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.
was wondering about a couple companies, I like you use young living and am having second thoughts. my sister in law uses fabulous frannie, never heard of them and saw neg reviews on amazon. but prices are good. ….also Shop Simplers and the one Im interested in is….Mountain Rose Herbs.
Hi there. I can’t comment on other companies, but you can read this post to see if they measure up. I did look at Frannie and MRH. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
I also came out w/ a new guide on buying essential oils that I think you would be interested in. https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
More to come! (sorry I had to remove the links. I know yours were fine but I am rethinking my policy about links in comments and have to find out more about that. Thanks for understanding!
I’m a little bit disturbed by the name of this company as it implies (IMO) that it is a company of Native Americans (American Indians) using the formulas of their traditions and ancestors. Of course this may still be the case, as not all Native Americans have traditional Native America surnames. Of course a good salesman would say that he is referring to the native American plants, but are they? I wonder if you’ve made any
You also did not address the issue of where these oils are made and by whom. Did you ask from where his materials are sourced?
Oh, and since this issue came up earlier on this forum – I’m already a year or so late… Please, please, please vaccinate your children! Polio is back in developing countries and, not unlike ebola, things from developing countries are only an airport away from your kids, and your kids could be inches away from somebody else’s immuno-supressed kid.
Hi there. The name has to do with the fact that the owner has been adopted by a Native American tribe and that essential oils were used
I think that I did address the sourcing – under the transparency section – but you can read this post as well to get more information if you like: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
You might also be interested in a short Free report I just came out with:https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks much!
I’m currently learning to become an internationally certified aromatherapist.. The instructor said the only oils recommended are Young Livi ng, all of which are safe to take internally. I’ve been taking the oils internally daily for well over a year and a half.. I have had no ill effects from doing so. I have also taken many doTerra oils internally with no ill effects. If they can’t be taken internally, they are probably not 100percent pure therapeutic grade.
Hi there. I don’t think that that kind of recommendation is right, honestly (to only take YL oils). Even the company that I recommend doesn’t say that theirs are the only pure oils out there. I do agree that it might be that if you can’t take them internally that they might not be pure…a good thing to watch out for but it also might be to avoid liability…..thanks!
Thank you so much for all your research. I believe in the power of EOs, however; I have avoided using them because when I go to research I second guess everything I read. Through your series I have decided to go with NAN was about to hit “purchase” when I saw they had merged with Rose Mountain. When I started to look in to Rose I didn’t like what I was reading.
Are you concerned at all that they have merged? What oil will I be getting NAN or Rose Mountain? Also have you used any of the diffusers from NAN?
They merged somewhat w Rocky Mountain – not Rose Mountain. The oils are the same and my understanding is that the sourcing is done by NAN. I don’t have any concerns – what did you read that you are concerned about?
I am about to get the NAN diffusers this coming week- I would be happy to tell you more about them. Thanks and let me know your thoughts.
Oh my gosh, see this is how much my head is spinning. I thought they merged with Mountain Rose! I read that Mountain Rose’s quality and customer service has gone down. Once again thank you for clearing this up for me. I am considering ordering the aromacloud spa. I borrowed a YL diffuser from my neighbor this weekend, I am not too impressed as it does not seem to disperse the oils very far. The market is flooded with diffusers from ebay to amazon all with a wide range of prices again, confused.
Hi again. No, they did not. I have talked w/ Mountain Rose and can’t figure their sourcing out yet. I think you would like the diffuser. That’s one of the ones I am getting. The breeze is a bit more therapeutic but it kicks out a bunch of oil so it might be too strong for your usage. It’s more a matter of taste and the motor is farther from the oil so you have less interference of the electricity, but that’s not a concern for many.
My other question is I can find these diffusers that “look” exactly like the ones various EO companies sell but for 1/2 the price, are they the same or cheap knock offs? Obviously if you are investing in high quality oils you want to make sure you are using a high quality diffuser.
I am thinking the nebulizer is probably too strong for me since I am just starting out, also I read you go through oil really fast.
I don’t know but I have seen many companies get things and put their name on it and sell it for more money. I am happy to help w/ question about the diffusers but I will be offline for awhile now – back later today. They do go through oil fast.
Your so helpful. I have emailed NAN with a couple questions about diffusers hopefully I can hear back quick so I can place my order.
Happy to help if you don’t hear back. Thanks!
My head is spinning, I have spent hours looking at various diffusers. When I read reviews they are so mixed. I am looking for a diffuser for my main living room and then one for my bedroom. I do not care about the light feature but do want options for time settings and automatic shut off. I don’t want to price gauged but I also don’t want to buy cheap junk. There are a few I was looking at on Amazon but didn’t know if I could link up.
What are your criteria for a diffuser?
Hi there. I know. I am getting the diffusers from Native American / Rocky Mountain this week. They have a 1 year warranty on them. I asked one of the employees there about diffusers and he said they bought most of the ones on Amazon and they broke w/in a few months and that that is a common problem w/ diffusers. They manufacture the Aroma Cloud themselves.
The light feature is optional and they are almost 100% silent. The Breeze and air diffusers tend to make more noise b/c they use an air pump. They are working on a quieter air pump but it isn’t finished yet.
The employee that I talked to recommended the AromaCloud Spa for the main living room since it can cover a very large area. The breeze, or any air pump style, will have a hard time covering a huge area like that. For the bathroom or bedroom, a breeze diffuser will make more sense, but you don’t want to leave the breeze diffuser on when going to sleep, because it will not turn off, and when you wake up the next morning you will have used a whole bottle of oil. Also, the breeze pump will make enough noise to prevent some people from.
For the bathroom, he said that you might wish to use either the AromaCloud Home or the Breeze. He uses the AromaCloud Home in the bathroom in his home, and also in the bathrooms in their office. He said that it is nice, and just sits on the counter. A bottle of their purify oil sits next to it and if someone feels that the bathroom needs to smell nicer, then they add a few drops of oil and add some water, and then let it run for an hour or so. The reason they like the aromacloud is because you can set it and forget about it. The breeze or other air-style diffuser would also work very well in the bathroom, since it is very concentrated. It would clean up the bathroom really fast, but you need to remember to go turn it off.
One thing about the breeze that he did mention is that it works better for sanitizing surfaces. If you add a Blend like Purify into it, the molecules will go into the air, and then settle down onto the surfaces of the room around you, sanitizing the surfaces. Like a natural disinfectant. The water based diffusers do this as well, but the breeze is better at it, because it is more concentrated.
I hope that doesn’t make this more confusing. He said that he has 4 different diffusers in his home for different purposes. For example, he said that he pulls out the breeze diffuser when he wants someone to get better, maybe puts the Immune Strength into a bedroom, really concentrated, and the breeze is great for that. The breeze is also good for emergency deodorizing in the kitchen since it works fast. But other than that, he uses an AromaCloud Spa in the large great room, with the living room/dining room/kitchen large area, and he uses an AromaCloud home in his bathroom and another one in his bedroom. Then he has a small USB powered one in his office (they don’t carry those anymore) and he has two other diffusers I bought from Amazon, but he doesn’t use them anymore. One made the water too hot, and the other one shocked people that touched it (like electrical shocked, not static shock, it is dangerous).
As far as the pricing, he said that you get what you pay for – Rocky Mountain used to not sell any diffusers and he was buying numerous differs each year so he said that while the AromaClouds are a little more money you will get a good warranty. He did say that the Young Living one that is air powered is good but it’s $300.
I hope that helps!
and I thought you might want to see this new report on essential oils that I just came out with: https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
Hope that helps!!
Wow, Thanks, You received a way better and more confident response then I did. The response I got was ” I am not sure if they are the same diffusers or not, anyone can buy and sell our products. So I am unsure if they would be the same. ” I also asked about the warranty and if they stood by their diffusers, that question was not addressed. It is hard since there are so many diffuser brands.
I wish they had “prettier’ diffusers for large rooms. I do have one other question, if I use this in a room that has an air purifier in it will the oils still be effective?
Thank you again for all your help.
Sorry you didn’t get the answer you wanted. I have forwarded your concerns to their cust svc dept. Here are some thoughts on the purifier: Hope this helps!
If it is an ionizing purifier then yes, it would most likely remove the effect of the oil because it would de-energize it. For physical air purifiers then it would depend. If it is a cheaper air purifier (sub $150) then it is most likely just catching dust, meaning the physical filter is big enough to not catch the essential oil. A more expensive, medical grade air purifier will have a filter that catches much smaller particles, these would most likely catch the oil.
The filter that is in the furnace installed in everyone’s home will not effect the oil. Those filters are far too large to effect it.
However, I would consider WHY you need the air purifier. Its possible the diffuser will offset any need to have the purifier. Air purifiers take nasty stuff out of the air. But diffusers put good things into the air. The good things can kill the bad things, plus benefit you through inhalation of them.
It wouldn’t let me reply to your other message. I suppose I reached my quota for questions. The air purifiers are expensive, they have cut down on my son’s sinus infections. It runs on a sensor mode turns off and on depending what is in the air. I could just run it during the day and then at night just run the diffuser. Here is the description of what it removes:
“Patented HEPASilentTM filter technology removes 99.97% of all airborne contaminants, such as smoke, dust, pollen and volatile organic compounds, that are 0.1 micron in size.”
I ordered my first batch of oils last night using your link, thank you again for all the information
That might be – there is a limit to how long a thread can go – I will see if I can adjust that. I guess I would ask the purifier company about removing EOs. Thanks!
Thank you for a personal email reply regarding my technical difficulties. Look! I can get to this page now! This is the best work I’ve seen done on finding a reputable EO company. There is an acupuncturist/massage therapist that I take CE classes from and he highly recommends Rocky Mountain Oils. I really wanted the two opinions that I respected the most to agree on an oil company and it turns out they do! If it works out correctly I will be purchasing oils under your affiliate as a token to all the hard work and research you put into this. Thank you for your help. I’m a lazy researcher. Thank you for doing all the work for us.
Thank you so much and I think you will be really happy. Here is my affiliate link to Rocky Mountain as I figure that might be of help – thanks! https://wholenewmom.com/RockyMountainOils
I first of all want to thank you for all of your time and effort to do all this research and then to shar it with us. I went to a Young Living show and have heard of Doterra. I am very new to the essential oils. This was very helpful. With the little research that I did, you just confirmed it to me. I too was already voting for Native American and have ordered just a few oils to get started. Thank you again! Monica
You are so welcome – I hope you enjoy them!
hey, I just got YL oils and I’m loving them!
But this health store in my town sells Now Foods EO and they’re way cheaper so I set out to find out which EO are best for cheap. Seems you’ve done all the work for me 😉
Thanks so much for posting all your findings, I’m gonna order some Native American Nutionals and compare them. I also didn’t like the YL shipping price…seems way steap and also seemed to take forever to deliver or maybe I’m just spoiled with Amazon’s 2 day shipping 😛
any ways. thanks so much greatly appreciate it 🙂
Hi there. I hope you like the Native American oils – more to come on oils soon – did you see the small guide I just came out with: https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
Interesting exploration into oils. I did look up Frankecense on the the Native American products… Much less expensive. Are DT and YL just so overpriced here and is the quality equal? Sharon
Hi Sharon . The quality should be identical or possibly superior. Here is some information on Native American’s Frankincense that I got from the owner of the company. I hope this helps! I personally use it and love it!
Wow! Some great information and a lot to digest and look into. I’ll be checking them out.
Thanks – I hope you like what you find.
So, today I place a pretty big order with Native American and wished I had searched the web a little more. I just found your blog and if I had seen this before my order, I would have ordered through here so you could have received a commission. I do believe in helping eachother out. If you can still get credit for my purchase, please do. Michelle Chick, Vilas, Colorado
Hi Michelle. You are so sweet! I can reach out to them. They are typically very helpful with things like that. Thanks and welcome!!!!
Did you see my new guide on oils?
https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/