Organic Essential Oils: Your Buying Guide
Essential oils are so popular nowadays because of their many beneficial uses. This could be the reason why you are now very eager to buy your own bottles of organic essential oils. Before you go online or visit a store, it would do you well if you read the following tips. First to ensure that you take home only the best essential oils.
Organic vs. Non-organic
The distinction between the two is solely based on how the plants were grown, or the farming method used.
Basically, only organic fertilizers must be used to grow these plants hence rendering them free from chemicals that are present in pesticides,
fungicides, and herbicides.
People are becoming more and more health conscious nowadays, which is why organic products are becoming so popular because it eliminates the risk of getting any of those harmful chemicals from getting in your system.
Once the farm and the processing facility where the oil is made are certified organic (based on local regulations), then their products can be classified as certified organic oils too.
High Quality Essential Oil
Just because it is an organic oil does not instantly mean that it is of high quality.
A lot of factors contribute to this such as the part of the plant (and its state) that was used for the extraction, the harvesting method, efficiency of the distillation process, and even the storage method.
A company may use the best plants and have the best distilling machines, but if they fail to store their finished products properly, then the essential oils that they sell may not be of high quality anymore.
Choose Pure Essential Oils
By pure, it means that it must only contain the concentrated oils extracted from the plants.
Some manufacturers use additives to help them profit more with each bottle because they are basically lowering the concentration of the oil when they
mix it with a cheaper type or oil.
This is why you should always read the labels to ensure that you are not being cheated for paying a high price for a substandard product.
Unless you are buying an oil blend, the label must indicate only one ingredient.
Fragrance Oils are Not Essential Oil
Some people make the mistake of thinking that both are one and the same.
Fragrance oils are combinations of chemicals and essential oils, and they actually contain very little essential oil.
If the fragrance oil is alcohol-based, then it is merely alcohol that has been added with several drops of essential oil to make it scented for the purpose of being used as a perfume.
Look at the Packaging
Essential oils must be stored in dark or amber bottles because exposure to light can affect their quality (reduce efficacy).
The bottle must also be tightly sealed to ensure that all the important components of the oil are still intact or have not evaporated.
See to it, though, that the bottle cover is not made of rubber because parts of it could have deteriorated due to the strength of the oil and that may contaminate the content.
It would also be better if you can find a company that indicates the date the oil was manufactured on their packaging.
Most steam distilled oils have a shelf life of 2 years, so make sure that you only buy freshly produced products.
Choose a Reputable Company
You will be surprised at the numerous sellers of essential oils that you will find in the market or online.
Most of these are actually resellers, meaning they do not manufacture the oils themselves.
This is not saying that they are not trustworthy.
There is a chance that some of them may be selling adulterated oils so that they can profit more.
It is still better to buy straight from the manufacturer or at least a distributor that has earned a good reputation.
Ask around among fellow essential oil users to get feedback and reviews of their experiences with various sellers so that you can assess which ones to trust.
Price vs. Quality
If the essential oil is sold at a very low price, take that as a red signal that something is wrong.
Just so you know, it takes a lot of plant material to produce a bottle of oil. Lavender oil, for instance, makes use of 100 pounds of the plant to produce a single pound of oil. Therefore, expect pure essential oil to be costly.
Conveniently Shop Online
Shopping online allows you to easily compare prices between several sellers. If you are lucky, you may even chance upon promotions that they regularly offer.
Just remember to check the background and reputation of the companies, though, to ensure that you are spending your money on a reliable seller and that only good quality oil will be delivered to your doorstep.
Be a smart buyer when shopping for organic essential oils. Take the time to research on the product first and then on the person or company that you are buying from.
It would be best to buy small bottles first so that you can try the quality of their products before deciding to buy in bulk.
This way, even if you make a mistake, the amount of money you lost will be bearable.
