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 don’t know much about Worwood’s book, but I did find some negatives in the Amazon reviews. Most of them complained that there were “dated” references indicating that the book had not been updated in more than 20 years, or that there were no safety warnings for oils that perhaps should not be taken internally. I chose to start with the Valnet book (the original from 1985, so even older!!) and found it to be difficult to read (probably the translation) but full of wonderful information. I would recommend it to anyone starting out as a reference text.
Thanks – if I remember correctly, she indicates to not use oils internally so I am confused about those comments. I’ll look into that book. thanks!
I am not finding the book – what is it called please? Thanks!
I enjoyed your article and research immensely, and I thank you for sharing with us. You did so much work that we get to benefit from without charge.
I feel bad that the one person, Pappas, and his followers were such a negative. But you handled it well.
My friend, a nurse, hopes to become knowledgeable about essential oils. It’s her dream career. I passed this site and all its reading material suggestions along to her. She has Chronic Lyme Disease (as do I) and the medical society is so torn and divided over this disease that they are not a help. So we’ve been forced to look into alternatives. I found a site called “Lymesphotos” that started a chain of research for me. I hope to start a Salt/Vitamin C protocol in the next few months to drive out the Lyme pathogens. But I’ve read that the reaction to the toxins released into the body by the dying pathogens is brutal. I’m hoping to combine Essential oils with the Salt/C protocol.
I had an underarm cyst that got infected (nasty smelling). I got online to find out what the medical sites had to say. They said it needed surgical removal. So I did more research and found two other suggestions: a drawing out cream called Ichthammol, and another treatment of tea tree oil. I used the tea tree oil while I was trying to find the Ichthammol. But the tea tree oil worked and made the ichthammol unnecessary. It took awhile. I put some on a bit of cotton ball and used a band aid to keep the cotton ball pressed against the cyst. I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and then back to more tea tree oil. The infection and the cyst are completely gone. The only minus was that I got tired of the smell of tea tree oil. Anyway, I’m hoping to find research into treatment of Lyme disease through alternatives like essential oils and the sea salt/Vitamin C method. The only other option is unending antibiotics that are paid for out of pocket. Maybe you could make this an upcoming research? Check out Canada’s sites for Lyme symptoms. Their list of symptoms is more detailed than the US sites, I think. https://canlyme.com/lyme-basics/symptoms/
Thank you for all you have done, and God bless you!
I would love to learn more about Lyme – it’s a horrible disease. Did you see this post? https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/could-you-have-lyme-disease-lyme-disease-causes-lyme-disease-symptoms/
Sadly, the author is very very ill right now and has decided to quit blogging for now. :(.
I appreciate the amount of research that you have put into this! I also believe that looking into companies is important, but it saddens me that you have spoken so negatively about YL by using unsavory sources and misinformation for your reasoning, then shared that misinformation with many. It is totally fine if you do not prefer YL, but the strong dislike that comes across in your post only seems to come from a mans writing on Quackwatch. (Plus two more inaccuracies I will point out).
1. You state over and over that your questioning and dislike for them rises from a Quackwatch articles, but then at the same time you discredit the man who wrote the articles for his writing, motives and his attacks on the field of alternative medicine. I find myself curious why you even batted an eye and considered the statements, knowing about what he stood for, and his dislikes for alternative medicines. You can no longer find his articles on Gary Young because they were deemed by a court as slander and forced to be removed. This reasoning and portion of your posts seems irrelevant and somewhat brings the ready to question why you included it.
2. YL have farms and distilleries all over the world, not only in the US (like you state)
3. Once the initial sign up for YL is made, the person receives the wholesale prices for a full year WITHOUT having to purchase any thing else monthly. Then to renew it after a year, you just have to make a $50 purchase of oils or product. NOT MONTHLY! So your quoted statement that follows is also untrue: “For example, with doTERRA and Young Living, in order to get the best discounts on their oils as a rep, you need to order monthly over $100 of products (to get free products that essentially reduce your costs). Do that every month and you end up with waaaay too much oils).”
Again, I appreciate all your work and hours spent. Even just to read a handful of comments from your informative posts and reply would be most time consuming for you, and your answers are appreciated. But I do ask that you update and perhaps reconsider your basis of negative statements about YL for those that will Google about essential oils now and in the future, and come along your post. I believe your heart is to be helpful, informative and accurate, in light of that, please check into the fallacies I have presented and alter to present a more accurate picture. Thank you and blessings!
Hi there. First of all, thanks so much for commenting. I appreciate your taking the time and challenging me.
Here are my thoughts on what you brought up:
1. I didn’t believe that I stated over and over again things about Quackwatch. In fact, the Quackwatch information on Young Living isn’t on his site anymore so I have done my best to remove any references to it from my site since it isn’t citable any longer. I considered what he said since the concerns were brought up elsewhere as well – the rep I signed up under with Young Living brought up many of the concerns as well.
2. I didn’t state that they are only in the US, but that they have many in the US – if you think otherwise please direct me to where I said that.
3. You do need to order quite a bit to get the free products that bring the price of the oils down. That is what I meant. I hope that makes it more clear.
Tell me if you think I need to make any changes – I think I am representing myself accurately. Thanks!
Wow thanks so much for all your hard work. I was glued to every bit of information you provided. I myself have been looking for a EO company that allowed me to feel good about their ethics..
Please know you helped me immensely..I believe that when people feel the need to attack others it is because they are in fear…
Thank you so very much.
Thank you so much! There is more to come including a guide on eo shopping that should be released today or tomorrow. Stay tuned! And more about Native American as well – they do work in Third World countries too – thanks!
I love that you really explored this! Paul is my brothers best friends brother-in-law. He is a great guy. My brother went out and worked with him for a month or so and was so impressed with how carefully he selected oils and tested and made sure they were JUST RIGHT. They import all their stuff from the countries they are native in, and they don’t add or subtract anything.
Thanks for this article. It was unbiased and very educational!
Oh how wonderful! That makes me feel so good. I love the company and feel so blessed to have found them. I’ve learned so much. Take care!
I just checked out the prices of NAN…they’re like, HALF the price of doTerra and YL! You said their prices weren’t “too good to be true”, but those look like they are. Can you explain? Also, what’s the difference between the Frankincense from India and the stuff from Somalia?
Yea! Which oils were you looking at? I do know that the sacred Frankincense is the best apparently but I will find out for you.
Here is the response that I actually got from
Rocky Mountain Oils (that’s an affiliate link in case you end up shopping there instead).
(since they are the same but separate companies):
Hope that helps.
Which oils in particular were you looking at to see that they were 1/2 the price? Thanks!
I checked the Frankincense. For 15 ml of Frankincense, NAN charges $45 (Somalia). In contrast, YL is $94.41, and DT is $93. So, HALF the price. Is this because NAN is not a direct sales company?
Part of it is that. I was told by one person at a direct sales company that 40% of the cost was to pay bonuses, etc. to the reps. I would also mention that when prices are similar, check to see more details b/c Native American’s oils are often wild grown or organic which is not disclosed by doTERRA or YL as far as I know. Thanks!
I just looked and a few more, and the others (Lavender and Lemon) are not so drastically cheaper, but they are still cheaper. It excites me that Frankincense, which is so versatile, is so much cheaper.
I think that is where you will see more of the indigenously grown and organic issues happening. I’m so glad that is such a help. :). Love Frankincense. What do you typically use it for?
All diffusers are not created equal, that being said- I’m wondering what ones people have loved or hated and why. Also, does anyone know what the difference is between the NAN breeze diffuser and the aromacloud spa besides the fact that one uses water and one doesn’t.
I personally have the doTERRA lotus but do not like it. It shuts off too quickly so I will be selling it. There are a lot of diffusers you can choose from and many thoughts on the subject. Some people like diffusers that dispense a mist, whereas others like a diffuser that only has neat oil in it. You can go here to choose from a variety. I hope to write a post on that in the future.
Hope that helps :).
I love that you did all this research for me! I think I’ll be ordering from native American. How does immune strength compare to thieves?
I really like it – I typically make my own blend, however. A friend of mine loved it for her sinus infection. I don’t find it’s as “hot” as the Thieves which you may or may not prefer. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/homemade-anti-bacterial-thieves-essential-oil-blend/
Check out Bulk Apothecary. They have some great prices on carrier oils, essential oils, and accessories. Anytime we can save money leaves us more money to put into oils.
Thank you for all the time you spend on research about essential oils and the companies that sell them. It certainly takes a lot of time learning about essential oils and how to not only use them but mix them as well.
I have several reference books not only about essential oils, but on the nervous system and muscles of the body, so I know where to apply the oils. It is with much study and prayer that I’ve been able to help others as well as my family. Life is a journey and I’m thankful for individuals like you to help make this journey a greater and healthier one.
Hi there. I did check them out. I have bought their cocoa butter but wouldn’t get their oils I don’t think. Carrier and accessories would be my choice. I have a new download coming out today or soon that will be a guide to essential oil purchasing so that might help. Thanks much!
hi adrienne, it’s adrienne 😀
i contacted NAN recently to become an affiliate (mostly b/c of all the hard work you have done to find out they are the best and b/c of them NOT be MLM) and they told me they do not have an affiliate program but are planning on it. But they could not give me an approximate time frame on when that might happen.
do you have any info on this?
i am tempted to become a young living seller but can’t seem to stomach the whole process!
ugh.
any thoughts or info?
thanks!
adrienne
Hi there! Well to be clear, they are the best for me and my family. I think they are top notch but there are other companies that I am sure have good oils. I don’t have information but I would think they are on the way to be doing it. I can pass your name on it and ask – you can stay in touch w/ me. Thanks!
Thank you for your quick response! I have contacted them a few times about becoming an affiliate so I am sure I will hear. I see you have a link on your site, do you get a commission? I would totally do that as well if that was an option. Thanks again!
I do get a commission. But I was the first person to work with them. I emailed them. Thanks!