The High Cost of Cheap Essential Oils
September 13, 2018
50 Shades of Pure
Don't be fooled by discount retailers on Amazon, big box stores and others who offer essential oils at very low prices or charge the same price for all of their oils.
It's important to remember where essential oils come from when you purchase a bottle. It takes 250 pounds of rose blossoms to produce one (1) ounce (30ml) of rose oil, which explains the very high cost of pure rose otto or rose absolute
Other oils are easier to produce, but every oil requires a large amount of plant matter to produce a small amount of oil. This means that good quality essential oils will never be cheap. This does not mean that more expensive oils will always be better than less expensive ones, but the old adage, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” definitely applies here.
The comforting thought when investing in true, pure essential oils is that since the oils are so highly concentrated and so little is required for most applications, even an expensive oil like rose otto can end up being cost effective in the long run.
According to Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, insiders report that purveyors of cheap Lavender EO may use this well established practice - spraying linalyl acetate on lavender plants just before harvest to guarantee a sufficient concentration in the distilled oil without having to add the substance in a "fraudulent" manner to the finished oil. Sneaky!
"Natural" on the label may mean this...
According to well known French distillers, this practice has been around awhile - the reconstruction of essential oils. Fragrance & Flavor experts combine the main components of an essential oil in the lab. The EO components can be of a natural origin so the finished blended product can justifiably be labeled "natural". What's wrong with this? A tad deceitful and the result is human creation, not nature's. Also, the fragrance of these oils is often weak and diluted but, there's another trick up their sleeve - the lab version can be intensified by adding a small amount of the true oil. One liter of true Rosemary essential oil can result in 20 liters - that then can be sold to retailers very inexpensively who will tempt unaware buyers with low prices.
The good news...
Remember, your nose is a very reliable partner in discerning between genuine and synthetic not to mention their efficacy! Once you use a true, fresh essential oil you'll never be able to accept the fragrance or the results of a cheap oil.
Also, because of the new popularity plant based medicine is seeing and the improved analytics, small companies like mine now have access to superior choices from expert distiller/distributors. Purchasing in small batches allows me to offer fresher essential oils than many large EO companies who must warehouse oils in order to service huge demand. Truth be told, I love being a small quiet voice in the big, raucous world of essential oils.
Without a doubt, genuine essential oils are pricier than adulterated/manipulated oils. Keep this in mind when making your EO choices for you and your family - the most expensive oils are also the most potent, providing a myriad of benefits but needing very little to achieve results.
