How to Identify Top Quality Essential Oils

The trend of aromatherapy or using essential oils for a healthy lifestyle is gaining popularity day by day because of the numerous benefits of essential oils. Most of us use them to protect and nourish our hair, skin, and health.

However, we can get the best results out of essential oils only when they are in their pure form or processed while maintaining their composition in the best state. Since there are many brands available in the market, it becomes difficult to know if we are using a top-quality essential oil or a processed one. Because only the pure form can give you the best results that they are famous for.

Before discussing some popular methods to identify the quality of essential oil, you should know how the quality of oil gets affected.

What conditions can impact the quality of essential oil?

The quality of essential oil can be compromised in different ways from the growing environment to their distillation, manufacturing, distribution, and storage environment. Thus, we can’t always guarantee the purity of the essential oils unless we test them using some specific methods.

Growing conditions:

As we all know, the use of pesticides and different chemicals has highly affected the planting and harvesting culture. Same is the case with the growing of essential oils. Moreover, variability in altitude, soil, and weather conditions can also affect the quality of the essential oils.

Processing conditions:

The processing of essential oils plays a vital role in maintaining their quality and purity. The processing of the oils like adulteration or dilution decides whether they can be used for clinical use or not.

Packaging and Handling conditions:

Necessary measures are needed to protect the quality of the essential oils during packaging, storing, and handling processes. Because exposure to heat, sunlight, or oxygen can alter the composition of the oil and reduce the effectiveness of the oil. Especially, the essential oils made from citrus products like lemon essential oil, orange essential oil are prone to oxidation that can alter their chemistry instantly.

Storage conditions:

Essential oils need special storage conditions to maintain their composition and quality. They should be stored in tightly closed containers made with darkened glass. To ensure long-lasting quality, essential oils should be stored in cool dry places away from sunlight. If these conditions are followed strictly, essential oils can be safely used for up to 3 years after opening.

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How can you identify the top-quality essential oils?

When there are a number of brands available in the market, you’ll always get confused in selecting the top quality for yourself. Here we discuss some ways that you can follow to always make the right decision and get the best product that really nourishes your skin and hair and improves your health.

• Whether you buy essential oil from a store or from and individual, make sure you read the information provided on the label or website of that brand. From the ingredients and description provided, you can assess whether they used the essential oil in pure form or it’s processed or adulterated for some particular purpose.

• Make sure the Latin name of the plant is provided on the label of the essential oil. This way you can identify which specie is used in the processing of the oil.

• Aromatherapists also suggest that different countries produce the same essential oil using different methods according to their weather conditions, soil conditions, processing, and packaging methods. Thus, consumers should keep in mind that the quality of the same essential oil could be different when bought from different regions.

• Always find reputable sources in your area that sell good-quality essential oils. Some brands also mention if the essential oil is 100% pure or altered using some other oil. This statement will also help you to select the best essential oil that you need for your health-related purposes.

• The smell or aroma of essential oil is one of the major things through which you can be sure of its purity or quality.

• You can also compare the costs of the essential oil from different brands before buying one. If some brand is selling the oil at very low rates, it might not be a real thing.