Yes, Essential Oils are Cheaper at the Grocery Store, but are They Safe and Effective?

The rise in popularity of aromatherapy has gained the attention of many essential oil producers. Getting them out to the public is one goal to make a profit. But are "grocery store" essential oils safe, high quality, and effective?

Adulteration of essential oils is a common topic in the aromatherapy industry. Producers can be tempted to "stretch" an essential oil to increase their profit. One way this is done by adding an inferior essential oil to the batch. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil is often called "true lavender." I recommend true lavender for many things; a single drop neat (without a carrier oil) can be applied to a first degree burn to stop the burning and heal it. Depending on the producer, it can be adulterated with the addition of Lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia or L. hybrida) which is a hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender (L. latifolia). These have a strong aroma of lavender. The problem is that lavandin and spike lavender have higher camphor contents and if used on a burn could make it worse.

Many synthetic oils are produced to smell like essential oils. Though these substances may have a pleasant aroma, they do not have the therapeutic properties of pure essential oils. In fact, they may have toxic chemicals that are harmful to the human body (see my blog on "Air Fresheners and Fragrance Oils").

Other ways to adulterate essential oils include adding vegetable oil or alcohol to the oils. This will increase the volume of the product but is not pure essential oil. Again, this may increase profit but will lower effectiveness. Sellers may label the bottle as 100% pure but still adulterate the product. In a one-ounce bottle of a product, there may be 10 milliliters of lavender essential oil in the bottle, 100% of that is pure, but the remainder of ingredients is a vegetable oil or other adulterant.

To find high-quality essential oils, look for suppliers who provide their testing reports. This practice is increasingly becoming the industry norm. The gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) test can detect adulteration and identify the specific constituents in an oil, as well as their quantities. Understanding the amount of a constituent in a batch of essential oil helps buyers assess its quality. If a GC/MS report indicates a low level of a particular constituent, buyers can choose to purchase from another source with higher levels. Distillers or sellers who adulterate their essential oils typically do not provide GC/MS reports.

I use several on-line suppliers of essential and carrier oils. These are high quality sellers who publish their GC/MS reports, and I would be glad to refer you. I don't recommend multilevel marketing essential oil companies due to the high price of their oils. Contact me for more information.