If there’s a deal or something looks great for the price listed, you’re inclined to purchase it right? Sometimes it’s too good to be true though, and this goes for essential oils. You need to have reliability of the reputation of a supplier because there are so many adulterated oils on the market, and ones of inferior quality. Factors that can affect the quality of essential oils are more related to the environment like type of soil, climate, and the use of chemicals.

 

When there are variations in growing conditions, this can change the quality and quantity of essential oils, sort of like how a summertime drought can yield low quantities of strawberries (my fave fruit). So if there is a low supply of an essential oil, the producer may decide to adulterate it but still charge a premium amount.

 

Essential oils must be extracted from plants that have been grown and harvested under the most optimum conditions for the highest quality possible to be distributed to the consumer. Over time with frequent oil usage and being familiar with scents, you’ll be able to determine oils that are of inferior quality just by smell.

 

Price is another big tell-tale sign of the quality of the essential oil. If it seems too cheap, it most likely is. Rose (referred to as liquid gold), Jasmine and Neroli as examples, are never sold at bargain prices. Let’s use rose as this is a heavily adulterated essential oil. There are many companies that claim 100% purity, which may be true, however, that 5ml bottle of 100% Rose essential oil, only really has 10% of the volume that is pure (yup makes me mad too!). The rest can be a carrier oil or the remainder can be adulterated as a filler. And just food for thought, a 5ml bottle of pure rose essential oil can run you a couple hundred dollars! Cost of an essential oil can also be determined by the complexity of the extraction method, and/or the amount of plant material required to produce the yield. Using rose again, you would need roughly 4000 kg of rose petals to produce 1 kg of pure essential oil.

 

Check the labeling as well – this is super important! It should show the botanical name (the scientific name of the plant) and say 100% pure essential oil. Don’t buy anything without the botanical name as even a beloved plant like Frankincense, has in fact 5 different species.

 

Properties of essential oils are easily altered by exposure to sunlight and heat so it’s best to store them in cool, dark places.

 

Always purchase oils from suppliers that are conscientious of how they source their oils as there’s many threatened species. With essential oil distributors, they use a process called Gas Chromatography to record the chemical constituents in an oil on a graph when selecting oils to sell. A company should have 100% no problem giving you this information when asked, because they want to be transparent and ensure they have a reputation to uphold. If they refuse, well, you can figure that one out easily.

 

On a lighter note, literally, I’ll be explaining what they are in relation to essential oils. A note is a term used to describe the category a scent falls into based on longevity and the scent in general. This is important to understand to help you create blends, and can even help break down the scent of a perfume to find what you’re attracted to. A top note gives the first impression, it’s stimulating and uplifting, and evaporates the fastest due to the oils’ smaller molecules. Middle notes are scents that gives body, is warming, soft and balancing. These oils last on the skin a tad longer. And finally a base note deepens the blend, and has a much longer lasting effect, has very slow evaporation and is relaxing.

 

TOP NOTES;

Basil	Lemon	Peppermint
Bay	Lemongrass	Petitgrain
Bergamot	Lime	Sage
Cajeput	Mandarin	Tangerine
Clary Saje	Myrtle	Tea Tree
Coriander	Niaouli	Thyme
Eucalyptus	Nutmeg	Ravensara
Ginger	Orange
Grapefruit	Palmarosa

 

MIDDLE NOTES;

Black Pepper	Juniper	Rosemary
Carrot Seed	Lavandin	Rosewood
Chamomile	Lavender	Spruce (Black)
Fennel	Marjoram	Tsuga
Fir	Melissa	Yarrow
Geranium	Neroli
Hyssop	Pine

 

BASE NOTES;

Benzoin	Frankincense	Patchouli
Cedarwood	Helichrysum	Rose
Cinnamon	Jasmine	Sandalwood
Clove	Myrrh	Vetiver
Cypress	Neroli	Ylang-Ylang

 

A simple test to see if an oil has been diluted, place a drop of the oil on a tissue and allow it to dry so the essential oil evaporates. If it leaves a greasy stain you know it’s not pure. This test doesn’t work well with resins or dark coloured oils that will stain, but it’s a helpful, basic test to perform.

 

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