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.

Where to Buy Essential Oils you can trust
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Previous Posts In the Series:

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.

Confused about essential oils? What this blogger found out will surprise you. She tried to find out which essential oils company is best and found out some VERY interesting things about oils and the companies that sell them, including Young Living and doTERRA.

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 the “Big Guys” on the block.  So I started contacting a bunch of companies and interviewing them about their oils.

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 the owner for a few hours (at first….that turned into many hours in the upcoming month) and found that he really “knew his stuff.”

I also found out that there were a lot of differences between his company and many others in the industry. I asked him tons of questions during our first conversation, and then more and more over the course of the next 10 months, while I investigated other companies as well.  (Wow–it’s been that long since I started writing this series…..)

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, during which 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 (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.)

Where to Buy Essential Oils You Can Trust–
Rocky Mountain Oils Review

Please note – since this series was written, Rocky Mountain Oils has purchased Native American Nutritionals. Native American Nutritionals was the original company, but the two companies had a partnership. Then Rocky Mountain Oils (RMO) purchased NAN and now RMO is a new company.  I am even more confident in the quality of oils now that this all has taken place.

Before we get on with the details about the company, you can Rocky Mountain Oils and see all that they have to offer.

1.  Experience

The owner of Native American Nutritionals (which later merged with Rocky Mountain Oils), 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 Oilsall 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 has put a high 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

I found the shipping costs with YL and doTERRA to be a little on the steep side.  I was told several times by customer service reps of one of the companies that it was due to businesses being charged more than residential customers.

That didn’t make sense to me – business rates being more expensive than residential when they have that kind of bulk shipping going on? So I called UPS and FedEx and was assured that this is not the case.  So I don’t know why their shipping is so high.  Maybe they are pocketing the extra?  

Rocky Mountain Oils offers Free Shipping domestically in the U.S. and reasonable shipping internationally, with free shipping over $199.

10.  Common Sense Approach

The companies recommend using caution with the oils — but also make practical recommendations so that you can confidently use the oils in your every day life.

11.  No Adulterating

Oils are not heated, mixed with anything else, or adulterated in any way.

Unless declared on the label, the oils are pure.

No Minimum Purchase

One other reason that I don’t want to buy from an MLM essential oils company is that when you do, you often end up buying way more than you need to.

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 way too many oils).

A lot of multi-level marketing oils reps end up ordering other things from the company like personal care products in order to get to that “minimum.”  And I am not thrilled with the ingredients in many of the other products offered.

Undesirable Ingredients in Other Products from Essential Oils Companies

When I was trying to decide where to buy essential oils, I looked at other things besides just oils.

With doTERRA and Young Living, for example:

– DoTERRA’s On Guard toothpaste contains titanium dioxide, a metal that I initially thought that I should avoid due to the possibility of heavy metal toxicity. Now I’m not worried about it for that reason, but it simply because it isn’t necessary.  It’s there just for color.  Overall it is supposed to be pretty benign, but why introduce it to your body unless needed?

The company also has carrageenan (which, depending on the form, is known to cause inflammation) in their capsules and PEG 100 in their Deep Blue Cream.

{Update 2018 – I have been doing some additional research into carrageenan and am not sure where to come down on this. There are two types and it’s possible that the negative effects being discussed are not of concern. I hope to have an update to this in the near future.}

Both companies’ skin care products had ingredients rated 3 and above on EWG’s Skin Deep rating system. I prefer to stick with ingredients rated 2, at the highest. Depending on what you are looking for, that may or may not be acceptable to you. Of course, it depends on their performance too. I don’t think all of EWG’s ratings are flawless, but I do pay attention when I see higher ratings there.

There was, in fact, one essential oils company whose oils I thought looked to be very high quality, but their personal care items were loaded with lots of toxic chemicals.

Also note, if you are used to Young Living or doTERRA oils, Rocky Mountain Oils carries oil blends that are comparable to Young Living and doTERRA blends.

There are other good companies out there.  However, I think that there are fewer “excellent” companies than I originally thought when I started all of this evaluation.

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 purity. And more.

This post on Pure Essential Oil Testing should be of help too for evaluating any company that you wish to consider.

Free Essential Oils Report

Also, if you go and grab my Free Report on 10 Things to Know About Essential Oils Before You Buy, you will not only get more myth-busting essential oils information, but you’ll get access to my VIP newsletter as well–complete with updates, great healthy living offers, of course new posts on essential oils, and more.

10 things you need to know about essential oils report in ipad

What are your thoughts?
Please let me know in the comments.

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6,975 Comments

    1. Hi there. As with any Amazon products, if they aren’t coming from the manufacturer, you don’t know the quality. Typically the pricing will be more on Amazon and I have a special offer for my readers on this page of Healthy Living Deals that isn’t available on Amazon….so you can get a free bottle of oil when shopping through my link and with the free code.

  1. I have been using Native American Nutritionals/Rocky Mountain Oils since they were recommended to me by my massage instructor over 15 years ago (as a great company selling quality oils). I am a nurse who believes in combining holistic and complimentary medicine into my healthcare routine. I have had only incredible experiences with this company’s customer service and the quality of their products. I’m glad you had the same experience with the owner that I had many years ago. His knowledge of oils and quality of product have kept me a loyal customer. Helichrysm oil is one of my favorites and WELL WORTH the money.

  2. Thank you for you website and diligent research into all things essential oils!
    I’m looking for a high quality frankincense oil. Is the one sold by NYR good? The price seems too good to be true, especially when compared to Rocky Mountain. I will be usually it topically for skin care.

    1. You are so welcome and thanks for reading. Yes, NYR has great oils. I believe that they buy so much of it that their pricing is lower. Plus their bottles are 10 ml instead of the typical 15 ml. I believe RMO told me that their last batch was a smaller one and that that is part of why it was more pricey. You will notice that NYR has a whole Frankincense Skincare line that is great. Really lovely – so they use it in there, in some body care, and they have a perfume that is my favorite – I haven’t worn perfume in years b/c of the artificial scents. This one is dreamy. Hope that helps!

  3. Hi. Have you ever done any digging with Lemongrass Spa’s Essential Oil line? I would love to hear your thoughts on them. They fit the bill with your RM Oils but are DS. The companies monthly quota is $25 but their products are in fact all natural, gluten free, vegan and cruelty free. I truly would love to hear your thoughts.

  4. Hi, Thanks for all of this! It’s a great read. I only just started using essential oils in November, and probably sourced 95% of them through YL. I don’t have a lot of bad things to say about YL. Even if they are expensive, I figured it would be the same with most other “quality” essential oils companies. So that was November 2016, I came across your blog a couple of weeks ago, around March 2017. Today is April 5 and already made my first purchase on RMO. Happy with it, can’t wait to get the package. Curious though, but i sort of came across a comment which says RMO oils are diluted with FCO, which is why they’re less expensive? Did I get that right?

    1. Hi there. Thanks for reading!

      Some of their blends are diluted. Apparently that was something that customers wanted to make it more convenient to use and less pricey when buying more expensive blends. I haven’t talked w/ them about it in awhile. It is clearly disclosed. Young Living dilutes some of its products as well. Thanks again and hope that helps!

      1. Most of the oils on the Rocky Mountain Oils link above are more expensive than Young Living Oils. Young Living also has farms around the world where they grow their own plants to ensure they are pure. If you are a distributor for Young Living you can tour any of the farms and distilleries any time without notice. Many people I know have been and I hope to go some day. It is very reassuring that their members are welcome to the ground soil/floor where the plants are harvested. You can literally see the whole process from “seed to seal.” Pretty amazing.

        1. Hi there. Can you tell me what oils you are seeing that are more expensive? I just checked 4 oils the other day and the price of YL was more. Thanks much.

  5. Thank you so much for your information. I am a RMO frequest customer since the day I read your blog on which company to go with and I am a big skeptic like yourself.

  6. Wonderful information! Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into doing this! I myself have been comparing YL, Doterra, RMO, and Plant Therapy. My conclusions so far are that RMO and PT are overall better for your value. Do you have any information on Plant Therapy? I would love to know your conclusions on how they compare to RMO.

  7. Hi Adrienne, You are amazing. Your clarity, peace and presence in the face of internet bullying is inspirational. I also admire the depth of your research and your dedication to giving as balanced a perspective as possible. This is rare in these times when it is so common to use personal attack to vilify those who disagree.
    I have been using Young Living Oils for 25 years. They have saved my life several times. Over the years I have encountered some of what you are describing. I sometimes buy from Flower Essence Service FES in Nevada City California, because they are local and their reputation is stellar. I was surprised to see that the prices at this small, high quality company were similar to what i was paying as a YL distributor. I tried DoTerra and like you found their prices and quality to be similar. I also encountered some derogatory information about YL from DoTerra while never hearing anything like that about DoTerra. At one point when I did my version of you looking for answers to some of these questions, I also discovered that the “unbiased expert on oils” worked for DoTerra. So I stick primarily with YL because of ease, quality and variety.
    I appreciated all the time you took and the effort to offer me so much information in one small place. And I especially appreciate the way you handled the dissent. For me the good news about the product is a great sales tool and the negative talk about another company will send me right out the door.
    You have helped many people get more clarity about oils (which are my primary medicine) At 74, I am a traveling healer and feel that my good health is directly related to choosing alternatives when possible and appreciating western medicine for the gift that it is. Thank you so much. I look forward to reading more of what you have to offer.

  8. Hi Adrienne,
    “Haters gonna Hate”. It’s encouraging to see how you’ve managed to press on and deliver unbiased, tested and researched information in spite of the bullies out there who’d like to derail you from this insightful journey. Well done, keep pressing on and I pray you will be shielded from the negativity out there, confident that you are going forward with integrity. All the best,

  9. Wow! I’m so glad I came across your page. You sound like me…lol. except I spent one whole day doing researched on my seems too slow computer and my brain fried, so I stopped. 10 months! thanks for the work you have done and the info you have provided. I started using oils when my son was wrongfully diagnosed with asthma and put on inhalers. I told the doctor I didn’t feel he needed it and asked if she was sure it wasn’t anything else? they made me feels like a horrible parent. A friend of mine sent me samples (and a bunch of info) of DoTerra…..and so began my obsession with EO. As much as I liked them, I just couldn’t afford them. I then found AuraCacia at a local health food store. they seemed to work the same. still a bit pricey, but doable. One day, at the same store, they didn’t have one in that brand and the lady working there said, “try the other brand, its the same thing… cost less.” So I picked up a bottle of the NOW brand. More for less sounded great to my pocket. At the time I was full time volunteering and running PTO at my son’s school, so only one income was taking care of things. I have been using NOW for 3 years. We love it. I use a lot, so the price is good for us. They have some in organic now, but are $10 more than the non organic. We have been switching to organic wherever possible, and I know certified organic seal means it has to be truly organic, no chemical or bad stuff standards… but the skeptic in me wonders if they are just slapping a label on the same thing and making a killing off of it. I’m always on the lookout for other oils, trying to compare. There are sooooooooooo many, I always end up with eyeball pain. (I’m sure there’s an oil for that) lol! We homeschool now and my computer is still slow, so I’m grateful for all your research. I don’t have a bunch of time to look things up, but I’ve seen an organic company call Bulk Apothecary and one called Plant Therapy. There was another one that claimed he would go to all these countries to find the best sources, but for the life of me I just can’t remember.
    I’m wondering if you have looked into these? Also, when you were doing your research, did you use Now oils at all? I’ll definitely check out Neal’s and RMO.
    Sorry this was so long.

    1. Hi and thanks for reading. Just so you know, organic doesn’t necessarily mean pure. I have a post in the works about that. A company that sells organic oils sent me an email telling me that they had their oils tested and some of the Organic ones came back adulterated. Go figure. It shouldn’t be that way.

      I did look at those companies. I think that this information would be helpful for you and I will be sharing more hopefully even this week on oils. Take care and no worries on the length of course. It’s nice to have thoughtful comments :).

      https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/

      https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/

      https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/essential-oil-purity-myths/

      GC/MS batch testing is a must and every test should have a chemist’s signature on it as well.

  10. Good morning. After reading your insights, I clicked through to RMO. It seemed (I could be mistaken and just didn’t spend enough time) that most of the RMO products are as expensive as the Young Living. So, I checked out Neil’s Yard Remedies which seemed much less expensive. How do you feel about Neil’s in comparison to RMO and YL? Do you get what you pay for, or will Neil’s work as or almost as effectively? Thanks so much!

    1. Hi there. I am wondering what oils you are looking at. I just checked 3. Lavender, peppermint and Frankincense (Sacred). For each of them, my choice was lower and you don’t have to pay a membership fee.

      As for NYR, I trust them and love their oils. They are going to be expanding their line. Yes, you do get what you pay for but there are reasonably priced solid companies. I have more posts coming soon but this one might be of interest: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/essential-oil-purity-myths/

  11. Thank you so much for all the work you’ve gone through with this! I am a little confused about Neal’s Yard Remedies. Do you prefer that company, or is your preference still Rocky Mountain Oils? Perhaps you were recommending Neal’s for those who want a certified organic company? Thanks again 🙂

    1. You are so welcome. I am confident in the purity of both companies. However if you are looking for certified organic oils and a real focus on sustainability then I think that is another great choice.

  12. Thanks for your investigation. I was trying to figure out which company to go with. This topic is so confusing and difficult to really determine which oils have’undesirable ‘ thing’s in them. I appreciate your time and willingness to help us.

  13. I am checking out their site and non of their oils are certified organic. That is very important to me. You say that all of their oils are organic or wildcrafted, so why not get them certified? It requires a lot of faith. What convinced you that what they say is true?

    1. Hi there. I wrote more about the current statement from the company in that section that should explain their focus and buying practice now. I will be writing more about organic essential oils in the future.

  14. Hello and great articles. I have tried Neil’s backyard about 20 years ago, forgot about them, had some illnesses transpire and someone mentioned certain e oils. I went and looked in my cabinet and I had them, they smelled fresh so I used them with great benefits.
    I am now in search of purchasing more and saw this article. My question is: Are Neil’s Backyard and Rocky Mountain oils comparable in quality?

    Thanks so much and looking forward to you distillation series!

  15. I’m sorry , with all due respect , do you know where there oils come from? Can you ingest them? Do they have a seed to seal promise? Can you go to there farms anytime? When you pay cheaply for oilsyou get what you pay for:( how long have they been in business?Yl has been in business over 25 yrs and That speaks volume!! So he must be doing something right!He has farms All over the world

    1. Hi there. The country of origin is on the site or on the bottle.

      As for your other questions, are you saying that having a seed to seal promise is the only way to ensure pure quality oils? Same as for visiting a farm? Some have said that if a farm has too many visitors then there would be more toxins on the farm from pollution.

      I agree with you on cheap oils possibly not being pure but there are other concerns as well.

      As for years in business, this company has been in business for 35+ years. And they will be expanding their oils line shortly. https://wholenewmom.com/neals-yard-remedies-nyr-organic/

  16. I really appreciate all the research that went into this post, but there is one thing I would point out. Young Living isn’t a US only, they have farms around the globe. Also, the seed to seal exceeds USDA organic standards. I’m not a spokesperson or representative, just a woman who lives oils. I also enjoy E.G. oils but I have to say, young living truly delivers.

  17. I was so excited to read your post, and so ready to order from a “non MLM” affiliated company (of which I m a member, no less) , so I immediately hustled over to RMO to place an order. ALAS…the shipping is RIDICULOUS! 15+ dollars for 5 bottles of oils? I guess I’ll keep looking. Dang it!