What Company Has the Best Essential Oils?
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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.
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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?
Hi! I just finished reading your last part to this series. Before I read this I had just recently purchased some Essential oils from Plantlife. Did you happen to look into them at all. Thanks!
Hi there. I didn’t look at them, but I just did. I really can’t evaluate companies but you can use my report and post to do so. I will be writing more about the companies I chose soon. I did notice that they don’t have country of origin noted at present. Just region.
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/
hi there.
i, too, have read the disturbing articles regarding gary young. what did you read that changed your mind? i have also read some third-party blind studies with results that show both young living and doterra (among others) are not the level of purity they claim to be. i just want to find a good company that has oils that are pure and people i can feel ok supporting. any info you have would be so helpful!
thank you.
If you read further you will see some things that were part of my decision. The third party testings came after my decision. I guarantee you will get purity from the company(ies – they are merging) I recommend. I will be writing more. You can go here to go to the end:https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/
Thank you so much for all the time you’ve invested in all this research and for sharing it all with us! A year or so ago I had pretty much decided to use Native American Nutritionals, and after reading your series of blogs, my desicion was much easier. So thank you!
I feel like somewhere you mentioned where you like to buy your diffusers from. I could be wrong. Do you also get them from Rocky Mountain or is there another place that your prefer?
I LOVE their diffuser. I personally have the AromaCloud Spa going now. I have only tested 1 from doTERRA and I didn’t care for it. I had a YL one but I never used it. I hope to try out some more soon. I have tried the AromaCloud Home, but it’s too small for my purposes. Hope that helps.
I dug into Melaeuca’s company and almost muse a huge mistake because I didn’t thoroughly research first. Melaeuca’s ingredients are not a good choice for your body. For example check out the children’s protein powder. I don’t remember the exact ingredients off the top of my head but it was not whole foods. For such a large a progressive company who stands by their research why can’t they be more like Garden of Life for instance? Don’t buy into these companies until u read the labels or acquire a reputable sample.
I totally agree. I don’t see a child’s protein powder, but they have artificial colors and fragrances and acesulfame potassium so it’s a lot of not good stuff.
I finally began using Native American Nutritionals oils after much consideration and due to your generous research, for which I thank you. However, not long after, they merged into Rocky Mountain Oils. How do you feel about the new company?
Hi Brenda. Good question. If anything, the quality is better. I have more coming on the merger but you can buy w/ confidence. Thanks and hope to see you around again!
Thank you so much for verifying what I already knew…. So much for bullies…. Keep blogging and telling the truth… To many Devils out there these days trying to steal money from the innocent/middle class/hard working
Thanks for the encouragement!!
Ive been reading these comments about essential oils. I love the fact that you have taken the time to research the varying essential oils companies. I kept looking but i didnt see any info on Ameo Essential Oils, a division of Zija International, which are clinical grade oils not therapeutic grade. They are alot stronger. Look them up. Im not tryg to promote my business or anything but i left my website information should you desire to check it out as well. Thank you for all the work youve done! Very impressive! )(site deleted by blog owner)
HI there. Those terms of “clinical” vs “therapeutic” are subjective terms. Also, I am sorry but I deleted your site from the comments b/c of course it is promoting your site to leave it here and I don’t want this series to be a place where folks can piggy back to get followers. I didn’t chose Ameo for several reasons. I am glad you found a company that you like, however.
Ameo is my oil of choice. The company may be newer on the market but the research and testing is unmatched..
Dissapointed to say the least that I wasted 20 minutes of my life that I will never get back reading your part1 and part2 of your post/blog for you not to deliver the company you prefer within that post. I don’t have any more time to waste with the ‘suspense’ and clicking from one link to the next and getting nowhere. Can you please just comment with the Company that you prefer and recommend. I am torn between DoTerra and Young Living and I didn’t get from part2 what was promised in part1.
Hello Hana. I am sorry that you feel that way. The original post I wrote long before the 2nd post….and a lot happened in the mean time. I didn’t mean to stretch it out and didn’t plan on it. If you continue to read on you will understand or you can go to the final post here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/
Thanks for reading.
I chose Young Living because they are a seed to seal company. There is truly no middle man. They own the majority of the farms their oils come from and have a hand in every step along the way. I have used their oils for two years and have loved the health benefits.
I also picked them because they are the oldest and most respected oil company in the U.S.
@adrienne can u send me your webpage info
I’m not sure what you are asking for. Please clarify.
The world of essential oils is both fascinating and confusing – thank you for all you do to help keep us users educated. I currently use Native American Nutritionals and have been happy…… but am always looking to learn more about the marketplace. Recently have been reading of Florihana oils – do you know anything about them? The company certainly sounds good on paper. Thank you!!
You are so welcome. I looked at Florihana and didn’t go w/ them for a number of reasons. I prefer where I am at. Thanks!
I’ve become a big fan of DoTerra since my friend introduced me to the line. You put it on your list here but you never get to it in your actual review. I’d be curious what your opinion of it is compared with the other brands. Their cedarwood and rosemary oils are my lifeblood now! Before I used to just buy whatever was cheapest on Amazon.
HI there. I did talk about them quite a bit as the series goes on….. I left them even though I was told by a rep in the company that I could make $8,000 per month by recommending them on my site. https://wholenewmom.com/what-to-buy/best-essential-oils-company-young-living-review-doterra-review/ Hope that helps.
The above mentioned book….you say it appears that it does not recommend that you ingest essential oils. Funny how some people still choose to do exactly what educationally researched people say not to, (not to mention the book is written by a doctor!!! I have taken an essential oil class from Aromahead Institute, they also recommend that you DO NOT ingest most essential oils. There are very few oils that are ok for consumption. I would never ingest an essential oil just because a blogger who has done personal research and is also selling a product tells me it is safe to. Aromahead Institute is very informative, they are college educated, teach courses on Aromatherapy. The teach you what type of products to look for to purchase, but not to specifically buy something from them. Real education is the key.
Hello Lori.
I am glad you emailed – that part has been removed from the post. I am familiar with Aromahead and have friends who have taken their course. I don’t know what you mean by only a few oils being OK for consumption, however. My understanding is that a few are toxic but that it is best to only take oils internally with the advice of a professional. For me, I think that the internal use can change the microbiome and that that is one of the biggest risks out there. I would be interested in hearing what you learned about the very few oils. I have done quite a bit of reading about this and never saw it restricted to a few oils. Thanks.
I have come out in these comments against the big names in the oils industry that talk about taking oils internally very regularly which is something that I never advocated so I think you possibly misunderstood me. Thank you and I hope that clarifies things.
I have used & researched a lot on essential oils myself & after several months of looking at a hand full of companies that scored fairly well only one stood out for me & that is why I am now a consultant with NYR Organic, just the 100% score in ethics alone gives you a true sense they really do things right… An almost 35 year old company in the UK & now here in the states just over 6 years I know the oils I use are pure & all they are suppose to be… please take the time to read about them you will be glad you did… 🙂
I use SwissJust essential oils – an 85 year old company from Switzerland. Very high quality and 100 % pure and undiluted. Hope you give them a try.
I love NAN and love their companies back story! I think their oils are the best around and I myself have tried and researched MANY companies!! I will say I do go the Edens Garden for a few things that I just diffuse and don’t put on my skin for the lower price but anything I put on skin I use NAN!!! Love them!!
-Amber Rizzo
Hello there – I am very interested in learning more about essential oils and where to buy them from but always get overwhelmed looking into it and decide I’ll look later. 🙂 So thank you for posting so much detailed, thorough information on essential oils!! Do you have any insight on Lisse Essentials? Thank you in advance!!
Hi there. I don’t – I’m sorry – you might want to read this report: https://wholenewmom.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-essential-oils-before-you-buy/
and this post https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxic-overload-health-concerns/essential-oils-testing-is-it-reliable/ to get guidelines. Thank you!!
I am a novice. I am being overwhelmed with information. Everyone has their opinions and I don’t want to get involved in pyramid scams. I have some health issues would like assistance dealing with this issues. What is best for detoxification, hbp, diabetes? Every body has their answers and I am getting bombarded with brands that jump higher, go faster, and more pure then other products. Who do you pick? Still haven’t figured out whats better….HELP!!!!
Hi there. Did you make it to the end of the series :)? https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/
I am just learning about essential oils and appreciate the posts. Adrienne, I’m responding to your comment about pyramid scams. I’ve learned a pyramid scam is a company that does not have a product to sell….like pie in the sky. Companies who do sell products, the Direct Selling Association is a good reference, cut out television, radio and other forms of advertising. It is a direct to consumer model.
After researching this, network marketing or multi level marketing is just another business model and there are excellent companies with superior products. There are also unethical companies with less that reputable products. It all starts with doing your homework as I’m doing with how and where to buy essential oils. I’ve been selective and have been very happy with products using the MLM model.
I totally agree.
I’ve been a Young Living user for two years and absolutely love their products and customer service. My husband and I use these oils every day and have had remarkable success. Do research on the companies before deciding. I chose Young Living because they own the majority of farms their oils come from. They are a true seed to seal company. Make sure the oils are 100% essential oil.
Good luck on your oil journey.
Melayna.
Oils are great to treat many symptoms of illness. Have you looked at your food, hydration and envirnomnet to get your body healing from these aliments.
Leslie
pearlcullers@mac.com
I am a preferred customer for Melaleuca. You can research them at Melaleuca.info. They have essential oils and some of the best green products. They are not a MLM business, but teach you how to shop for better products. No middleman. They have a 95% reorder rate which is pretty awesome. If interested let me know at my email address. lunstrah@gmail.com
Hi there. Thanks for commenting. I am not sure why you state that they are not an MLM b/c they most certainly are. I am concerned about many of the ingredients in their products including artificial fragrances, artificial flavors, acesulfame potassium, and more. Were you aware that those ingredients are in their products? Thanks!
Melaleuca is not an MLM. They do not meet the definition of an MLM and that is according to the FTC and many states Attorney Generals Offices. Not sure where you are getting your artificial favors and fragrances information either.
Hi there. I am not sure why exactly you say that they are not an MLM. Can you tell me what exactly makes them not one? Thanks. https://onemorecupof-coffee.com/melaleuca-review-yeah-its-actually-mlm-guys/
As for the artificial colors and fragrances, the Melapower has “fragrance” in its ingredients and “fragrance” is a code word for all kinds of things. Here is the information from an Ava Anderson Non Toxic brochure: “Fragrance can be legally hidden in hundreds of ingredients in “fragrance” or “parfum”: a “trade secret” in the industry. More than 75% of the time if you have fragrance, you have legally hidden phthalates (THAT ates), known endocrine disruptors, that are linked with birth defects, breast cancer, infertility, liver, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and now with autism and ADHD in pregnancy by Dr. Philip Landrigan, Mt. Sinai, Children’s Environmental Health Center.
Other products from Melaleuca that have “fragrance” in them are:
Lemon Brite 3 Pack. This one not only has “fragrance” but also “colorants” and preservatives. I would guess that these colorants are not natural, otherwise they would likely be listed as such. Do you have information about what they exactly are?
Diamond Brite – has fragrance and preservatives
Melapower Lavender has fragrance as well
I could list more, but let me know what you think. Thank you!
Good article. I agree that as soon as you enter the MLM distribution world, the prices skyrocket. Mind you, companies like Young Living and DoTerra have excellent products, their prices do not equal their quality. What I mean is that essential oils of the same quality can be purchased for much, much less provided you go a non MLM route.
That’s why I purchase my essential oils direct from the manufacturer that actually started the essential oils business over 30 years ago. Their prices are literally 50% of what Young Living, DoTerra, Ameo, etc… charge for their oils. Since I am not sure I can post the name of the source I get my oils from, I will leave it at that.
It looks like you are talking mainly about essential oil companies in the USA. My company is relatively small, trading out of Australia and dealing with only Australian essential and vegetable oils. We work very closely with the growers and distillers of most of the oils we sell as we want to ensure they are of premium quality. We send our customers the GC analysis of our batches so they can see for themselves and learn the different properties of the oils. There is so much to learn about each oil and we should be more informed of their properties as we are putting them on our skin and inhaling them. So as to keep brief, our website is uncluttered as the information over load and marketing hype tends to give misrepresentation. Consequently I disagree with your inference that the cheaper oils are more likely to be 2nd or 3rd distillations or watered down. Whilst this is happening in the world of essential oils, it is buyer beware. Our oils are reasonably priced as we see many that are far too expensive and want to make our pure oils well priced for all to enjoy. Also we do not recommend that essential oils be taken internally, especially our eucalyptus oil which I have seen advertised by a large American company you mention – in a blend. That worries me.
Hi Julia. Thanks for commenting. I didn’t state that the cheaper oils are more likely to be 2nd or 3rd distillations, but that that could apply to some. In fact, doTERRA is one of the most expensive oils here. I think that this kind of thing can happen for any price of oil, but I do think that “too cheap to be true” can for sure be the case, do you not agree? The internal use of that eucalyptus is a concern. Thanks you! I have relatives in Australia – lovely country from what I hear :).