamon Cassia, Eucalyptus (Globules), Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lime, Patchouli, Peppermint Supreme, Rosemary, Spearmint, Orange and Tea Tree.
PROS
- You get a lot for the price
- Great for the want-to-be mixologist to have on hand
- 90% refund if not satisfied
- Amazing variety of oils
CONS
- Some customers claim the product was weak
- Some folks received damaged or empty bottles
Who Should Purchase?
This product would be a smart purchase for the beginner who is interested in playing around with their own blends. Personally, I enjoy adding some lavender and chamomile with Epsom salts and a little baking soda to create my own relaxing bath salts. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, this kit would be a good choice for you.
*You might also like: Plant Therapy Essential Oil Reviews.
Young Living
- Quantity: 10 5ml bottles
- 5 oils / 5 blends
- Closed:
30 days full refund minus shipping
90 days purchase price minus shipping and 10% handling fee
Starting out in 1993, this is organization’s oils are made in the largest facility North America has to offer with the latest equipment needed for pure distillation of essential oils. Their process, which they call Seed to Seal®, ensures the potency of their product and preserves the integrity of their name.
One of Young Living’s kit is called the Everyday Oils Collection, which offers ten 5ml bottles of oils and blends. Pure oils included are Frankincense, Lavender, Lemon Vitality, Peppermint Vitality, and Tea Tree. The Blends that come with the pack are Joy, PanAway, Purification, Stress Away, and Thieves Vitality.
PROS
- Decent selection
- Large quantity – Ten pieces of 5ml bottles.
- Makes a great gift
- Pure Oils
CONS
- Expensive
- Shipped bottles may leak
Who Should Purchase?
This set is perfect for the person who doesn’t mind spending a lot of money their first time around. The variety is solid, and it offers both singular oils and blends so that the customer has options. You can experiment with blending and have some that are already mixed for you.
Now Foods
- 10 1oz bottles (the largest quantity of all six starter packs)
- All Oils / No Blends
- No policy listed. The website suggests calling when dissatisfied.
As the oldest manufacturer of essential oils with beginnings in 1968, Now Foods has one of the most extensive websites out there. It goes into detail about every stage their oils endure on their way to the bottle. It includes equipment like a Ribo Printer® to verify it’s identity to molecular and heavy metal examinations.
All in-house tests, which are listed below.
Ribo Printer® Identity, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spec (GC-MS), Residual Solvent, Static Headspace Extraction, Gas Chromatographic Separation (HSGC), Flame Ionization Detection (FID), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Quality Control Line, Microbiological Test, Pesticide Check, and Heavy Metals.
Consistency is key at Now Foods, and they maintain a repetitive production process so that reproducing the same product is guaranteed. Innovation is also key since they create more than forty new products every year. As for the introductory option they offer, the 10-oil Variety Pack Sampler is an affordable deal with a good set of oils. Scents included are Jasmine, Citronella, Tangerine, Lavender, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Orange, Rosemary, and Clove.
PROS
- The bottles are the largest at 1oz each opposed to 5ml or 10ml.
- You get ten pure singular oils.
- Learning about their process is easy via their website.
- One of the less expensive sets.
CONS
- Some consumers claim their shipment had synthetic materials in them/not pure.
- No blends or synergies included.
Who Should Purchase?
This is a great selection for the person who is looking for a lot of options but doesn’t to have a ton to spend. You get an entire ounce of oil in each of the ten bottles. To put it into perspective, there are 29.5735 ml in an ounce. Most bottles of oil are 5 ml to 15 ml. There are about 100 drops of oil in 5 ml, which means that in an ounce, you will have roughly just under 600 drops of oil in each bottle.
Another person who would appreciate this is an avid blender. Anyone who likes to or is interested in creating their own signature scents would get the most for the money from this kit.
Eden’s Garden
- Quantity: 3 5ml bottles
- Oils/Blends: All oils / no blends
- Return Policy: 30-day money back guarantee.
This company began in a garage in 2009 and has grown to be a heavy contender in the world of essential oils. Today, they pride themselves in their freshness guarantee and promise a new batch for every oil delivered. Their oils are housed in a temperature sensitive room with very little light, which is the way you’d want to store oils in your home. When kept incorrectly, oils can lose their therapeutic abilities. Also, it is important to note that their oils have undergone a third-party GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) test.Eden’s Garden offers a 30-day money back guarantee on any product you find unsatisfactory. Their introductory product is a set of 6 blends which they call the Synergy Sampler Pack. The blends are therapeutic grade oils with no fillers, bases, or additives. The scents included are Anxiety Ease, Aphrodisiac, Breathe Easier, Meditation, Simply Citrus, and Spring Garden.
PROS
- Easy to use
- Wide variety of samples
- One of the less expensive starter kits
- A lot of product for the price
CONS
- There are no singular oils offered.
- Some buyers were not fond of the scent of the blends.
Who Should Purchase?
This set of oils would be great for the beginner who is unsure of or not interested in creating their own blends. As for the offerings, this variety is well rounded. These blends can calm you, help you breathe, clean your home, and more. With this sampler pack, a person who is unfamiliar with essential oils and how they blend can get an idea of what they like before randomly purchasing singular oils. That said, if you want to try out singular oils, this is not the packet for you.
doTERRA
- 3 5ml bottles
- All oils / no blends
- Return Policy:
Closed:
30 days - 100% refund or credit
90 days - 100% credit - 90% refund
1 year - 90% refund or credit
Opened:
100% credit or 90% refund
The last but most certainly not the least essence provider on our list was founded more recently in 2008. Their name is a derivative of a Latin phrase meaning, “Gift of the Earth.” The products they create are therapeutic grade and CPTG® Certified Pure, which means they are free of bacteria, heavy metals, and anything else foreign. All internal verification are done within their facility, and no third-party review was made for their oil’s purity.Examinations conducted are the following:CPTG Quality, Organoleptic, Microbial, Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Chirality, Isotopic Analysis, Heavy Metal, Organoleptic, and Microbial.
Two starter kits are available from doTERRA, the Introductory kit is smaller with three 5ml bottles- Lavender, Lemon, and Peppermint. The other, a Beginner’s Trio, has the same three scents but in 15ml bottles. It needs to be said that of all the companies on this list, doTERRA has solid return policies.
PROS
- Less expensive
- Pure oils
- Informative information on the box
- Great combination of scents
CONS
- MLM (Multilevel Marketing) Company
- High shipping costs if ordered from doTERRA website
Who Should Purchase?
This starter kit is perfect for the person who is interested in this brand specifically. It is rather pricey, but the regular users of doTERRA oils swear by them so they are worth the money spent because of their reputation for purity.
To Conclude
After reading this piece, you should have a better handle on what extracts will satisfy your needs and what offerings have the options the fit for you. Just remember, consuming essential oils can be dangerous and topical application can lead to rashes on occasion. Be sure to check with a professional before ingesting anything and dilute your scents with a carrier oil. Also, always conduct a spot test when applying topically. Feedback is important to us at Better Mind Body Soul, and we encourage all of our readers to leave comments in the section below. If you enjoyed reading our post, share this knowledge with your friends so we all can move toward a better mind, body, and soul. We hope you found the best essential oil brands for your needs.
Resources
- Learn about the best essential oils for treating children with autism and ADHD here: Best Essential Oils for Autism and ADHD – The Ultimate Guide
