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.
Could you help me understand something about the Native American brand? I am looking into them, but am confused as to why it says you can get an oil labled ‘neat’ for a lot more money. What does this mean? What is the advantage to the ‘neat’ oils versus the cheaper version of the same size. Thank you!
I think I got this answered earlier, didn’t I? The naet is without added carrier oils. Many customers want it b/c then they don’t need to blend the oil w/ another oil in order to use it and it spreads it out to make using it cheaper. I’m mixed on the idea. I tend to buy neat and use coconut oil when I use it if needed.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have a roommate that sells young living and a sister that sells doTerra and I really had a hard time finding someone that didn’t sell young living to give their unbiased opinion when I googled doTerra vs. youngliving. yet I came across your blog! you did all the work for me….and I really appreciate it!!!
You are so welcome. Glad to “meet” you and hope you’re around again!
if i wanted to become a rep of native americans nutritionals, how would i do this? And much does it cost, and thanks and God Bless.
They don’t have reps as they are not a direct sales company. Thanks!
Thank you for your hard work and sharing all you learned. I have used essential oils from various companies for years and feel they have all been useful but have recently been wondering how to work through all the YL and DT hype. I personally love Mountain Rose Herbs as a company although shipping to Canada is expensive! NAN is not a company I have tried but will do so now; since I love trying out new products/sources I doubt I will ever commit to just one. Thanks again for putting up with bashing and giving us your opinion 🙂
You are so welcome!! I so hope you like them!!!
It’s now over a year since you posted the winner from your excellent research. Are you still happy with Native American oils? I’m fairly new to oils and have purchased oils from both Young Living and DoTerra. I just purchased my first bottle from Native American (haven’t received it yet) and am so happy with the shipping cost compared to the two big companies. Thanks for the great info.
I am very happy with them. I hope to write more in the near future. Thanks!
Dear Adrienne
thank you for all the hard work done. I just learned of essential oils for health benefits a week ago.
I know… I live in a sack. We have no television and I don’t listen to the radio.
Last week at the county fair a grandmother was using some on her grand son’s horse, for anxiety.
I didn’t think one way or the other. but then there was a young living rep in the commercial building.
I spoke with her and smelled some of the oils. used the mint on my temples and back of neck for a headache. I don’t know if it worked, but I smelled like a candy cane. So I came home typed in “which essential oils. are the best” and the first one I clicked on was your blog.
so here is a question. I want to use them internally as well as just aroma therapy and topical. so how do I know if they are safe? Will they be marked as food quality? and do you have any good recipe for depression, memory, anxiety? I am so new at this. Idk if I am supposed to smell it, wear it or eat it. for it to help. You have decided to use the native American Essential oils. yet there is a link to the bulk apothecary.com site. They also claim their oils are pure, would I then just buy the ones that are cheaper then the other, as they should be identical quality? Also, is there a limit. of what to mix together? for the ones that you rub on for arthritis. I assume if you mix all of those together. it would smell horrible. I found another “BLOG” today but with further reading and clicking on their links it turned out to be a sales pitch and distributor for Dotera. and even their specialized health coach who she used for reference was a distributor. not that their products are bad. I just didn’t like how it was supposed to be a homestead page when it was just for the sale of their oil.
if you have a list of books, I can go to the library, dictionary of essential oils would be real help. I have a dictionary of cosmetic ingredients… there is chemicals in the EXPENSIVE acne face creams sold at high dollar stores. that… contact with skin causes abbesses. eeek. That was an eye opener. I have been on medications for anxiety and depression now for about 20 years. and although I am alive. I don’t feel un-depressed. Thank you again for your hard work. I will be using your web page to link to others, as you should be paid for your time. I always go back to the salesman who helped me, if they are on commission. and your blog has been so helpful, and inspirational. I will be glad to.
Angie
Oh I was a TOTAL skeptic and didn’t know anything.
You need to go w/ a company you trust. I trust Native American. There are some others that are good but I am happy where I am at and so busy w/ other things that I can’t check out every company. I tried for awhile but it got to be too much. They are never marked food quality as far as I know.
The link to Bulk Apothecary came up b/c you were looking for essential oils and the ad matched up w/ your searching. I do not think I would buy their oils for numerous reasons but I did get their cocoa butter :). I do not suspect that theirs are as good quality.
I don’t think there is a limit for mixing but I am not an expert w/ that.
There are a lot of doTERRA and YL bloggers out there and some of them are making unbelievable money = like over 100K per year. I was told I could make $8000 per month but I walked away when I couldn’t get acceptable answers from the owners. That’s just not acceptable to me.
As for books, I hope to do a post soon but there are some on my blog already. I own about 5 and none of them is good enough on its own in my opinion. This book was recommended to me by some in the industry. (affiliate link) Did you see the other ones on my site? I need to get some more from the library and write about them. But really, you need a few. Not one is enough.
I know I am very late to this party, but you have my gratitude and accolades for writing this series.
YL oils are flooding my friends, with much pressure on me to buy. I have never used essential oils, but I am also not a skeptic in their use… Just in the fanatical devotion to YL.
Based on your recommendation and my own research, I placed my first order with NAN. (Of course, I will have to keep this a secret from my friends who are YL distributors.
Too funny. I know how that goes but don’t hide it from them :). Maybe you can convince them too…..
I wanted to say a very big thank you to you for all of your impressive and amazing research with all of these companies and their methods! You’ve really helped me as a beginner with EO to start somewhere with comfort and trust in a good quality company. Thank you again! 😀
You are so welcome!!!
Are the essential oils tested by an independent 3rd party?
Do you mean Native American’s? If so, yes they are.
Wow! I just want to say Thank You! I do not know you or your site, but I just read through the whole line of articles you posted on EO and all I have to say is Thank You! You did SO much work and I really appreciate having someone review these companies. I do like EO, but it is very hard to tell what is real and what is just a marketing attempt. I have recently signed up with YL since I friend recommended it, but I had a bad taste due to the MLM which I felt resulted in higher than needed pricing. I do not want to sell these oils, I just want to use them for my family so finding an alternative place to look that does not pay MLM people and require I purchase a set amount each month is very helpful. You can bet I will be clicking around on your site more soon 🙂
Thanks so much, Emma! We have been going through a lot recently so your kind words are very much appreciated!!!