Various companies take a different approach in preparing essential oils. Instead of worrying about the absolute best essential oil, you should instead focus on the ones that are best for you and your needs.
So, this article sets a clear task: provide you with enough information about the ten brands we have selected. But before we go into the specifics of these brands, we will provide you with concise buyer’s guide.
In this guide, we will explain the reasons behind our picks, and why we feel these brands deserve to be on our list. Note that this isn’t a top ten list, for there are no absolute winners here.
These are all quality brands, each having their pros and cons.
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Company | Year Founded | THERAPEUTIC GRADE | Quality Control | Prices | Rating | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2017 | Yes | N/A | $ | ||
 | 2004 | Yes | GC/MS Testing | $$ | Read Review | |
 | 2008 | Yes | CPTG | $$$ | ||
 | 1993 | Yes | Seed to Seal | $$$ | Read Review | |
 | 2011 | Third Party Testing | Third Party Testing | $ | ||
 | 2009 | Yes | Independently Tested | $ | Read Review | |
 | 1987 | Yes | Certified Organic | $$ | Read Review | |
 | 1992 | Yes | N/A | $$ | Read Review | |
 | 1968 | Yes | In-house Testing | $ | Read Review | |
 | 2014 | Yes | Unknown | $ | Read Review |
Ultimate Essential Oil Buyer’s Guide
As stated above, in this section we will discuss factors that affected or reasoning and choices. We will consider price, quality control and brand’s standards, brand’s reputation, and so forth.
This guide is made for those who aren’t quite familiar with essential oils. And even if you know a lot about the subject, we still suggest that you go through it, for you might find useful information in it.
Quality and Standards
Every brand likes boast about the quality, the purity of their oils. However, 100% pure oil doesn’t mean much in itself. Authentic essential oils will act, they will have a positive effect on your body and mind.
If your oil doesn’t have that therapeutic effect on you, then it isn’t good. But, that doesn’t mean the oils are terrible quality, it only means it doesn’t work for you.
When brands research and experiment with essential oils, they use scientific parameters and test the oil’s therapeutic effect.
In essence, if they find that specific mixture offers health benefits, they will offer it to the consumers, and if the response is positive, they will start producing that specific oil in larger quantities.
Unfortunately, not all brands do the necessary research when producing essential oils. Furthermore, the focus on profit instead of the consumer’s experience, but such brands are easily exposed.
They will offer cheap products, huge discounts, luring the consumers to buy their products. If you aren’t able to test the oil, consider purity and brand’s reputation.
More importantly, logically observe the facts. If the company offers premium, high quality and 100% pure essential oil for a low price, don’t buy it.
Price
Price is often a good indicator of quality, but not always. Consider the number of herbs needed to produce few milliliters of dense, concentrated oil.
Furthermore, consider the rarity of those herbs, conditions in which they grew and so forth. All these (and many other) factors affect the price.
In general, I wouldn’t recommend going for the cheapest oils, for they probably have additives and chemicals to enhance the oil’s essence.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t find quality, inexpensive essential oil; of course, you can, but you have to know what to look for.
Brand Reputation & Customer Service
How do you know if the brand’s reputation if genuine? How do you know that their product reviews aren’t fake?
Well, you can’t know that for sure, at least not in all cases.However, a good company will try and make everything the best they can, from website design to product presentation.
They will focus on presenting the product instead of selling it because such companies know that good product doesn’t have to be forced upon consumers.
Furthermore, they will offer customer service and money-back guarantee. Though these things don’t guarantee the brand is genuine, they do help.
Alas, be aware of the fact that any company can label their oil as “organic,” “100% pure” or “therapeutic”. Why is this possible? Well, there aren’t any regulations or standards in the essential oil business.
For instance, I may use herbicide on my lavender farm, and send my product to the oil distillers, who then send the final product to the retailer.
But if I lie about my farming methods, the retailer will say, perhaps not deliberately, that the product is unsprayed and organic, even though it isn’t.
So, don’t simply look at the product’s surface, and instead, go deep into the problem and investigate, see if the retailers are the members of some organization that prescribes some standards (such as NAHA): ask questions, and observe the answers.
Below I’ve reviewed the top 10 best essential oil brands that I’ve tried and tested based upon my quality standards that I mentioned above.
1
Naturally Made Essentials
Founded by Lauren, Naturally Made Essentials provide toxin-free, organic essential oils, among other products. Both wanted a safer environment for their families, and thus they started to research and to explore the world of essential oils.
They offer essential oils for cleaning, headaches, allergies, skin care and so forth. I like the fact they Naturally Made Essentials provide in detail information about every essential oil they provide.
For instance, they will provide information regarding the origin of the product, its uses, and whether or not the product has been tested and approved by the FDA.
For example, they recommend using their Lavender Essential Oil as an air freshener, and the scent may help with anxiety treatment. Naturally, conventional medicine would even consider prescribing essential oils to their patients with anxiety, and Lavender Essential Oil admits that.
They are a relatively young company, but already have a lot of positive reviews and feedback regarding their essential oils. Lavender Essential Oil isn’t notable or famous brand, but it could be. You can contact them during working hours and ask for more info regarding their products.
Pros
- cultivated and wild cultivated array of essential oils
- transparent
- excellent customer service
- so far, their best essential oils have positive reviews
- 30-day money back guarantee
- each product includes test results
Cons
- not the most notable brand
- lacking scientific research
2
Rocky Mountain Oils
Rocky Mountain Oils was founded by a group of people interested in providing authentic essential oils for a reasonable price. They offer 100% pure essential oils, as well as different blends and essential oil mixtures.
They focus on both those experienced and inexperienced essential oil consumers, continually experimenting and creating new blends.They are transparent and provide their customers with GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) tested oils and are committed to maintaining the brand’s reputation.
Each of their products is numbered, allowing you to quickly and conveniently check that specific product’s tests. The testing is done by independent laboratories for more objective measurements.
Shipping is free, and each product comes with 90-day money back guarantee. Prices may warry, but Rocky Mountain Oils doesn’t provide the cheapest essential oils on the market because they focus of their focus on quality.
Their oils are pure, free of adulterants, backed by their SAAFE promise: Satisfaction, Authentic, Analysis, Free(of adulterants), and Effective. Customer service is excellent, allowing you to contact them via email or telephone.
Pros
- SAAFE promise
- GC/MS testing
- notable brand, focusing on quality instead of profit
- transparency
- 100% pure single essential oils
- interesting and innovative blends
- 90-day money back guarantee
Cons
- somewhat expensive
- the website is slightly tricky to navigate
Read my review of Rocky Mountain Oils
3
doTERRA Essential Oils
dōTERRA is one of the most notable essential oil retailers and has been in the essential oil business for about ten years. Their brand is famous, and their most prominent products include lavender, peppermint and lemon essential oils.
All their products succumb to the CPTG standard: Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. In essence, if they aren’t therapeutic, then the dōTERRA won’t offer them to the world.
They have a valuable team of doctors and researchers who perform laboratory and scientific evaluation of each specific oil.
dōTERRA uses steam distillation to extract the most valuable compacts from the plants. Now, only the first distilled product is 100% pure essential oil, and only those are found in dōTERRA bottles.
They also use the cold pressed method to produce citrus base essential oil. Their products are used worldwide, featuring particular and distinct smell, alluding that their products are in fact 100% pure.
The offer large variety of oils, intended for aromatic, internal and topical use.
Pros
- a large variety of essential oils
- 100% pure oils
- CPTG standards
- famous, recognized and accepted by the general public
- emphasizing therapeutic essential oil
- steam distillation and cold pressed method
Cons
- expensive
- not transparent
4
Young Living Essential Oils
Young Living Essential Oils has a fantastic reputation and is one the world’s most renowned essential oil distributor. They have been in this business for 20 years, providing pure and authentic essential oils, but these products aren’t inexpensive.
dōTERRA and Young Living Essential Oils are thought to be tier 1 essential oil distributors, but their products are also the most expensive.They obtain the products from the farms spread across the entire globe, so it isn’t surprising that they also offer the broadest array of products.
They do abide the DSA code of ethics and use scientific methods to evaluate each of their products. However, there aren’t any in detail information regarding these scientific methods, not the ones I could find.
They do, however, offer personal customer service and care, and will respond to your email if you have any questions regarding their methods. They are notable for a reason, they have a lot of high-quality products, and people do trust them.
However, I wish they provided the user with more scientific proof. For instance, you can go to their Scientific Advisory Council page, but you won’t find anything about their scientific methods, only about the members of that council.
Pros
- Mercedes-Benz of essential oils
- support DSA code of ethics
- pioneers of the essential oil business helped popularize essential oils
- excellent and personal customer support
- high-quality products, pure and strong
Cons
- expensive
- lacking scientific research
- not transparent
Read my review Young Living Oils
5
Plant Therapy Essential Oils
Plant Therapy Essential Oils is a unique company, offering high-quality oils for a reasonable price. They are a young company, founded in 2011, and have been growing ever since.
Their oils are strong, pure, with the distinct and powerful scent. Oils are chemical free and tested before offered to the consumers.Plant Therapy Essential Oils use third-party laboratories to test the quality of their oils, and I commend them for that.
They are transparent, and rarely you see the companies providing this amount of scientific evidence in the essential oil business. They preselect the material before they ship it to distillers, who then produce only the 100% pure oil.
They use GC/MC testing as well as organoleptic testing, assuring maximum quality. Moreover, they publish the tests online, allowing everyone to see the results.They also educate their consumers about the essential oils safe uses and are always available via email.
Plant Therapy Essential Oils does lack something: time. Compared to other brands, they are still relatively new. Still, they have a lot of positive reviews and enough scientific evidence to be recommendable by us.
Pros
- the most transparent company on the list
- GC/MC and organoleptic testing
- third-party quality control
- friendly customer service
- value for money, pure essential oil
- focus on educating the consumers
- kid safe
Cons
- a very young company, somewhat inexperienced
- needs more reviews
6
Eden's Garden
Eden’s Garden is another big brand on our list, being in the business for almost 20 years. They are respected and notable brand, offering a large variety of single and blended essential oil.
Their oils are 100% pure, organic and safe to use. They also focus on providing fresh essential oils, replacing the oils that are older than two weeks. Because of that, customers always receive a fresh batch of oils.
Packaging is neat, protecting the oil from light, thus pertaining the quality. Some of their products are organically certified, but some aren’t, and Eden’s Garden is very transparent about that, and we commend them for that transparency.
Each product has to pledge the EDENS pledge: effective, dedicated, educated, natural and safe. Naturally, this is a self-made pledge, but still, it is nice to see a company developing their standards.
Every oil is a therapeutic grade, free of additives and synthetics, GC/MS tested. However, not all of their products are organic, and some do lack scientific reports.
Pros
- cost-effective, value for money
- notable brand, trustworthy and transparent
- EDENS pledge standardization
- pesticide free
- independent GC/MS testing
Cons
- some products aren’t organic
- some products lack testing reports
Read my review of Eden’s Garden
7
Mountain Rose Herbs
Mountain Rose Herbs feature organic oils exclusively from organic, GMO-free farms. They use renewable energy and possess a vast array of certifications that support the natural growth.
This focus on organic products reflects in their oils, featuring distinct scent and thick oil. Each of their oils posses in detail description, what method and what plants were used during manufacturing.
Mountain Rose Herbs obtain their merchandises only from those suppliers they trust, those that use organic growth, conserve energy, use renewable energy, and so forth. However, that’s all the data we get from this company.
Mountain Rose Herbs do more testing than almost any other company, from identity testing to moisture analysis. They possess a vast amount of certifications and test, but there is one problem with this: these are an on-demand test.
If you do perform so many tests and do own so many certifications, why not make them public? While you can contact them and request for these reports, I do not like this lack of transparency.
Pros
- inexpensive
- supporting organic farms and GMO-free growth
- all of their farms use 100% renewable energy
- notable brand, people do trust them
- they perform a lot of testing (identity testing, heavy metal testing, etc.)
Cons
- the testing reports aren’t available online; you have to request them
- would be great if they had a broader selection of essential oils
Read my review of Mountain Rose Herbs
8
Saje Wellness
Saje Natural Wellness features 100% organic oils, without any chemicals or additives. They use pure ingredients for pure essential oils, but offering only 26 different oils.
They are wellness oriented companies, offering a vast amount of products, not strictly focusing on just essential oil.They have amazing and friendly customer service and will respond to your requests and questions.
Saje Wellness also support sustainable farms, and their packaging is made of recyclable material. While it is nice to see that company supports environment, and I honestly do believe they do, we are mostly interested in essential oils.
The company doesn’t provide, to my best knowledge, reports, and test regarding their oils. They only state that the products are organic, and not tested on animals, but that’s all there is to it.
Numerous reviews claim the products are amazing, and I think they are amazing too: the scent is powerful, very potent, and the color looks natural to me.However, I wanted more transparency, more reports, or at least some information regarding the testing methods.
Pros
- environmental friendly
- recyclable material
- 100% pure and organic oil
- very friendly and personable customer service
- decent return policy
Cons
- more transparency would be nice
- somewhat expensive oils
- only 26 types to choose from
Read my review of Saje Wellness
9
NOW Foods Essential Oils
Now Foods Essential Oils is 50 years old company, very notable provider of essential oils. They own private laboratory, used for testing and evaluating each product they offer.
When evaluating essential oil quality, they use GC-FID method, as well as mass spectrometry to detect adulterants. They offer vast amounts of essential oils, each with their purposes, such as relaxation or romance oils.
All of their oils are organically certified, and you can see the certification on their website. The website is, in my opinion, badly designed and very difficult to navigate.
The company is transparent, and each product contains enough information: is it 100% organic, is it cold pressed and steam distilled, is it non-GMO, and so forth. They also provide you with recipes and suggestions as to how you should use the oils.
This company avoids marketing terminology and is very transparent about their products. However, their products are also somewhat expensive. Now Foods Essential Oils is old, notable brand, and numerous customer reviews commend their essential oils.
Pros
- the products are tested by both private and third-party laboratories
- high level of transparency
- most oils are 100% organic
- the company provides educational content
- detailed product description
Cons
- somewhat expensive
- the website is horrible, and the product’s price isn’t clear, so you have to “dig deeper” to find the price
Read my review of NOW Foods
10
artnaturals
Artnaturals seal is cheap essential oils and is very transparent about the origin of oil’ extracts. While they claim the products have been tested, they don’t state where and how these products have been tested, and that annoys me.
They offer a lot of essential oils, for various purposes, and are a great option if you are looking for inexpensive essential oil. But there is no evidence to suggest that their essential oils are safe to use and pure.
They have great customer service, easy to navigate website, and some of their oils have very positive customer reviews, which means that people do trust them and buy their products. Customer service is great and will respond to your requests.
It is hard for me to recommend this company, simply because they don’t mention lab testing or provide any information regarding such activity. The good news is that some of their products are positively accepted by customers, and you will be able to return the product if you don’t like it.
Pros
- a lot of positive reviews regarding some essential oils
- amazing customer service
- great return policy
- inexpensive
- easy to navigate website
- powerful scent (organic?)
Cons
- lacking transparency
Read my review of artnaturals
Which Essential Oil Company Should You Buy From?
While the FDA doesn’t want to meddle with essential oils, they have been used since the ancient times for both physical and spiritual human well being.
I truly want to recommend several companies but will narrow my choices down to only one, and that is the Naturally Made Essentials. Why? Transparency, purity, great customer service and value for money essential oils.
Think what you value more, reviews or scientific evidence, or perhaps both? If unsure, perhaps it is best you go with the brand you trust or with the brand other people trust.
However, if you want my advice, go and check out their website, browse through their essential oils, read descriptions, testing reports and disclaimers; I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
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