Essential Oils – What to Look for when Buying

by | Mar 19, 2019 | Aromapothecary

I recently did The Allergy Show at the SEC in Glasgow and had a lot of people looking at the essential oils and asking questions about oils that they had bought and advice on what to look for when buying them. So I thought it would be helpful to give some information on this at this subject here.

Citronella Organic Essential Oil

 We will examine what to look for when buying essential oils to ensure that you are getting the best therapeutic quality.


1.  Essential oils should be in a dark coloured glass bottle to protect from light.
2. There should be a dropper to dispense the oils safely. 
3. If you see the words fragrance oil or similar, it is probably a synthetic blend not a pure essential oil and so will have no therapeutic value. Look for ‘essential oil’ on the label.
4. Price is another likely indicator of quality, if all the oils in the shop or online are the same price, again they are unlikely to be of therapeutic grade.  Due to the hugely diverse nature of:  method of extraction; availability/success of harvest; the quantity of the plant required to make an essential oil,  prices will be widely different.  Sweet orange – easily obtained and extracted by expression, is more economic, whereas  rose needs around 4,000kg of petals to obtain1 kg of oil, and so is at the upper end of the price scale.
5. The latin name of the plant (and any chemotypes, if relevant) should appear on the label on the bottle, this is important as there are many different varieties of some oils, eg lavender & eucalyptus, that have varying therapeutic uses and safety considerations.
6. Check the best before date – citrus oils (and some others) have shorter shelf lives, while base note oils such as patchouli have longer lives. Some oils degrade after a time eg black pepper, and change their use therapeutically . So it is always best to buy in small amounts.

7. If you are recommended to use the essential oils for internal use, ensure that the person selling them has completed a full course on essential oils for internal use and is insured for this (and/or is working directly with your GP/Clinician). This is an entirely different qualification and is usually not included in aromatherapy training here in the UK.

These are general suggestions, there are more detailed information which affects quality such as;  the country of origin, the colour and texture of the essential oils.  When buying for my business to supply you, I am very particular, dealing with only a few trusted suppliers. I also like to know how the oils are produced, ie that they come from an ethical supplier and of course I require an organic certification to stock them within my businsss.

Eucalyptus Organic Essential Oil

These are a few baseline things that you should find helpful when looking for a good quality, therapeutic essential oil, but I am delighted to help with any further or more detailed queries that you may have. Just email me at: jacqui @ organicaj.co.uk

You can find all the organic essential oils that I currently stock here:

Create a Relaxing and Therapeutic Bath using Organic Aromatherapy

Create a Relaxing and Therapeutic Bath using Organic Aromatherapy

by | Nov 22, 2017 | Aromapothecary

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Create a Relaxing and Therapeutic Bath Using Organic Aromatherapy Essential Oils

When things get busy at this time of year, it is a good time for taking just a little time out at the end of your day.  Using aromatherapy essential oils in your bath, may help you power through the next few weeks.  Use them every night if possible or 2 or three times a week, if every night is not possible.

When you are using essential oils safely in the bath it is best to use 4-6 drops and dilute them in a little carrier oil such as sweet almond, olive or sunflower.  Alternatively you can use a little milk or alcohol.  All these mediums help the essential oils to disperse in the water.  

Place the oils with the dispersant of choice in your bath and swirl the water around to further disperse throughout the bath.  A warm bath will increase the amount of essential oils that penetrate the skin by as much as 100%, so no more than 6 drops are required.

You can use a single oil such as sweet orange or lavender, but I always like to blend a few to suit my particular needs at any given time.  The different blends that you can create with oils are endless, but I love the blend of roman chamomile (1 drop), lavender (4 drops) and vetivert (1 drop) — soothing,

Therapeutic Bath Using Aromatherapy

Range of essential oils for therapeutic baths

de-stressing and gentle on skin.  For clearing the mind and calming emotions with cypress (2 drops), frankincense (2 drops) & sandalwood (2 drops).

Another gentle blend which gives a relaxing, but can provide a gentle uplift of mood is  sweet orange (2 drops), frankincense (2 drops), petitgrain (1 drop).   It is good to keep the oils changing from time to time, to ensure optimum efficacy i.e. don’t use the same blend for weeks.

 

If you feel too time pressured to be blending essential oils for yourself – try our Aromatherapy Bath & Body Oils which are already safely blended to create your therapeutic bath using aromatherapy.  Use 1-2 capfuls in the bath and swirl the water to help disperse.  You can also use the Bath & Body Oils on the body as a moisturiser after a shower.  Choose from Restful Evening with Lavender, Rose Geranium and Roman Chamomile, Nervous Exhaustion with Rose Geranium, Lavender, & Basil, or Aching Limbs with Lavender, Rosemary & Basil.

If you have a complex medical history/medications always check with your GP before using essential oils, or ask a qualified aromatherapist