By The use of essential oils can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians who utilized them for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Today, essential oils are widely used for a variety of purposes including health care, agriculture, and cooking. They are at the core of aromatherapy, which is the practice of promoting health and well-being using aromatic plant extracts.
Essential oils are liquefied compounds that are extracted from plants. They are called essential because they contain the “essence” of the plant they are made from, which holds most of the chemical compounds and properties that are specific to that plant. The oils are made from different plant materials such as flowers, leaves, barks, and seeds.
You can find and buy essential oils at local health food stores, but for a wider selection of brands and products, you can buy them online too. There are many places on the internet that offer essential oils for sale and there are several brands that promise to provide the best, purest EOs, but only a few of them truly stand out.
Below we are going to discuss three picks of the best essential oil brands that are sold online. These are not gimmicky multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes, which are quite common and notorious in this industry. These are legit companies that sell decent products at reasonable prices.
1. Rocky Mountain Oils
Rocky Mountain Oils was established in 2004 to formulate innovative blends of essential oils. Today, it also provides other solutions related to nutrition, cleaning, stress relief, as well as USDA-certified organic oils. The company attaches batch codes with all its products so you can verify the GC/MS lab test results on their website.
As Rocky Mountain Oils is a direct-to-consumer brand, it truly believes in customer approval and healthy communication. They offer a guarantee period of 90 days during which you can return the product(s) and ask for a refund if you are not happy with the quality or for any other reason. For one of the leading essential oil companies, its prices are fairly budget-friendly compared to other similar brands.
Their S.A.A.F.E. Promise (Satisfaction, Authentic, Analysis, Free of Adulterants, and Effective and Pure) aims to provide pure essentials oils through trusted global suppliers, critical sampling, and organoleptic evaluation.
Their online shop hosts a catalog of premium singles and blends that are designed to help in pain relief, re-energize the body, alleviate PMS symptoms, and stay in a cheerful state of mind.
2. Edens Garden
Edens Garden is a non-MLM, family-owned business founded in 2009. The company is mostly recognized for its “therapeutic grade” essential oils (nothing really special here — it’s just a marketing term!) They also sell synergy blends, diffusers, deodorants, bath salts, and perfumes. Most of Edens Garden products are available online for free shipping and affordable prices.
Their essential oils are GC/MS verified to establish purity and healthcare standards. The oils are extracted from native plants, free from harmful GMOs, pesticides and fillers, and produced 100% organically.
A special portion of their oils is dedicated to kids older than two years. Edens Garden have recently also started providing the CO2 extracts and absolutes, which are a new, exotic kind of oils that aren’t as expensive to produce and promise better effectiveness.
3. Plant Therapy
Plant Therapy is distinguished due to its transparent and reliable plant-based products. They boast an incredible amount of educational details along with each product. The company also sells a wide variety of health products like hydrosols (aka flower/floral water), lotions, household products, CBD products, and others.
This manufacturer is very thorough regarding the production and usage of each essential oil. Everything from the country of origin, extraction process, botanical terminology, and intensity of the scent to the necessary precautions, whether or not it’s safe for kids, and DIY recipes is explained in a delightful way.
Plant Therapy’s essential oils are an ideal place to start if you are a beginner to aromatherapy or are looking for kids-friendly oils. Their EOs pass rigorous third-party tests to ensure that they are pure and potent. Each product’s page includes links to lab test reports as well as a safety data sheet that provides important safety information for each oil.
Facts, Tips and Precautions
The following list include some basic facts about essential oils and some tips for proper and safe usage.
- There are different methods used to extract essential oils from the raw plant material. Steam distillation is the most popular extraction method that most manufacturers use today. Other methods include water distillation, cold press, and solvent extraction.
- The concentration, scent, color, and chemical composition of each essential oil varies from one extraction method to another. For example, steam distillation only extracts volatile, aromatic compounds while many heavier compounds don’t make it into the final product. Solvent extraction methods yield a broad-spectrum extract with a chemical composition that is very close to that of the whole plant or plant parts from which it is obtained.
- Different essential oils have different bioactive components with potential medicinal properties. Many oils have been shown to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activity. However, there is very little research on the therapeutic value and efficacy of most essential oils. Commonly suggested health benefits and uses of EOs are based on unreliable anecdotal evidence and often contradictory personal experiences and reviews.
- Essential oils should not be ingested unless you’re advised and instructed by a healthcare professional to do so. Some of these highly concentrated aromatic compounds are toxic and may cause uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous, side effects if consumed by mouth.
- The safest way to use aromatic oils is by diffusing them using an essential oil diffuser. There are many types of diffusers on the market that work in a few different ways to create a pleasant aromatic ambience in your home or office. But keep in mind that certain scents may be irritating to some people, infants, and/or pets.
- You can apply essential oils topically to the skin, but you should never do so before diluting them in a carrier oil first. Avocado, coconut, and argan oils are some of the best carrier oils used to dilute essential oils. These carrier oils have their own benefits as well.
- Some people may experience an adverse or allergic reaction to certain oils. Always test the diluted oil by applying it to a small area of your skin to make sure it doesn’t cause any adverse reaction before you apply it to a larger area of your body.
- Using undiluted essential oils on the skin can cause burning, redness, itching, dryness, and other side effects. Frequent use of undiluted oils can cause skin damage in the long run.
- When buying essential oils, choose brands that only use 100% natural and pure oils without any additives or synthetics. Organic oils are generally a better choice, but they come at a higher price. Also make sure that the company tests their products for heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants. Most companies in the USA source the raw oils from other countries, but they should test every batch in a local lab, whether it’s the company’s own in-house lab or a third-party one.
- There is a lot of misinformation, marketing hypes, and scams being promoted online by certain essential oil companies and their associates. Generally speaking, most of the therapeutic and health benefits of EOs are overpromised and oversold. So, keep your expectations low and only buy small amounts until you try it for yourself and you know for sure that it works for you.
