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.
hello Adrienne, i recently started using essential oils but I’ve been wanting to get into them for a long time just thought it was too expensive. i signed on with doterra but then i started hearing things about them that they stole from young living ect. so i thought id do a little research. which led me to your blog which i could not put down. you were looking for exactly what i wanted good quality that wasn’t too expensive though i understand that it is within reason and id rather pay a little more for quality than quantity. I was horrified to see what Pappas said about you when you were so up front and just trying to find out what is best. Also, the way you responded graciously but still defended yourself only made him look even worse in my eyes which also lowered my opinion of doterra. I’m sorry that you had to put up with that kind of negativity. Anyways through your blog I’m looking into NAN and so far i am really liking what i am seeing. the only thing is that i have a 2 year old son and another one about to be born any day and i feel better when i know they get all their vitamins. right now i am using doterra’s vitamin supplements for kids and i really like them but i was wondering if NAN had anything like that? or things such as toothpaste? because i want good quality organic product that doesn’t have a lot of toxins in it? or if NAN doesn’t have it which i couldn’t find on their website, is there a company that you know of that does? also i was planning on buying doterra’s diffusser but i read in a post that you didn’t like it and were switching? i was just wondering why? and what you didn’t like about it? Anyway thanks for all your research into essential oils.
Thank you so much! NAN doesn’t have a multi but they did have a toothpaste. Not now. I will ask as I heard they were going to get it back in stock. I am using Miessence’s right now which is quite reasonable if you have a lifestyle membership or you are a rep. You get 20% off as a lifestyle member. This is my favorite flavor: https://www.amazon.com/OraWellness-Remineralizing-Natural-Whitening-Polisher/dp/B078YFQZK7?crid=1GYH176VWLS2B&keywords=orawellness%2Btooth%2Bpowder&qid=1642522585&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A1248873011&rnid=1248871011&rps=1&s=beauty&sprefix=orawellness%2Btooth%2Bpo%2Caps%2C597&sr=1-5&th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=whnemo-20&linkId=aa5d30290b2d3f7e8023a0c7ee9b1bd7&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
I do not like doTERRA’s diffuser. I am trying out NAN’s right now and I love them. I am trying the cloud and the spa. Next I will be trying the breeze. MUCH nicer than doterras. You could buy mine from me though if you like :).
It doesn’t stay on long enough plus I personally don’t care for the design. It shuts off after 1 hour. Not long enough for me plus you have to have the light on all the time and I don’t like that at nighttime. Hope that helps!!
Hi Adrienne,
I am interested in more Info… I was wondering if you had a chart for all of the different companies you compared that includes all of the listed criteria that you mentioned for determining that NAN was your favorite? I liked the Info you gave for NAN but wished your blog entry would have included a chart comparing all the info you gathered from all the companies…. While I trust your research because it has been very helpful, I still found myself wanting more info (mainly regarding young living & d?Terra that wasn’t covered in your separate blog entry & how NAN compares to them… Also just curious if NAN does have any memberships that allow for commission or rewards/gifts? And if you had to choose between YL $ DT which would you prefer (ignoring the horrible communications youve had with a likely DT employee)? Thanks so much for your time & advice!
I know – I wish it had been more clean like that and I guess I could try, but really I need to be careful what negative things I say about other companies. I could get sued and everything would be over then. I wish it weren’t like that but such is the environment that I write in. So I just can’t write everything that I would like to.
NAN doesn’t have a membership but they do have sales now and then.
As for NAN vs YL, I can’t say. I don’t know exactly what the companies are doing now but I was not happy with the answers I got or didn’t get from both companies. I couldn’t represent them and feel like I was being transparent w/ my readers so I walked away. I hope that helps. I personally chose 3 other direct marketing companies to go with instead. Lilla Rose, Miessence, and Thrive. I like all of them a great deal and so far so good as far as getting good answers ;).
I just wrote to you but switched tabs and your site lost everything I wrote! 🙁
I studied chemistry from ages 8 – 24, got 800 on the chemistry achievement test, and did doctoral research in neurochemistry, and then went on to become a psychic, astrologer, and therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As such, I agree that the Mass Spec and Gas Chromatograph are crude measures, and that the best tool is ones own nose. Especially if, as is true in my family, the sense of smell is very well developed.
As one of my favorite aromatherapy authors — Kurt Schnaubelt — points out, plants alter their oil composition throughout the year, at different elevations, and under varying environmental conditions, so no “standardization” is really possible. Plants are intelligent beings who use oils to communicate with each other and their environment, including other organisms.
I deeply respect aromatherapy and my favorite source, Ananda Apothecary, has oils of exceptional purity at wholesale prices. I recently visited Scarlet Sage in San Francisco, a store that carried 7 different brands of essential oils, and didn’t find any good enough to purchase!
So I agree that they vary greatly in quality, and look forward to further explorations!
Thank you for your excellent service.
p.s. You don’t really need to concern yourself with Titanium Dioxide. It is quite inert taken orally (just don’t breath the dry dust for months!). Titanium is at the top of the periodic table, and is not a heavy metal like lead, thallium, or cadmium.
Yes, that “standardization” is very right. Thank for pointing that out again.
I did see that TD is regarded as a potential cancer cause by the ACS. What do you think about that? I don’t think it’s in my house now, but I still would like to know :).
Hey Adrienne, Your series was very interesting. I have not “gotten into” oils, really, thought I’ve bought 1 or 2 things from a doTerra rep who is a friend. Anyway, this is slightly off topic – please don’t take what EWG says as gospel. You are much more researched in this area than I, but I am like you and have the “investigative reporter” mindset.
Full Disclosure: I am a rep for Arbonne, and the reason I know what I am about to tell you is because I have done in-depth research based on issues my company has had with skin-deep/EWG.
Basically, what EWG does is take a chemical, find out the worst things it can about it, and then post it on its website. They DO NOT have a lab, they DO NOT do their own testing, they just read ingredient labels and assign value to them.
Here’s the problem with that: chemicals and compounds work differently depending on how whole or pure they are, or how much of them there is in the product, and depending on what other ingredients are used or not used in conjunction with them.
For example:
~There are a lot of chemicals rated very negatively on EWG’s site that are on there because of worry about contamination and degrading that leads irritants and/or poison. Basically, most of the time it isn’t pure enough to be safe. BUT, if it is pure, and used in the correct quantities and/or with the correct mix of other ingredients, it is perfectly safe.
~There are other chemicals that rate negatively (like vitamin A????) because in a certain chemical state in this one test and HUGE levels it was shown to increase toxicity. Well, just because it happened THAT WAY doesn’t mean every time it shows up in a product it’s going to increase the toxicity of your body. It’s not that simple or black and white.
~The final reason some chemicals get a bad rating is because sometimes, some people show irritation and react negatively. That doesn’t mean everyone (or even most people) will. Usually with those, unless you have a specific allergy, the levels have to be higher than is normally used in a product for it to irritate you.
The point is, chemical reactions are super complicated, and you can’t go in with a chart and just check things off as “bad” or “sorta bad” and give the whole thing a rating because EWG never talks about the science behind each chemical or how much of it is in the product (and that’s really important for a lot of them), or how chemicals act in completely different ways depending on what they react with/bind with/etc… It’s not a “one-size-fits-all” analysis, but that’s how they do it.
Basically, YL and DT might have excellent skincare. I have no idea, I haven’t looked into it, and I don’t plan to. My company has excellent skincare that has blown other companies out of the water in independent studies, and I trust my company after lots of thorough research (like you have done here). My goal is just to say – hey, don’t blindly trust EWG. They say they know what they are talking about, but they aren’t backed by science. They made a HUGE fuss about certain ingredients in sunscreen back in…. 2010 or 2011, which was pretty much completely unfounded. You should check out the Cosmetic Review Board (which is independent, not for profit, etc…) and also look in the European Union guidelines for chemicals in personal care products.
Well, you don’t NEED to. If you WANT to.
Hi there and thx for commenting. I hadn’t looked into all of the workings of EWG but I did have a few concerns about them. I do think, however, that the “how much of it is in the product” claim might not be that accurate since of course, the testing doesn’t take into concern other products that you might be using that have it in it, etc.
I was familiar w/ the vitamin A issue already but thanks for bringing that up.
I would think that the “some people might react negatively” issue would not be the cause of that high of a rating – am I correct?
I am curious about your saying that they aren’t backed by science, but it looks like they have quite a bit of scientific information on their site – could you explain that further please?
And as for the CRB, isn’t EWG non profit as well? I am not saying that just b/c you are a non profit that you are doing good things (that is for sure NOT the case), but just wanted to point that out.
I am not at all trying to be contentious – just asking for more information. I would love to learn more about this. That being said, I am swamped :).
I’ve just signed up with Young Living and wished I had read your blog beforehand. My question is about ingesting the oils. I’ve been using the lemon oil in water for a few days now. Is this ok to do, should I stop taking them internally? Also, if I start buying from Native American how would I know if they were ok to take internally? I feel confused by something I thought was healthy!!!!! Thanks in advance for any information!
The owner of Native American says it is OK to ingest internally within reason. He thinks the antibacterial oils kill some good bacteria. I think it makes sense but I have read different things on that. Maybe it disturbs the gut microbiome? There are a few oils that shouldn’t be taken internally ever. I think those are noted on the NAN website. Hope that helps! Did you see my new report on oils? https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
Do you know anything about Be Young Essential Oils?
Hi there. I did not choose to go with them. I can’t really comment about other oils companies but you can read this post to see how they measure up and you might be interested in my new report:
1. post https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
2. report: https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
Hope that helps!
Hi, I am a little behind but I do really appreciate you investigating on oils because with scares on medications people are looking for “natural way” to heal or help them out. This is a booming business along with gulten free foods. People that are sick or want not to get sick and want to live heathy grab on way to easily to things on the internet or tv advertisement that this will cure you. Life is diffult as is so if people would invest first before spending so much money on cures life would be more calmer. Again thanks for investigating so “I ” can decide whether I choose to buy oils or other “natural way ” to become more aware of what is out there.
Thanks so much!!
I love your blog! It is one of the most informative, pros vs cons, and no stone left unturned on the subject matter. And wow! The amount of “active” research of actually speaking to people and not just library type book referencing!
I just discovered YL 2 weeks ago. I don’t question that the Native oils is better overall. However, the ningxia red is the 1 item from YL that is exclusive. I have lyme and have been taking 1 oz of ningxia red in the AM and 1 oz in the late afternoon and within 5 days finally feel dead when I get home from work. I have read thousands of testimonials on ningxia red and wolfberries. I searched your site and didn’t find anything from your side. That really surprised me.
Do you have anything positive or negative about ningxia red or ningxia nitro?
I have a handful of oils given to me by a YL rep. I was already cringing at the price of buying YL and prefer the price of your Native ones. Ill be looking there when I decide on which ones to buy :).
Just wondering about ningxia red info before I tell my friends and family…
Thank you
Hi there and thanks! I had some Ningxia Red for awhile but used almost none of it b/c of the relatively high sugar content. I was actually looking at another similar product that didn’t have the high sugar content and was made from extracts, not the juice, so I thought it would clearly be superior. Are you saying that the Ningxia has helped you? That wasn’t clear from your comment. Thanks!
I am looking for true organic companies that sell skin care products and makeup. Can you give me names please?
There are a few you could consider for starters.
NYR Organic and Miessence.
Hope that helps :).
I am so confused. I’m wanting to get started with using essential oils, but I wanted to first do some research about which company is the best. The more research I do, the more confused I become. Every person’s article or blog about this subject provides excellent and extensive information, research, and proof to back up whatever their particular choice of company is. Literally… every one seems to be completely accurate and informative and honest… but, that can’t be the case because each one “reveals” bad info about one of the other “good” ones that I’ve found. Oh, so confusing!
My question to you is this… I know you were on the up-and-up by telling us about your current affiliation with Native American Nutritionals (and thank you for that), but I wanted to know if you did all of this research and wrote this series of articles about which is the best company before you became affiliated with NAN. Please understand that I am not suggesting or insinuating or accusing anything untoward. Truly, I’m not. I am simply a consumer who doesn’t know who to trust or where to land with this decision about what EO company to use, and I am truly just curious which came first regarding your affiliation with NAN. Did you become a customer BECAUSE of the research you did, finding that they were your choice?… or were you already a customer and then did the articles?
Thanks, in advance, for your time and for your answer!
Hi there. I appreciate your confusion. I will say that for sure I was NOT affiliated with Native American when I started this series. I was a consultant w/ Young Living and then started w/ doTERRA. I was told by the lady whom I signed up under w/ doTERRA that I could make about $8000 per month with doTERRA b/c of my reach and that was really enticing (of course). However, the more questions I asked, the more it wasn’t sitting well with me. Young Living cut me off the minute they saw my post – I didn’t realize that I couldn’t be a rep for both of them at the same time – silly me. :).
After I decided (after much agonizing thinking and talking with my husband, etc.) to go w/ Native American, I asked the owner if there was any way that I could set up an arrangement with them for an affiliate program as they didn’t have anything like that and he said he thought so. So I did NOT choose them in order to make money. In fact, there wasn’t a way to when I thought I would go with them. You can tell by the first article that I didn’t think I liked them at first. Then it got interesting and I have so much more to write about them. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/the-great-essential-oils-showdown-in-search-of-the-best-essential-oils/
I wish I could write everything I really think about other companies but the legal situation is getting really dicey and I can’t risk losing my blog or our savings, etc., so I have to leave things as they are.
I would be curious as to the other bloggers whom you think have done extensive research. I bet I can guess which ones you are thinking about. Could it be Plant Therapy, perhaps? I personally am not interested in buying from a company that sells 40/42 lavender. You might be interested in this short guide I just came out with. There will be more info in the hopefully near future. Thanks for asking :). https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/