Where to Buy the Best Essential Oils
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I used to think that essential oils were a scam, but I ended up finding out that they are a great resource for your natural medicine cabinet for issues such as headaches, ear infections, tummy aches, viruses and bacterial infections, and more. But I eventually felt I needed to figure out where to buy essential oils that I could trust and that I could reasonably afford.
I spent a ton of time calling companies, asking questions, sampling oils. Literally, it was a ton. And it was very exhausting.
I've learned a lot with all the time I've spent researching oils companies and I've covered a lot of what I learned here in this essential oils series, some of which I wrote while I was still trying to figure out which company I was going to be using and recommending.
In this post, I'll talk about the company that I decided to purchase our oils from.
It's also the one that I recommend to you as having the best essential oils for the money, with natural healing qualities and no additives or adulterating.
How I Chose Where to Buy Essential Oils for My Family
This all started with my not being happy with the way questions were (or were not) answered by Young Living and doTERRA. So I started contacting a bunch of other essential oils companies and asked a lot of questions.
If you remember, when I started trying to figure out where to buy essential oils, I mentioned the following about Native American Nutritionals (now Rocky Mountain Oils) in Part One of the series.
“Looks like they carry good products, but they are a bit expensive. Their prices, for a number of oils, in fact, are almost identical to the MLMs in this group, Young Living and DoTerra. And I don’t see any difference on the surface in the quality department.”
In this post, you can see that I ended up recommending them, but this was really a surprise for me. After thinking that I was writing them off, I got a call back from the owner of Native American Nutritionals, and I talked with him for a few hours, which turned into many hours after that, and I felt that he really knew his stuff.
I was intrigued by what he had to say about his company and the oils industry in general.
We had countless conversations from March 2012 – January 2013, and I literally grilled him about his company and others to figure out which company I wanted to recommend, and if his, was in fact, good enough for my family and for all of you.
I now can say that I feel very comfortable recommending this company to you and am now using their oils almost exclusively (only because I have a few bottles of other brands left over).
I hope you check them out and I'd love to hear about your experience.
(Disclaimer. I did not choose this company because I was able to become an affiliate for them, but I am one. I decided to work with them and then we made an partnership agreement. I was the first affiliate for the company.)
Why I Chose Rocky Mountain Oils
Please note: since this series was written, Rocky Mountain Oils purchased Native American Nutritionals. Native American Nutritionals was the original company, then the two companies had a partnership. Then Rocky Mountain Oils (RMO) purchased NAN. I am even more confident in the quality of oils now that this all has taken place.
Here are some of the qualities that make Rocky Mountain Oils a solid place to buy your essential oils from.
1. Experience
The owner of Native American Nutritionals Paul Dean, was in the oils industry since 1997, being first introduced to essential oils about 30 years ago. He started his first full-time essential oils business in 1998.
Rocky Mountain Oils was founded in 2004 by two essential oil enthusiasts, Michael and Leah Vincent. With years of experience in essential oils, the acquisition of Native American Nutritionals, and 14 years of company growth, RMO has become one of the leading direct-to-consumer essential oil companies in the world.
2. Purity
Quality Oils – all oils have been third party GC/MS tested.
Certificates are available upon request by easily entering in the batch number from any bottle.
Almost all of the oils come from plants grown in remote locations where no pesticides, herbicides, or harmful chemicals are used and only natural fertilizers are used.
3. Indigenous Plants
All oils come from plants grown in their indigenous locations (where they grow naturally).
4. Oils from Small Farms
Almost all oils from NAN were sourced directly from small farms (many are from third-world countries). Mr. Dean contracted with locals in the countries from where he sourced the oils, finds a quality farm, sets up a distiller, and extracts the oils. The oils are then sent to Native American, then sent for testing, and bottled. The only oils at NAN that are not from small farms are mainly the organic citrus oils.
Since Rocky Mountain Oils purchased Native American Nutritionals, some of the sourcing has changed as the company felt they had to make some changes to put a higher priority on the purity and quality of the oils sold. They source from small farms and also from leading experts in the industry.
5. No Solvents
They use no solvents for distillation except when necessary, as in the case of absolutes like vanilla and jasmine (since the cost of those essential oils is otherwise prohibitive.) Update 2015: they now sell a vanilla extracted with CO2.
6. Affordable Pricing
They have affordable prices (not as expensive as the multi-level marketing companies, but not “too good to be true” either.)
7. Quality Pure Oils
I have a lot of standards for quality and making sure that you are purchasing quality oils. See this post on pure essential oils for that information.
In addition, I prefer buying organic whenever I can, and that includes essential oils. Recently (Nov 2017), Rocky Mountain Oils has included an organic line of oils in their lineup and should be expanding it soon.
8. Transparency
Details for oils are listed clearly on their site (including the Latin name and country of origin).
The company is working on how to indicate the growing method now that they sometimes have a variety of sources for some oils.
9. Reasonable Shipping Costs
Rocky Mountain Oils offers Free Shipping domestically in the U.S. and reasonable shipping internationally, with free shipping over $199.
10. No Adulterating
Oils are not heated, mixed with anything else, or adulterated in any way.
Unless declared on the label, the oils are pure. The only things added would be a carrier oil to make the oil or blend easier to use right out of the bottle.
What About Other Companies?
I often receive inquiries asking me what I think about other essential oils companies.
Please read this post on Essential Oils Testing and Quality and this report on 10 Things You Need to Know About Essential Oils to see if a brand measures up.
There are more and more companies out there on a daily basis. It truly seems that every day there is a new company selling essential oils and many are making claims that they are the only pure oils out there, which is not true.
My standards are high. I don't just want a company that says they are pure. When deciding where to buy essential oils, I want to make SURE I'm getting pure and not just a song and dance.
More Essential Oils Posts
Here are other posts that you might want to check out in this series on essential oils.
I have been reading a lot on the web lately about essential oils trying to figure out the ones I want to buy. My main goal is to try to fight allergies. In your search I saw you said the do terra ones were not very effective in fighting allergies. I didn’t see in the body of any of the rest of the sections a mention of how the other oils did. Did you find that the Native American Nutritional or Mountain Rose Herbs did do a good job?
Thanks for asking. Actually my youngest’s allergies are horrible right now. Just awful. We are hoping to try immunotherapy for him again but are stuck for now waiting for an appointment. The other night he was just miserable so we washed his hair and changed his clothes (after playing outside) and he was still terrible. So I did my DIY saline wash and then got out the oils. I did the same oils of Native American’s as I did w/ doTERRA and he felt better. I did it the next night as well and he had the same response. Not totally clearing up but enough relief that he fell asleep. I hope that helps. I used lavender, lemon and peppermint (lavender tastes icky!!) and a little eucalyptus on his nose.
I just wanted to comment on the YL use of American soil and not having many other farms. This is not true. YL has farms in 7 different countries. Many of the plants are grown in Utah, but it is on virgin, organic soil. Lavender from France, frankincense from Yemen, Copaiba from south america. Also, YL has a patented “Seed to Seal” process for making their oils (i.e. the seeds, the soil, the cultivation, the distillation, and the bottling are all under strict guidelines). YL also tests the oils in house and through a third party lab, and I didn’t see you mention that. I use them in my practice with great effect. I really appreciate your research and information you provided. I will look further into the Native American Nutritionals. Thanks again
Dr. Kyle Denholm
Hi Kyle. I believe that I did state (correct me if I am wrong) that YL has some farms in other countries. That being said, Native American Nutritionals gets oils from, according to the owner, at least 39 different countries, plus a few more for exotic oils for other clients. They really think it is important to get oils from their indigenous locations so they work hard to do that, to pay fair wages, and more. I hope to post more on that in the future – thanks!
Thank you so much for these informative articles. Like you, I research most products before I buy and I found your writing to be honest, open and informed. You have saved me a lot of time and as a working mother that is priceless to me.
Thank you so much Aryanna! Nice to hear from you!
I am confused. The oils on Native American Nutritionals are the same oils used on Rocky Mountain oils. ???
They do both have the same. They were going to merge completely but decided against it. But they still work very closely together.
Thank you so much for all of your research Adrienne! I was searching for some type of comparison, and your information was invaluable to me! Now what do I do with the cheap oils that I bought at the grocery store that don’t work so well? Are you using yours up to save costs? I don’t even want to use them for cleaning purposes because I have three cats. I don’t use a diffuser for that very reason. It is tricky using essential oils with my cats. I usually use them on the feet and then wash my hands really well with a mild aloe soap with no scent.
I sold my doTERRA and Young Living b/c I didn’t want to use them. I have a few other bottles left but really I didn’t buy many oils before I signed up with Young Living. I would personally use them I guess or make gifts or something with them – use them for less therapeutic things :). Thanks much!
Thank you for this list and blog series. Do you happen to have any knowledge/experience with my go to companies? NOW foods and Ananda Apothecary are who I typically go too.
I realize there are so many companies… if you have any info to pass on I’d love to hear.
Thanks,
Rachel Estabaya
It seems NOW uses an EO expert in house from what I can tell – I’m not sure of their sourcing. Please read this post and see if either measures up: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
I’m so glad I found your blog. My mom uses young living and I’ve been told about doterra as well.. my first turn off was their history with each other and how much hatred there is towards each other… that bugged me… so I started researching! So I’m choosing to stay biased as far as ask that goes but I think I’m def going to look into NAN for most of my oils… but my question is do you have favorites still that you use from either of those or other companies? When I do finally order I’ll go through your link because I’m glad you saved me in the stupid $150 start up fee I was fixing to dish out lol. Also do you have a preferred distiller machine (I think I’m not calling it by its proper name lol I’m drawing blanks) thank you so much fit ask the info and hard work you put into this!
I don’t use anything from either of them anymore. I sold it all. Well, I have a little teeny bit of wintergreen left from YL – would you like it :)? just kidding.
Native American has a great link on their first page w/ a list of blends of theirs that compare with doTERRA and Young Living. It’s super helpful. They have a great diffuser as well. I would get the one they have. You are so welcome. I hope to hear from you again – hope you signed up for updates! https://mad.ly/signups/97092/join
You really should look at Oshadhi. They, too, follow all of the regulations that you have stipulated in your article. They are the oils that my NAHA approved teacher recommends. They do not market to the average person. You have to know what you are looking for because they are looking for educated clients, aromatherapists, or holistic practitioners. All of their oils are of the highest quality. All of their products are not available all the time because a large percentage of their products are bio dynamic, which is an even higher quality than wild crafted. It means that not only are they wild crafted, but are only harvested at the appropriate times for that particular plant. Once the oils are sold out, they are gone until that season of harvest comes again. Take a look, you might find that having more than one reputable supplier might come in handy!
Thanks! Swamped here and happy w/ where I am but I will keep it in mind!
I just finished this series and loved it. It is the kind of common sense research I appreciate. I just attended a YL presentation for the first time and being the skeptic that I am, anyone who has to say they are the best and tear others down makes me skeptical. Having been convinced of the benefits of EOs for several years now, I’ve built up a small collection of various brands, including NOW, Bulk Apothecary, and Aura Cacia. I’m wondering if these are safe to continue using and when they’re gone to then buy quality or if they have, as YL claims, parabens, and other additives. They are expensive and I hate the thought of just trashing them but if they really do have parabens then I don’t want to use them. If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it. Thanks!
I can’t say if they have things added to them but I would hope not. I wouldn’t use them internally for sure. I hope that helps.
Thank you for all of your research! My 10 year old daughter was just diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and a friend of mine suggested EO to help with the pain, she also suggested I check out NAN. I was researching the company and EOs and came across your blog. I typically do not read blogs, but I found yours very interesting and I could not stop reading your research! I want to thank you for all of your hard work and time! You have helped me out a great deal! I am up for any suggestions that you may have to help relieve her pain when she has a flare up. I have placed my first order with NAN; I ordered, FCO, Relieve Me, Arthritis Plus and also an empty roll on bottle so that she can apply it to her joints at school.
Hi Belinda. That means sooo much! I have had a mess going on with the company that sends out my emails and it is so encouraging to have this super nice comment here. Thank you! As for JRA, that is autoimmune, correct? I can check w/ the owner for you about other oils. Did you see my post today? They have a sale going on. https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/deals/free-kindle-books-healthy-living-deals-52414/
The owner of Native American just got back to me on this: this is NOT medical advice – please consult your physician before changing supplements or diet, etc.
I hope that helps!
I can’t offer medical advice, but I have heard JRA is autoimmune so you might want to look into that. There is a GREAT Autoimmune Cookbook on this page: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/cant-miss-black-friday-healthy-living-deals-why-my-husband-didnt-want-me-to-write-this-post/