What Company Has the Best Essential Oils?
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
Are you wanting to start using essential oils, but don’t know where to start? You’re ready to buy, but don’t know what company has the best essential oils?
You’ve come to the right place.
Essential oils are all the rage these days. People say that they can do everything from being a natural ear infection remedy, to helping with weight loss, to healing eczema, and more.
I’ve written various posts on essential oils in which I talked about:
- Are Essential Oils a Scam and
- Using Essential Oils for Tummy Aches, Head Tension and More (with more of my skeptical thoughts)
Hopefully you can tell by those posts that I’m a skeptic at heart and pretty detailed when it comes to sorting through all the information out there to find out what really works. In fact, many of my readers and friends have called me an “investigative reporter” of sorts.
My husband says that I “second guess everything.”
In one sense, second guessing is a good thing. I’ve saved our family a lot of money by avoiding problematic purchases.
But sometimes I can go overboard and spend way too much time analyzing a product or purchase. (Kind of like driving all over town to save a few pennies. Not smart, especially as I saw gas at $4.11/gallon coming home from church last night. Big sigh.)
When trying to sort out this issue about which essential oils company is best, I tried not to be too analytical at first, and simply used what worked. But then, things changed.
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get healthy living updates too.
The Search for the Best Essential Oil
In the Are Essential Oils a Scam? – A Skeptic Looks at Thieves Oil, I shared how I held off trying really any essential oils at all for years before trying Thieves® from Young Living.
Truth be told, I did have a few old bottles of essential oils in my linen closet. One bottle each of orange, eucalyptus, melaleuca (tea tree) oil, and rose oil, which I bought for topical use to brighten up my laundry [ended up never using it] and for my Homemade Chest Rub and Homemade Rose Water Spray.
This time around, before buying the Thieves oil and signing up as a Young Living Distributor, I dug around a little, but not too much.
I asked about all the rumors surrounding Gary Young, the founder of Young Living and I also asked some questions about purity of essential oils.
I got some satisfactory answers and was pretty amazed at how well the Thieves oil had worked. And I was thrilled to have great resources in my natural health care arsenal.
I mean, who wants to put more toxins in your body if you don’t have to, right?
However, after my post on Young Living’s Thieves and the other oils (Wintergreen and Peppermint, etc.), a number of readers started asking me about other oil companies. And so I too started wondering.
At first, I thought, “This stuff works great, and I’m pretty worn out right now, so I am just going to leave this alone and not start digging for more information”
But the “investigative reporter” in me just couldn’t leave. it. alone.
So I started poking around.
Today I’m sharing with you the beginning of my investigation.
Other Essential Oils Companies
There were some essential oils companies that I knew of, and some that a few readers recommended to me.
One of my readers was a doTERRA rep who said I really should check out their company to see how it measured up to Young Living.
Little did I know what lay ahead of me.
I started out with just a small list of companies, but the list quickly grew as the series went on and as more and more readers commented and as I went down more and more rabbit trails.
I think you’ll find the whole thing interesting and I hope you’ll learn a thing or two about essential oils and the companies that sell them.
The Competitors:
(UPDATE: A lot changed after I started this series. Please follow the links at the bottom of this post to see how interesting everything got – you can hop on over to read Part 2 of “The Best Essential Oils” here.
To start off, following are the essential oils companies that were “on my radar” and so I started with these, wondering if I should stick with Young Living or switch to another company to be my family’s “best essential oils company” of choice
- Mountain Rose Herbs
- Aura Cacia
- DoTerra
- Young Living
- Heritage Oils
- Native American Nutritionals (now Rocky Mountain Oils)
- North American Herb and Spice
and more. Truth is, I called a TON of companies and read up on others. These all included: - NOW oils
- Butterfly Express
- Spark Naturals
- Edens Garden
- North American Herb and Spice, and on and on.My head really started to spin with all of the phone calls and notes I was taking, but I started with just those listed above and went from there.
This is not an exhaustive list as there are a TON of essential oils companies out there. After writing this series I felt like I really opened a can of worms, but these are the companies that I started with.
Hang with me – it gets pretty interesting from here on out.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
I’m updating this post years later to add important information. I do not have all of the information in this series on why I didn’t choose certain companies so I would appreciate you not accusing me of coming to silly conclusions. I have gotten threatening emails (some of them were cryptic threats), and have been warned about being sued if I published certain things.
My family is important to me and while I don’t like to succumb to this kind of bullying, I have to weigh the cost of all of this. I am trying to be as upfront as I can about my decisions. Just know that what you are reading here is not the whole story. Not at all.
The Challenge
Following are some of the companies that I looked into.
1. Young Living Oils
I first tried Young Living when I thought that essential oils were a scam. I used them for a while and since I wanted to get as many savings as possible on the oils, I purchased monthly, took advantage of discounts, and stocked up quite a bit.
2. doTERRA Oils
Just before starting this series, several of my readers told me that I should really look into doTERRA as well, before making a hard and fast decision about which company to go with long term. So, I signed up with doTERRA as well. Follow along and you will see what happened next.
3. Mountain Rose Herbs
I like Mountain Rose Herbs’ mission and have a few bottles of their oils. When I contacted them they told me that they did not recommend internal use of their oils as they were not produced in a food-grade facility.
Much later (after this whole series was done) I contacted them again and they said that this was not the case. The company also told me several times at later dates that they didn’t test their oils but trusted their sources.
4. Butterfly Express
This seemed like a good company to check out, but I ran into quite a bit of trouble getting information from them. When I called to ask them a number of questions, I was able to get some information, but then I was told that they didn’t have time to talk with me.
5. Native American Nutritionals (now Rocky Mountain Oils)
When I first contacted this company, I thought that their prices seemed a little high for a company that wasn’t an MLM, but the more I talked to them the more interesting it all got.
You’ll have to read more in the series to see what happened with this company….
THE VERDICT: Probable high quality with no apparent earnings opportunity. Need to check into this company more.
6. North American Herb and Spice
From all I could figure out, this is a great company.
However, all they make is oregano oil.
So if you just want oregano oil, then this is a good place to turn.
THE VERDICT: Oregano is a pretty amazing oil, but I want more than just that in my natural healing arsenal.
7. Aura Cacia
I personally have a number of Aura Cacia oils that I bought prior to really digging into oils. I can’t say anything except for my personal experience which is that they don’t smell as potent as some of the other oils that I have.
I do like the company but for now, I’m not choosing to get my oils from them. That being said, I think that they have a lot of great information about oils and their use.
Well, this is a long enough post already – thanks for sticking with me!
Onto the other competitors in the next post and see what happens!
A Great Essential Oils Book for Your Library
There are so many books out there on essential oils, that it’s hard to know what to buy. I have a bunch, but this one, The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, is a fantastic choice. It’s very highly recommended by many aromatherapists.
Encyclopedia of Essential Oils
This is one of the bestselling essential oils books of all time with information on plant origins, therapeutic uses, folk traditions, and more of 165 oils. Great for everyone from beginners to experienced aromatherapists.
At the bottom of each of my posts in this series are books or other kinds of products that I love that relate to essential oils.
The Essential Oil Company I Prefer
If you’re in a hurry to find out which essential oil company I went with at the end of this search, read the following post:
– Announcing “the Best” Essential Oils Company – Part 7
More Essential Oils Posts
Over the years, I’ve rewritten some of the posts in this series to make them more helpful. Here are some more posts to help you on your essential oils journey.
– Qualities of a Good Oils Company
– Tips to Spot Fake Essential Oils
– Young Living vs. doTERRA
– Are Multi-Level Marketing Oils Worth It?
– Distillation, Bias, Vomit and More Concerns
you can also read this post on Essential Oils Testing which gives you more information on how essential oils are tested for purity.
Free Essential Oils Report and VIP Newsletter Access
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.
What are your thoughts?
Here is the report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXejKRKKplY
A helpful lab report on Frankinsence- I only use YL for purity, history, method of distillation, customer service, customer response, value and results. Have used them for 14 years, tried others and those did not compare- especially Aura which seems to be more a cheap perfume oil than a true EO. You do get what you pay for and drop for drop the more pure an EO the less you need to use for results therefore it ends up being cheaper in the end. With YLEOs I have been able to get off of 95% of medications and prescription for our entire family with better results and no negative side effects. I use them at work now as well (I am a birth assistant) and my clients can tell they work as well 🙂
Thanks, LisaAnn.
I will definitely be following this series on comparing qualities of essential oil companies. One thing I’ve recently noticed, regarding Mountain Rose Herbs essential oils, is that there can be a difference in “potency” of oils between companies. I have a 4 oz. bottle of MRH Sweet Orange Oil and also a 1 oz. bottle of Now Foods orange essential oil. A while ago I made orange lip balm using the Now brand, but recently when I re-made the exact same recipe using MRH sweet orange oil, I ended up needing to use more than twice as much orange oil to get a similar strength of orange scent in the lip balm! I was really surprised, and am wondering what the reason could be. I can’t imagine that MRH would have a less fresh product, but I am wondering now if there are differences in the varieties of oranges used. Now foods simply says “orange oil”. Who knows if maybe it is a mixture of sweet orange oil and other varieties (bitter orange, mandarin, tangerine, etc…)?
I’m learning a lot. There are for sure potency issues as well as which distillation was used. I am going to have to do a lot of work on this but I know it will be worth it. I don’t think freshness is the idea, but from what I recall, citrus oils can lose potency – but I think it was over a number of years. Stay tuned!
I actually just read an article on this. How the oils are distilled and what part of the distillation process the oils are taken from have a lot to do with it.
The woman who wrote the article compared it to coffee: when coffee first starts brewing it’s VERY strong (this is portion of the distillation process you want your oils to be from), but towards the end of the brew time, the grounds have been run through and it’s mostly just water.
She also explained that the scent of an EO does not necessarily refer to the potency. Just like blonde coffee beans, which don’t smell so strong, hold a lot more caffeine than dark roasted beans, because they haven’t been roasted as long.
Hope that helps!
I’ve been using Young Living’s products for about ten years. I’m a massage therapist and have used them as well as others extensively. They are in my opinion very high quality and as you commented have great customer service. However I just wanted to say that this company encourages the copious neat use of oils as well as internal use. This is how I used them for myself for years! After many years of use I got fed up with the cost and need to use more oils because more issues seemed to pop up for me. After I stopped using them internally and started making my own herbal tinctures many of my issues disappeared. It took me some time to figure out how potent essential oils are, almost like phamaceuticals, think how it takes 4000 lbs of rose petals to make a tiny bottle of oil, thats a huge amount of herb!! I realized that for me they were actually wiping out my gut flora and congesting my liver. So please use them with caution and respect for the very powerful medicines they are and realize that there are many gentler local plants that can be used for everyday issues. Gentler for your body and the environment.
Stephanie, it is so interesting that you bring this issue up now. The YL issue isn’t “done” yet….I have more to say in future posts, but I did just learn about the gut flora issue yesterday. In particular, it seems that it is a problem with oregano oil. I don’t know about the other ones, but since it is so potent, one for sure needs to be replenishing flora if using that regularly. I have a few questions:
1. Are you aware of other oils that cause the same problem?
2. How much were you taking internally?
3. I assume you make tinctures from organic plants?
Very interesting. I have also heard about rose oil adversely affecting the thyroid but I need to find out more about that.
Thanks for sharing and I hope to hear more about your experience.
My favorite essential oil company is Butterfly Express. They have a great variety, quality, customer service, fast shipping, and great prices. butterflyexpress.net
Since they are not a MLM company they can charge less with less overhead. They do offer wholesale accounts – not expensive and no continuing amounts that need to be met.
Now is that 3 readers who’ve commented about them :-)? I’ve asked them some questions that I think are important – no answers yet…
This is my first time visiting here, but I’ll be back for the rest of this series – I’m looking into YL myself right now and still have a lot of questions. Thanks again.
Great. I’d hold tight for right now if I were you. I’ve spent the money – but you don’t have to….yet. Well, you never have to but you know what I mean :-).
Adrienne – a helpful and timely post for me, as well. Great info – thanks for your effort.
My two cents – we need to get over our fear of MLM or Network Marketing. It is fast becoming the best way to get a product you can trust because the whole thing is based on relationships. I like you, I trust, you, I believe YOU over a shiny ad on a bill board. Yes, we have to do our homework on a company, but then we need to accept that relationship marketing is a great way to do business.
Thanks, Trina. That means a lot. Really – so much I can’t tell you. But I am not perfect for sure. I spent about 2 hours on the phone again today and I think I am getting somewhere with all of this and I will have to write a bunch more posts and will spend a pretty penny to try some more oils, but I think I should be able to have some really good answers soon. Hang in there and don’t jump to conclusions. I am not finished yet :-).
Adrienne,
You’re my hero right now. I’m swooning over all your research and passion on this topic! But I do gravitate toward methodical.
I can tell you that I have used a ton of oils, and their healing power has proven strong and consistent for our family.
I’ve used 2 of Young Living’s oils (for respiratory health, one was a cinnamon, the other a respiratory blend). They really helped Ethan through some rough nights when he was sick.
My favorite line is Aura Cacia!! I’ve used: eucalyptus, tea tree, chamomile, peppermint, and patchouli!
Anyway, can’t wait for the rest of your post.
And I am sooooo with you on the customer service. This is also very important to me!
Thanks for this great post, Adrienne!
Hugs,
–Amber
Hi Amber! I am very intrigued by all of this…but not sure if I deserve the hero title. Though I will say that this is shaping up to be very interesting!
More work on it hopefully tomorrow but I think it will be next week before I am able to post more :-)! Take care!
Am I missing something? I can’t seem to find your review on Aura Cacia oils. These are the most accessible for me. But I don’t want to waste money if they aren’t of good quality and doesn’t have any therapeutic properties, which is my main goal.
Thank you!
Hi. I couldn’t write a review for all the companies. There are only about 5 or so “experts” who supply oils to all the companies so I wanted to go w/ a company that sourced directly from farmers. Thanks and hope that helps.
It’s actually a good thing that they do not encourage internal use. If you’re doing research on good companies as well as quality, you definitely need to take into consideration that EO’s should not be used internally without direction from a health professional such as a certified aromatherapist. It makes me sad to see people feeding into the YL and DT lie that you should use oils both internally and topically without being diluted. Anyone who has actually been educated on EO’s and aromatherapy will tell you the same. It is not just opinion folks.
Please research the oils themselves, how they’re made etc, before doing any other articles so you know the best advice to give people.
Hi there. I am sorry for the delay – trying to dig through old comments. I hope that this helps:
This is a very common comment I’ve seen around the internet. Certified aromatherapists can be a valuable resource. And so are those who have spent a lot of effort researching for themselves.
As for ingesting, I recommend you consult with a professional before ingesting any essential oils. Consult a Medical Doctor, Naturopath, or clinically trained Aromatherapist who knows you and is aware of your medical history, as well as any medications you are on. With this information, the professional can tailor a regimen that works for your body.
I hope this helps. Thanks!
Hi Adrienne
I am in Canada and wonder if you could include Ki Aroma in your analysis of essential oils. This is where I buy oils because shipping across the border can be expensive. I am sure you have other Canadian readers. (Of course, you probably have other international readers and you can’t satisfy everyone, so I understand if you can’t.)
Hi there.
I am going to be doing some more phone work on this today and I will ask about this company. However, what I think is going to be more effective is that I am going to develop a list of questions and interesting point about oils so that readers can contact any company and do the research themselves. I did take a look at Ki Aroma’s site and didn’t find any information about purity or quality, so that leaves me thinking that it wouldn’t be the best choice. I’m wondering if I find a source for you that is good quality (I am working to that end) if shipping wouldn’t be too bad. I currently ship a supplement off of Ebay and the shipping is pretty good.
This is all very interesting and I think something will work out for you that you will be happy with!
Thanks a TON for all this research you did. As a natural researcher (I dig into almost every purchase I make!) I appreciate the time, effort, and process you’ve taken.
As a Canadian, I wanted to note that Native American Nutritionals actually has decent shipping prices provided you’re not purchasing heavy items like the book or a gallon of coconut oil. For example, I’m about to purchase 8 different oils, mostly 5 mL, and 8oz of coconut oil, and the shipping will be about $14US. Buying 5x3oz amber bottles and 8oz safflower oil will cost $11 to ship. Shipping in Canada is just darn expensive so the biggest difference will be in the shipping times rather than the cost.
Looking forward to my journey with essential oils, especially now that we’re in a house rather than a condo – I’m not used to all these bugs! Can’t wait to spray tea tree and peppermint to my heart’s delight.
Great article…I can’t wait for the next installment, but I have another company for your list. Liberty Natural, out of Portland. https://libertynatural.com/
I have almost exclusively (I have occasionally bought one from the other brands you are reviewing) used their oils for about 10 years and had great service, wonderful quality oils at great prices. Wonderful variety, so you can use therapeutically or for salves, soaps, etc. I am a Herbalist & Wellness Coach and teach classes that I recommend only Liberty Naturals, though your articles might open the field for me to purchase some from others.
Blessings,
Kristine
Hi Kristine,
I am adding them to my list of companies to ask about, but I have tried logging on to their site numerous times this morning and it isn’t working. As I’ve said to other readers, I am going to be putting together more info about quality, etc. so you all will be able to do your own “due diligence” and I think that I am going to have at least one really good option to recommend. Stay tuned! It will probably be the middle or end of next week before I get my next installment done since I am thinking about ordering another bunch of oils from another source and testing them. So maybe even one more week then :-).
Adrienne, have you ever looked into oils from places like BrambleBerry or Camdon Gray (spelling?). My aunt told me that she buys all her oils both for medicinal and cosmetic making purposes from them. She said that they both have great quality and when I asked her how she chooses between the two she said she just picks whichever one is cheaper because they are both the same quality. Any thoughts?
Hi Amanda. I am going to have more and more thoughts on this. I just had a very long talk with someone who’s been in the industry for a long time so I am going to have some more work to do before I am done here. I think I am coming to some good conclusions, however. I am going to put together a list of questions, I hope, to guide readers as to the questions they can ask suppliers when they are looking for good oils – for a reasonable price. Stay tuned :-).
One more link you might find helpful, if you haven’t already seen it–
the article…”Twelve Questions to Ask Those Who Invite You to Join Another Company”
by David Stewart
https://www.raindroptraining.com/messenger/v6n4.html
Great article! But you forgot one wonderful, therapeutic, NON-MLM essential oil company that is well worth looking at – Butterfly Express. Here’s an article I recently posted discussing which brand of essential oils should I use: https://mindbodyandsoleonline.com/basic-principles-information-about-essential-oils/what-brand-of-essential-oils-should-i-use/
Take a look and let me know what you think.
Thanks! 🙂
~ Kathy
Very interesting, Kathy. I am finding the field to be widening here and am going to have to do some more footwork. I’ll give you an email :-). Thanks! (I think :-).)
I know these comments are old and I appreciate the amount of time and money you spent on this project., but I’ve been using doTerra for years and a friend recently told me about butterfly express and I got online to do some research and came across your series and have been reading for several hours now and finally found this one question about butterfly express and am wondering what your thoughts are there. I also don’t know how to find this post again if you reply to me? Does the blog send me an email? Yahooforyou@hotmail.com
Thanks for your time 🙂
I’m sorry but I can’t comment any more on other companies. I didn’t choose them for several reasons. One is that they wouldn’t spend time w/ me on the phone and i don’t think their oils are organic and/or wild crafted if I remember correctly. I would check out this post and call them and ask them questions. I hope to have another similar post up soon. Thanks! https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
Nice article, Adrienne. My kinda research!! I’ve often wondered which essential oils company / which ones are comparable. I have compared supplement companies and certain supplements’ quality and prices, but haven’t done any checking on EOs yet. Thanx for your investigative work 🙂 and I’ll keep reading here. (Just don’t overdo it too much, lol! I know EXACTLY what that is like. Nutrition research is my obsession too. I lose sleep over it at times, which is counterproductive.)
Agreed on all points, Michele! I actually have some more questions I am going to be throwing at the companies, but after that I think I’ll be done. Maybe adding one more company to the mix too.
No losing sleep on all of this – you’re right :-)!
One more catagory you might want to include is how long the company has been in business.
For me that’s especially important to see/hear from others…successes and failures. Young Living
really is the leader in therapeutic-grade oils w/ almost 20 yrs of experience. There’s no one that has their expertise in all aspects:
purity, quality control, experience, and commitment to continue to give that with each and every bottle
of oil….that’s good news worth sharing, and that’s why it works so well to be passed of thru their distributors.
We can personally be involved in helping people reclaim their own health. I thank the LORD daily for allowing
me to be a part of YL and having oils not only in my home, but also the joy to share them with others.
Thanks for the thoughts, Kathy.
I am actually putting together a few more questions to ask companies. This series might be longer than 2 posts :-). When did YL go into business then? Thanks again.
It was established in 1993 in Utah, growing to have at present four farms and distilleries—located in Mona, Utah, U.S.; St. Maries, Idaho, U.S.; Simiane-la-Rotonde, France; and Guayaquil, Ecuador.
I don’t like the Aura Cacia oils. Their oils don’t smell very good and they give me a headache. You can tell that they are not as pure as several other brands. Just compare Aura cacia’s Lavender to Young Living’s lavender, or to to Robert Tisserand’s or Nature’s Sunshine’s Lavender, it is a great difference..
Thanks for the input, Jo! I am finding quality differences as well. I am not completely pleased to hear about 2 new companies, though. This could get ridiculous! But I am for sure glad that a lot of people are finding out about the healing properties of oils :-)!
Hi Adrienne,
Great article ! I am new to Young’s Living Essential Oil. Well actually, i was familiar with them 20 years ago through a friend who used them, but i wasn’t paying attention to the healing properties. Your article was timely for me. I now feel even more confident in my use of YL :o)
Wile putting together information to share with friends, may i refer to your article here ?
Thanks, Maureen
moasis_62@yahoo.com
You sure may – but I would wait for my next article. There’s probably quite a bit more to come but the next one will be important. Take care and you are welcome!
Rocky Mountain Oils also claims to have comparable oils to YL. I’ve tried them and I’m a YL distributor too. They have some different oils that YL doesn’t have, and YL has some that RMO doesn’t have. RMO also have way better prices, in my opinion, fast service and shipping.
Oh no!!! Another company to check out!? I’ll head over sometime soon. Thanks – but eventually even “investigative reporters” have to stop :-).
Hi, Adrienne,
Did you ever find out anything about them? We are looking at using them and I trust your information.
Sorry but I can’t find your comment anymore – what were you looking for?
I use doTERRA and I’m really happy with them. They are more expensive, but I think it’s worth it for the quality. They have great customer service too. They sent me the wrong oil once and I called and they replaced it with the right one and let me keep the wrong one!!! But I’ve heard great things about Young Living too. 🙂
Stay tuned, Krissa! I’m glad to hear about your experience with DoTerra! Thanks for sharing!
i am interested to see what you have to say about Aura Cacia, that is my favorite brand because they are easy to find and inexpensive. I use the lavender for bath, homemade cleaners and kids foreheads to sleep, lemon for cleaning the bathroom a dropor two afterwards really refreshes the atmosphere, ylang ylang for bath and you can also make natural linen spray with it. I have peppermint Doterra and useit oncein a while while brushing my teeth and grapefruit and eucalyptus also for cleaning. Love my oils for healing and cleaning and they last quite a while!
We use Young Living oils all the time and have had great success with them. Sometimes I have bought Rocky Mountain oils when I could not spend the money. I was pleased with Rocky Mountain but we do prefer YL on some of the oils.
Hi. I just want to thank you for your extensive research into the essential oil companies. I have not yet found myself able to be sure enough (known enough) committed to buying a propper selection. I too tend to try to research so much that I often don’t end up making a decision and therefore missing getting what I really want. Thank you heaps again!
Kate (Melbourne Australia ????)
Hi- I recently was invited to a “learn about” Aromatherapy meeting and found out it was a DoTerra presentation. I have an auto-immune “issue” and am always willing to try anything. I bought the Physician Starter Kit and a couple of other items. I believe that they are excellent oils, but I am lacking the knowledge how to use. I just got a great book from the library, and essential oils can do as much harm as good if you misuse them. Hopefully I will be consistent in using the right blend for my needs and see results. That being said, I believe one gets what they pay for, and there are many ways that companies can “adulterate” their oils. I believe in DoTerra, and MLM companies are no different than walking into a retail store and making a purchase. I rather give the profit to an individual than “Whole Foods”! Good Luck Kate! Barb from St. Augustine, FL
Hi, Barb. Here’s my disclaimer – I am a doTERRA IPC. I know there are several great EO companies out there. I’m a life long EO user, I have tried many (not all) brands and found doTERRA to be so very effective. The quality is apparent when you use it. It has changed our lives as far as asthma, allergy’s, illness brought home from school, chronic pain, and my constant tendency to burn my hands on the stove and recovery time. 😉 i use them in home internally, topically, and aromatically and i feel very confident doing that because I researched it! You do have to be very careful when using essential oils, especially internally, but there are brands that offer oils that are safe for internal use. I would encourage you to do your own research. Don’t read blog posts, read the studies they are referring to. Read, research, and question! I chose my company because I believe the oils are safe for anyone and effective and because I wanted to turn my passion into a business. Whatever you are looking for, do your homework and make your own decisions that you can feel confident about. Don’t get caught up in the “brand game”, there is ALOT of that going on right now. Contact the person you purchased the oils from for information on how best to use them and if you’re looking for a great book on that subject, I highly recommend Modern Essentials. Best of luck and health to you and yours.
Hi Sarah.
I really appreciate the success you have had w/ doTERRA but I have to chime in as some are saying bloggers need to be careful about medical “advise” even in the comments section.
I am not comfortable with the amount of internal use that YL and doTERRA recommend. Even though the company that I recommend says that their oils are safe for internal use, the owner still says to be really cautious and to use them minimally internally.
Furthermore I do think that some blog posts are really helpful regarding figuring out the “oil dilemma”–if I may say so, I think that my posts are well-researched. :).
Thanks for commenting :).
I’m just wondering why to be cautious about using internally? I don’t very often, maybe lemon in my water. But, why should we be so cautious?
The thought is that it wipes out good bacteria so you should supplement w/ probiotics to make sure you are replenishing. Not medical advice but I have heard and read this in several places. Also the oils are very concentrated and strong and they can interact with some medications (though it is rare).
The Chemistry of Essential Oils is an astounding resource if you want a true look at therapeutic grade essential oils. Properly distilled essential oils with bacterial attributes actually do not destroy the normal flora in the stomach and intestines. They kill the bad bacteria and viruses, but leave the healthy flora alone! In fact, it is antibiotics that are manufactured by adamant FDA criteria that keep them always produces the same every time, every year, every batch! Therapeutic essential oils are never the same in a bottle from batch to batch, despite the exact kind and amount of each oil placed in the bottle or blend, because of the variations in growing (sun, rain, shade) each season, location (part of the farm planted and when it is harvested, hill vs flat land), and much more, including the care given the plants by the farmers, harvesters, etc. In fact, it is important to take therapeutic doses of EOs in a capsule with a carrier oil so the EO is not attacked by enzymes. C.A.R.E. classes are given around the world to help us learn these kinds of essential oil usage concepts and can be found at http://www.raindroptraining.com The Chem class is great to answer these questions and concerns.
Essential oils don’t kill good bacteria. Synthetic antibiotic drugs indiscriminately kill both beneficial and harmful bacteria. Many EO’s are anti bacterial, anti viral, anti septic, and anti fungal, but they are also antioxidant which support the immune system and fight free radicals. Properly grown seed which is also cultivated and distilled properly creates an oil that is different from cosmetic grade products. Oils which you don’t want to take internally are those which have been regulated by the cosmetics industry, they only need to have 5% oil in them to be able to label them as 100% pure. Know your source!!
I am for sure concerned about antibiotics doing so but there is debate about what the EOs do so I still think it’s best to be cautious about too much internal usage. Thanks!
Which oil do you use? You commented on others but never said which company you use. I am a newbie to all of this. I am doing a lot of research. Some companies are very expensive. I would appreciate a response. Thank you
Read post #7 in the series :).
I agree with Doterra… I have allergies and asthma. I use their Breathe all the time. I am relieved immediately.. could not live without it.. Their Deep Blue for muscle and arthritis.. could not live without it.. It is all natural organic the best you can buy.
The thing about doTerra Oils, is that there is a public lawsuit b/w Young Living and doTerra! Apparently, the people who started doTerra, stemmed from Young Living. If you notice, their whole set up is pretty darn close to Young Living’s set up. From the kits, to the compensation, to the monthly promos, ect. So I would do some more research on doTerra before I would trust using them on my body. If they are going to go behind, IMO, the best company’s back to start making their own money, it makes you 2nd guess what they would do to sell the oils.
What is going on w/ that lawsuit? I find it very puzzling.
The lawsuits have been settled. The accusations against doTERRA were unfounded and doTERRA is the only essential oil company subjecting its products to third party testing. The purity level is unmatched, and the science behind it is solid. doTERRA is now the largest and fastest growing EO company, so there will probably be more lawsuits as other, less reputable sources of essential oils watch this trajectory.
Thanks for sharing that. I don’t think that is accurate about the testing though. Native American does the same thing and so do many others. In house testing is very uncommon as it is so expensive.
doTERRA does in house AND this party testing. It’s all available for those who wish to read it. My personal selection of that company was sustainable farming. I could furrow lemons IN my backyard in Detroit, with some greenhouse conditions. But lemins weren’t meant to be grown in Detroit. It isn’t the optimal climate or soil, and it isn’t sustainable. The lemins aren’t going to have the same benefits as lemon grown, for example, in Italy where it is native. Same with lavender, peppermint, orange, frankincense, etc. I am not an expert in growing any one particular plant and the farmers they contract with are experts. Also, doTERRA recently discontinued the use of rosewood as the plant is endangered. I find that environmentally responsible.
Wow. Thank you Autocorrect for making me look absolutely illiterate.
Yes — the claim re third party testing is unfounded. Youngevity Essential Oils (Ancient Legacy) are third party tested, and are endorsed by NAHA (national association for holistic aromatherapy). At this time – Youngevity Oils are the only direct-selling oil company to meet the comprehensive safety, quality, and ethical practice requirements for NAHA membership.
I’m curious, Adrienne, if you included Ancient Legacy (Youngevity) in your research. I’ve read through most of your posts, and didn’t see them mentioned. Maybe I just missed it.
I have heard of them and looked at their mineral products. I can’t comment on individual companies but you can look at this post to see how they measure up. I do find their site to be extremely difficult to navigate and I called customer service to get help w/ their products and they weren’t able to give any. Do you have recommendations? I was mainly interested in their minerals. Thanks. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
FYI…doTerra does NOT do third party testing. Améo is the ONLY EO company out there to do third party testing including permeability~
Hi there. I would need to see proof of this. I have read in many places that doTERRA does 3rd party testing. Native American Nutritionals for sure does 3rd party testing – they don’t test their own oils – is that what you mean? I am not sure why you are making this claim about Ameo being the only one. Thanks.
The lawsuit has not been settled, it has been set aside so both parties can gather more evidence for their case.
i love the oils from both companies. but i can’t stand the lack of knowledge from the sales people. EO are very powerful and can be fatal if mixed with the wrong medications. i personally had an issue with an oil that none of the sales people could answer. not until i got in touch with a professional Aroma Therapist. i truly think folks should be required to get a certification before than can sell EO. for the safety and integrity of the company.
Hi Monica.
I understand your concerns, but do you think someone should be required to be a physician in order to sell supplements? I think the analogy fits and I don’t think it is reasonable. I do think that many of the oils reps don’t say the right thing, but I think overregulation can be, and is, a HUGE problem. Thanks and I would love to know what you think.