When you’re using essential oils, safety has to come first.
That holds true whether you’re a professional aromatherapist making therapeutic blends for clients, or you’re first learning how to diffuse essential oils in your home.
Making sure your essential oils are 100% pure is a key aspect of safety.
We love essential oils because they offer a natural way to support health and well-being. But if your oils aren’t pure, they can have the opposite effect.
Impure oils can cause issues like sensitization, irritation, and even allergies.
Unfortunately, it’s common for people to “cut” or dilute their oils with synthetic ingredients. (This is called “adulterating” the oils.)
That’s why buying from essential oil companies that practice 100% transparency is . . . well . . . essential!
3 Signs an Essential Oil Company is Transparent & their Essential Oils are Pure
1. They lab test their essential oils—and share the results with you.
As much as you might want to believe you can tell if your essential oils are pure based on the aroma or the energy . . .
It’s impossible to know if your essential oils are pure without lab testing.
The most reliable laboratory test is called “GC/MS”—which stands for “gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.”
Here’s how it works: A GC/MS test isolates every component that’s present in an essential oil.
The GC/MS report is like an “ingredient list” for what’s in the oil.
Someone who’s practiced in reading GC/MS reports and essential oil chemistry can clearly see if there are any “ingredients” that don’t belong.
For the typical consumer, it’s not practical to GC/MS test all of your essential oils. The tests can be expensive.
But for an aromatherapy company dealing with bulk quantities of essential oil, a single test can be done for an entire batch. That’s very practical (and responsible)!
Providing the GC/MS report to their customers is as easy as uploading it to their website or providing a slip of paper.
There’s no reason not to do it.
Ask for the GC/MS report to know if your essential oils are pure.
What if you don’t know how to read a GC/MS report?
That’s okay—just the knowledge that a company tests their oils and provides the reports is reassuring. If you really feel uncertain, you can find a certified aromatherapist and ask them to help you read the report.
2. The company works directly with essential oil distillers and practices sustainability.
Since there’s no way to know if your essential oils are pure without lab testing . . .
And since adulteration is common . . .
It’s important for any company selling essential oils to know EXACTLY what happens during the production process.
They should be able to answer questions like . . .
- How are the plants grown and harvested?
- Are the plants certified organic?
- If it’s not possible for the land to be certified as organic, are organic practices used . . . and if so, what are those practices?
- Are the plants wildcrafted and harvested by hand?
- Who is the farmer?
- Who is the distiller?
- How long have they been farming and distilling?
- What is their reputation?
- Can you go and visit the farm or the still . . . or both?
Knowing these answers is excellent, but the best way for a company to really rely on their farmers and distillers is to work with them over time, developing relationships based on shared values and trust.
3. The essential oil company goes out of its way to share information with you.
They want to be sure you know about their production practices, including information like:
- GC/MS reports
- Where the essential oil was produced
- When the oil was produced
- What the oil’s shelf life is
- Cautions and contraindications
- Their sustainability standards
A reliable company should also educate its customers with information about safety and how to use essential oils effectively, based on the latest research and evidence.
Making sure customers understand issues like safety, dilution ratios, and safe methods of use keeps both the company and their customers safe.
If you have a question about your product or if your essential oils are pure, the company should be ready, willing, and able to answer it.
ConsumersAdvocate.org did an in-depth review of popular essential oil companies.
They said . . .
“We learned that quality and testing go hand in hand, and that adulterations are a common practice in the essential oil industry. So we decided to test three oils from 11 brands by sending unlabeled samples to the Aromatic Plant Research Center in Utah to test them for any adulteration.”
We’re so happy and proud . . . Aromatics International came in as one of the top companies that ConsumersAdvocate.org reviewed!
They found our essential oils to be 100% pure!
We would like to thank our friends and partners around the world, especially the distillers we work so closely with, who take such pride in producing quality products.
We couldn’t do it without them!
The full ConsumersAdvocate.org review shares more details about essential oil testing and company transparency. (Is your favorite company reviewed in the article?)
We’d also like to thank YOU.
Thank you for using essential oils safely, and for educating yourself about what that means.
We hope the ConsumersAdvocate.org review helps you have even more fun with your oils!
About the Author: Karen Williams
Throughout her 35 years as a registered nurse, Karen Williams was passionate about using plant-based medicine to support health & well-being. After extensive study in the field of aromatherapy, Karen made a career transition to become the co-owner, lead product sourcer and head aromatherapist at Aromatics International. She loves sharing the benefits of essential oils and natural living with others – and is proud to work together with her grown children and a wonderful team to deliver the highest-quality organic and wildcrafted products directly to your door.
I absolutely love all your products. Knowing they are organic and sustainable gives me peace of mind, knowing you are advocating for the health and wellness of people and the planet.
You are all such a great group of people, the customer service is outstanding and I feel so fortunate to have been led to you.
Hi Jennifer! This is so sweet! We sincerely appreciate it (: So happy to have you a part of our Aromatics tribe!
I read that article a few weeks ago and was soo happy to see y’all on this list as one of the ones that are transparent and 100% pure. Well deserved!!
Hi Janet! Thank you so much! We sincerely appreciate it 🙂
I very much appreciate how easily accessible your GC/MS reports are and how clear they are to read. I admit that I do not read every one for each of my oil purchases but I know its there so I can. One of the reasons I chose to shop with Aromatics International is because you offer those reports and because of the quality of your oils. Thanks for all you do!
With aromatherapy practice becoming increasingly popular and the opportunity for social media to share mass info without responsible education behind it, I would encourage everyone to start their journey with safety factors, such as in your blog, first and make products after! Thanks for continuing to educate as well as provide us with awesome products!
I’ve been using essential oils for years now and love them. However I’m still confused between the difference of wild crafted vs hand harvested and the difference it makes.
Hi Bonnie! Wildcrafted more or less means that the plants were harvested in their natural environment, instead of being farmed. As an example, we wildcraft Arnica here in Montana as it grows wild everywhere! No one plants it as it just grows. One can hand harvest in the wild, or on a farm (:
Doing the right thing, before it was a “thing” is part of what makes Aromatics International such a great company. You check all the boxes; quality, sustainability and safety through education. Your website is a tremendous resource. I refer to it often when formulating blends. Thank you for all you provide to the Aromatic community.
Congratulations, Team Aromatics! Great review.
I just read the article and was not surprised to see Aromatics International on the list. Over the years I have bought many essential oils from a number of companies. I spent a lot of my hard earned money on essential oils only to find out how very disappointed I was in a few of them. Mainly because I could never get a strait answer on safety from them or a GC/MS report. More than anything all they said I would not be able to read it if they did. I was starting to learn as much as possible about safety and the use of essential oils. The day I was led to Aromatics International was such a great day for me. Thank you AromaHead. Everyone at Aromatics International are some of the greatest people to work with. There is no doubt in my eyes they are one of the tops. Thank You for all you do for all of us essential oil lovers.
Absolutely love the web site
I recommend you to everyone who is looking for a great company. I have gotten into the habit of looking at all companies your way. It is so easy to navigate and get what I want.
Love your company and feel so confident sharing your oils with our patients…we love our patients and only want them to have the BEST!
Thank you!
great article that builds trust with customers and credibility when i refer people to the company. thank you
Thank you so much! <3
Very nice article! I knew Aromatics International was a great company! Love your oils and other products. I just recommended your company to my niece who is doing some research into the oils.
Hi Susan! This is awesome! Thank you so much (: If your niece has any questions, we would love to chat with her!
I use Aromatics International for all my essential oils and carriers. Aromatics International is the best in my opinion!! Keep up the excellent work!!
Peace&Love!! Deborah
Hi Deborah! We greatly appreciate you! Thanks so much for sharing:)