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?
Adrienne, I seen your recipe for the thieves oil you mixed yourself. I am wondering is there a recipe book available out there similiar to what you put in your thieves recipe. I know YL and NAN/RMO do tell what is in their oil blends but not the number of drops and I think I know the largest ingredient is listed first second most listed second, etc. can you send a link of your recipes please or a site I could purchase a good book.
I believe there is a book like this at the bottom of one of my posts in this series – did you find it by chance?
Interesting that you only put up names of rather diluted oils’s companies; perhaps that’s why you didn’t mention beYoung essential oils – http://www.BeYoungth.com Dana Young is brother to Gary Young, and while a big population is glued to Gary, you should really take a look at how diluted Young LIving oils actually are. You can compare BeYoung in terms of the actual count of the ratios of ppm.
I’m sorry but I don’t understand your comment. You are saying that all of the companies that I looked at, including the ones that I chose, are rather diluted? I completely disagree with you. I know about Dana and his company. I’m not sure what you mean by being able to compare their oils in terms of the actual count of the ratios. What ratios do you mean? I know that the EOBBD quality standard that Be Young states their oils meet is something that is used in Europe and I am pretty sure it’s put together by the medical community over there. In any case, there are all kind of certifications like doTERRA’s CPTG that they put together themselves. I am very happy w/ the companies that I chose and the extent to which they insure purity which I do think is beyond the EOBBD certification. Thanks. If you can give me more info on the ppm statement that you made I would be interested.
Hi, I’m considering purchasing an organic Argan Oil from either Now Food Solution or Essential Depot. Which do you recommend? It’s difficult to find companies that sell pure Argan oil that is inexpensive, do you know of any reliable companies? Thanks!
I have no idea – sorry. I have heard good things about this oil – is this inexpensive enough for you? I have used their toner and don’t like it as well as the one I am using now, but I suspect they care about quality/ https://amzn.to/1X31w4x (that’s an affiliate link)
Hi! So I felt really secure in ordering from NAN based on your review as well as the reviews on their individual product offerings on their website, but then when it took a while to process my order and the tracking number for my package was wrong on their website, I did a little more research -something I probably should’ve done sooner- and saw several very unhappy reviews on their Facebook page. I see now that all the fantastic reviews on their website all date back to 2014, i can’t find a single one from 2015, and all the awful reviews on their Facebook page are very current. I’m wondering if there have been any changes in the quality of the oils and not quite understanding their relationship with Rocky Mountain.. as the package that arrived to me was from Rocky Mountain but nowhere in the process or ordering was in indicated to me that that would happen :/
Hi Cher,
I’m sorry about this. I did look at NAN’s FB page and I see quite a few recent happy customers. There have only been improvement in quality and there will be more information coming. NAN and RMO are merging. I mentioned it in my posts, but more information is coming soon. I mentioned your concerns to the company and the VP would like to reach out to you. Could I give him your contact information, please? Thanks!
Great post. There is so much info out there and hard to cut through what’s real and what is makreting. Thanks for taking the time to research this and share with us!
“Marketing” apologies for the typo!
No problem :). I do it all the time!
You are so welcome! Thanks for commenting! Hope to see you around again!
Have you heard about this small biological essential oil producer in Corsica Vitalba, they were on national television because of their helichrysum.
https://www.facebook.com/Vitalbacorse
I have not – sorry!
Thank you for your very thorough and honest series on essential oils. I’ve only just started looking into them, and your research and thoughts were very, very helpful. I bought the book you recommended at the end of the series, however it does not cover thyroid issues and the possible treatment with essential oils. Do you happen to know of a book or instruction that might cover thyroid issues? Or perhaps you already know that thyroid is something not able to be addressed or improved with essential oils? Thanks again!
You are so welcome! Well, thyroid is interesting. I have personally used a few things on and off. I used to rub clove and rosemary on my adrenals. And I made a DIY Thyroid Blend at one time. I don’t recall what was in it, however. I would personally search “thyroid” on the sites I mentioned and see what seems to be of help. I hope you’ve seen my posts on thyroid. It seems from what I have read that you can get support for your body when you have thyroid issues. Take care!
Disappointed you have not yet reviewed “Wisdom Of The Earth” essential oils (which I have found to generally be the best, but pricey for many), out of Cornville, AZ or Nature’s Gift out of Tennessee. Always safe (used with common sense, of course, such as not putting them in eyes, ears or other body openings and sensitive areas (like male genitals)….I would recommend these companies first.
If I remember correctly, you had to sign up to get a catalog and I found it to be very confusing so I passed, knowing it would be very confusing for my readers too. Nature’s Gift has commented here and I have tried to talk to the owner but didn’t get responses.
Do you control the advertising content on your blog? There’s an ad for Gardasil. Do you promote that? Just curious.
Yes, I do and I am working on that. It’s sometimes very hard to get things blocked but I am trying. I certainly do not promote it.
Try Vedicfragrance.com. They are best and authentic in terms of essential oils
I am new to EOS but my sister told me about Edens Garden site. I have bought quite a few from them and I diffuse them and have made many of my own body oil lotions…anti aging face serum etc.. My skin have never looked better. I made a body butter and gave to my husband who has terrible cracked skin on his heels and he said it has worked better than any of the prescription creams. I have called customer service and sometimes have to leave a message..they are in California…I am in Pa. They have called me back each time (2) I have called to ask questions..prices reasonable…nice gift sets.. I am happy with this company…
I would love your recipe for your serum and body butter. They sound wonderful!
Did you ever look more into Mountain Rose Herbs EO’s? I’m wondering about those and NOW brand but haven’t seen much about either. Thanks.
I did and they clarified that the food grade issue wasn’t a problem. I haven’t looked much at NOW but here are some things that should help:
https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/
By far the best oils are Wisdom of the Earth. Not only are they pure (so pure) they also are produced -from planting to making-in ceremony and ritual, so the energetic quality is also very high. And because there is no multi-level marketing used in selling them, I think that also keeps the integrity of the product. Check them out! You will never use another essential oil again.
HI
I don’t understand why NAN is so expensive. I see in the health food stores most of the oils betwen 5-7 dollars and they are obviosly making money still. I bought a lot of NAN bc i read most of your blog and even sell for my practice but I am feeling skeptical. IF those other companies are selling they must work at least for people that aren’t very sensative. IT doesn’t feel good to sell something to a customner when i know they can get it less then half the price locally.
Hi there. Sorry for the delay – trying to catch up on older comments. I think it’s hard but you need to figure out if they are selling substandard products or not. I can’t speak to all of the companies but some are adulterating. I have heard the comment from NAN / RMO “They are selling oils for less than we can buy them” so that makes me suspicious of some of them. I’m not saying they are all doing bad things to their oils but some of them for sure are.
NAN and RMO have deals often – right now they are having a great 10% off sale with a free gift. Perhaps that helps? You can get information about the sale here: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/free-kindle-books-healthy-living-deals-dec-6-2015/
Thank you so much for doing all the work for me on Essential Oils. I read through your information, and now need to go back and really study it. I was at the point that I was going to start researching to see what I could learn, and you have done so much of it for me! And I will be borrowing your recommended book to see if it will become my “cookbook”!
Wondering if you have an opinion about Florihana essential oils
Sorry for the delay in responding. I didn’t choose them for a number of reasons. Thanks for asking.
Hello _ i am interested in learning more about Essential Oils and the benefits of them. I want to start using and diffusing them. Can you please share your favorite brand and where to buy them. thanks so much!
Hi there and welcome. In case you didn’t make it to the end of the series, here you go : https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/
I love all of the information in this blog. Did you ever post any findings for Edens Gardens EO? I have read most of your blogs but didn’t find anything about Edens Garden.
I am working on more information about what to look for in a company as well as trying to find other companies that I am comfortable with. One thing that is important to me is a verifiable signed GC/MS report with the chemist’s signature. Thanks!
Hi there,
I hope you could enlighten me. I was told by some one that uses YOUNG LIVING essential oil mentioned that the Eucalyptus Radiata is the only eucalyptus oil that can be used on young children, is this truth? I have been using essential oils for years and I have never heard about such cases. Hope you could share your view. Thank you.
Best regards,
Jenny Teo
Hi Jenny. This is the official statement from the companies that I recommend:
This is from Rocky Mountain Oils and Native American Nutritionals. They are merging. Thanks and hope that helps!
I have been reading your blog all month and there is so much good info here…thank you. I read someones post about the oils from BetterEssentials.com so I bought a bunch while they were on discount to see how good they are.. I have been using their oils with my family and love the blend “Best Friend”. I use On-Guard from DoTerra daily and I have been comparing it to On-Guard and the only ingredient that is different is Better Essentials uses lemon and not orange oil. Anyone know if there is a difference as I do love both of these blends. I like the price of the Best Friend and if it is as good, I’ll keep buying.
Thanks for the kind words!! Hope to see you around again.