Expert: Judy Frayne - 4/1/2007

Question
can you tell me the difference between essential and fragrance oils

Answer
Hello Edwina - this is a really good question. There are several different ways you can tell, but none are foolproof... you end up trusting your nose !

First of all - do a label check. Essential oils should say something to the effect that they ARE essential oils. They may say 100 pure or similar. This SHOULD mean they are pure essential oils and nothing else has been added. However you may find labels that say they are blended essential oils. This is still ok. It usually means that the essential oils have had some carrier or base oil added to dilute them.
An example would be Jasmine oil. This is very expensive,a gm measure of pure Jasmine could cost as much as £20.00 - however you will fine blended Jasmine , i.e probably 2gms diluted with almond oil perhaps, for much less than that. It's a good way of buying the more expensive oils at affordable prices.

Next - you need to look at the prices. A complete range of oils all selling at £1.99, are not going to be essential oils. Prices should range from very reasonable - Lavender, Peppermint and Rosemary being among the cheapest, to Rose, Jasmine and Vanilla being much more expensive.

Next comes your nose ! Use it to get used to what's real and what's not real. Your nose will tell you after a very short time. A good test is to buy yourself one of the cheaper oils that you know is essential oil, and then buy a room fragrance of the same smell. Rose essential oils smell like real roses. Rose room fragrance smell very sweet and cloying . Try comparing real citrus oil with the equivalent in a room fragrance, or even lavender, which is readily available from most pharmacies. If the smell is 'too good to be true' or  a bit sweet and 'overdone' you can bet you have a room fragrance and not an essential oil.

Finally - you should be able to sample smell the oils you buy. I won't buy from anywhere that won't let me smell what I am buying first. If you are in the uk I can recommend some really good trustworthy brands.

I will also mention that there are certain shops that say they are selling aromatherapy products containing essential oils. You need to bear in mind that the amount of essential oil they add to a whole vat of their product is going to be very small, and the product will not have a huge therapeutic effect, if any at all. It's best to mix up yourself with the real thing.

Good luck !
Judy