How to find a trustworthy aromatherapy supplier.

Here are a few "red flags" that may indicate an aromatherapy / essential oil supplier either a) isn't experienced and knowledgeable enough to offer quality oils; or b) is just down-right dishonest:

Be wary of a website, catalog, or store that includes products such as "fish oil" in the same category as "essential oil." Honest to Goddess, I actually came upon a site once that defined fish oil as an essential oil. While it may be healthy (it's loaded with omega 3, which is very good for you), in the field of aromatherapy, it is not considered an essential oil.

Any supplier selling "Lilac" or "Gardenia" essential oil cannot be trusted. They have either been ripped off themselves by their wholesale supplier, or they are trying to rip you off. To date, no one has been able to extract an essential oil from either Lilacs or Gardenias.

The same is true for Amber, which is actually petrified tree resin (a rock, more or less). There are, indeed, many wonderful oils and absolutes produced from tree resin. However, as you can imagine, extracting oil from a rock would prove very difficult. So stay clear of any supplier trying to pass off "Amber" as an essential oil.

Be very wary of any supplier who does not sell essential oils in colored glass bottles. Essential oils, like the plants they come from, are perishable. They will lose their therapeutic value over time and some will begin to turn rancid. Their shelf life can be extended by storing them in dark colored glass bottles, preferable amber or dark blue tinted. Plastic bottles are an even bigger warning sign as pure, undiluted essential can sometimes eat through plastic, making it a very inadequate form of packaging. Lotions, shampoos and similar products containing small amounts of essential oils are an exception, of course.

Stay away from any supplier that markets all of their essential oils at the same price. For example, if you find a supplier that offers all 10ml sizes of ALL their oils (from Aniseed to Ylang Ylang) for $9.99, this supplier is not selling true essential oils. More likely, these a synthetic oils being marketed as essential, or they've been heavily diluted with vegetable oils. The price of essential oil, both wholesale and retail, varies greatly depending on the type of plant its obtained from. For example, a plant that thrives all over the globe and produces an oil that is relatively easy and inexpensive to extract will cost much less per ounce than an oil from a rare plant that requires solvent extraction. Another example: East Indian Sandalwood is steam extracted (relatively easy) but the tree is dangerously near extinction. And while Roses are abundant and not in danger of extinction, it takes 60,000 of them to produce a single ounce of oil.

Speaking of Ylang Ylang...here's something else to look for: Even if you're not in the market for Ylang Ylang, if you're researching an oil supplier and trying to get a feel for their knowledge and integrity, look to see if they offer Ylang Ylang. Whether they do or don't is irrelevant. If they don't it isn't a big deal. But if they do, then here's the next step: Ylang Ylang comes in different grades. It all comes from the same plant, but it's distilled in different phases. Each phase produces a different quality oil. So look to see if it's #1, #2, #3, Complete, or Extra. If it just says Ylang Ylang, then maybe you should shop around for another supplier. If the grade of the Ylang Ylang is not indicated on the label then it's an indication this oil supplier doesn't very much about aromatherapy and essential oils, and chances are this lack of knowledge doesn't end with their Ylang Ylang oil. What else don't they know? How old are the citrus oils they have in stock? Do they even know oils have a shelf life? Click here for more information on the different grades of Ylang Ylang oil.

This same exercise can be done with lavender or eucalyptus oils, which both come in several varieties. Don't buy ANY oil from a supplier that sells simply "Lavender" or "Eucalyptus" oil. I will admit, when I first started out in this business, I started on eBay and I was buying my oils from other eBay sellers. I bought a bottle of lavender oil from an eBay member. It came. It smelled like lavender. In fact, it was so strong, I could smell it before I even opened the box. The aroma was so overpowering I thought for sure the bottle must have broke and leaked all over. But when I opened it, it was in tact and still tightly sealed. So I was convinced it was the real deal. To this day, I'm still not sure if it was or wasn't. I mixed me up a batch of lavender reed diffuser potion and posted it for sale on eBay. Then I waited. My moment of humility came when a potential buyer emailed me asking what type of lavender it was. Hummm. Good question. So I emailed the seller I bought it from and asked them. No answer. I emailed again and still no response. So I emailed back that wonderful lady, to whom I am still deeply grateful, and apologized profusely for my lack of knowledge and vowed that I would never again purchased another oil from another supplier who did not provide me with all the relevant information. And I've kept my word. And then some. I went even further. Because it was at that moment that I realized: "Wow. There's really a lot more to this aromatherapy stuff than I realized." So I bought about two dozens books on aromatherapy and essential oils. I bookmarked about three dozens websites on the subject. I enrolled in an aromatherapy certification course. I've spent nearly every day and night for that last year studying the subject and building this website (and enjoyed every minute immensely). And I closed my eBay store and I no longer buy my oils on eBay. And I would not recommend that you do either. But I digress.... Back to Lavender and Eucalyptus: When you're shopping around for oils, check to see if the supplier indicates what type of Lavender it is. And don't just take "Lavandula" (the Latin name) for an answer. It should say Lavandula angustifolia, or Lavandula officinalis, or Lavandula vera, etc. The same for Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus globulus, or Eucalyptus radiata...you get the idea. Data. Insist on as much data on the oils as possible. The more information they provide the better. If you're serious about aromatherapy and want to get the maximum therapeutic benefit from your oils, learn as much as you can about them and then make sure you acquire them from a supplier that is at least as knowledgeable as you...if not more so. We've provided profiles on most of the essential oils used in modern aromatherapy in this website (at least, we're in the process...we're working fast and furious...promise!). Bookmark these profiles and refer to them often, particularly before purchasing your oils so you know what to look for. The quality of an oil can vary depending on the country of origin, the method of extraction, the variety or genus of the plant, etc. Because of this, suppliers should always provide, at the very minimum, the following information for all essential oils they sell:

- Common name

- Botanical (Latin) name

- Chemotype (where applicable)

- Country of origin

- Method of extraction

- Any applicable safety precautions

On our page "Essential Oil Storage & Shelf Life," we discussed the amount of time it can take for oils to pass through the hands of the producer, to the wholesaler; to the retailer; and finally, to the consumer...a process that can take several months considering most oils are imported from distant countries and most go through customs inspections, etc. It's really unfortunate that there isn't some industry regulatory board enforcing a mandatory date stamping on every oil. Wouldn't it be helpful if our essential oils had expiration dates on them like our medications? This is one of those areas where we wish there were some mandatory standards oil producers were required to follow, but unfortunately, there isn't. As retailers, we have to rely on the reputations of our wholesalers. Here at Your Inner Goddess, we research our wholesale suppliers extensively. This sometimes means paying a higher price than what other vendors are offering, but once we realize WHY the other vendors are able to offer the oils at a lower price, their oils are no longer appealing to us. You see, the average shelf life for an oil is two years from the date its extracted from the plant. For citrus oils, it's much shorter: six months to one year. So the only tool wholesalers and retailers have to ensure we are offering our customers fresh oils is to buy the oils in small quantities. Purchasing in bulk may save us money, but if we can't sell them before they lose their therapeutic value, then it really wasn't a very good deal after all. We could sell them anyway, and just neglect to tell our customers how old they are and make our profit, but then we wouldn't be able to sleep at night. So if you find a supplier selling essential oils at an incredibly lower price than the majority of the other suppliers out there, maybe you should be suspicious.