Expert: Ronda Snow, Ph.D. - 2/1/2005

Question
Hello Baihu,

   I am getting started in aromatherapy and would like your opinion on where to get the best products such as frangrance and essential oils.  Are absolutes the best to use??  Anything else helpful would be appreciated.

        Thank-you


          Jennifer M.

Answer
Good question!

When you get right down to it, which brand of oil you choose is mostly a matter of personal preferance and, of course, budget. Being an unemployed doctorate student, mine is a little tight still...so I have been looking at oils in terms of value...the best quality for my price range.

I do like NOW products for the most part, especially thier supplements, but thier oils are a little too dilute for intensive thereputic use, in my opinion. BUT they are great for some general uses where you want a more dilute oil in the first place...just use more of it, and at this price you can do that. So for high volume aesthetic / non-thereputic use (like air freshners, bath salts, candles etc) common oils like lemon, orange etc I do tend to get the NOW ones...definitely great quality, great price, often of food grade quality, which is nice if you want to use that application...but always be SURE it is a food-grade oil before using it in cooking.

Aura Cacia is readily available in health stores and reasonably priced. They have a wide range of available oils and the store will often special order for you if they don't have what you need in stock. Their fragrances are much stronger and clearer and better for diffusing, and using with a thereputic intent rather than general aesthetic or house-cleaning chores.

There are pricier brands, and some exquisite qualities out there such as organic and wildcrafted oils. All else being equal, my concern is quality more than price if I have to choose between the two.

I NEVER use the cheap oils you see that come with 'dollar store' scent diffusers etc...at least not for anything near thereputic use...and then only if I'm crazy about the smell. The scent is often 'muddy' and the energy low, since they are only intended for general room fragrance, and not aromatherapy intents.

I do tend to use single note oils, instead of blends. Simply because it 1. lets me make my own blends, customizing to my or my clients specific needs, 2. allows me to control the proportion of each oil in a blend and 3. allows for more purely intuitive guidance in crafting and customizing blends. But again, this much a matter of personal preferance.

Good luck to you in your aromatherapy work!

Baihu