What is the Best Essential Oils Company? (My Pick and Why I Chose It)

Today you can find essential oils everywhere–even at Target and Wal-Mart. But not all oils are created equal. So how do you choose the best essential oils company? How do you make sure what you’re buying is actually going to work?

It’s an interesting thing about this information-saturated age we live in. Two people can have access to exactly the same information, read the same studies, and come away with completely different opinions.

Either it can be a completely frustrating situation because you don’t know who to listen to (Been. There.) or it can be a beautiful thing because we are all distinctly unique individuals who can make the decisions that work best for us and our families.

Now I’m not saying that truth is entirely subjective. Hardly. (Some essential oil brands legitimately do not work because they’re so adulterated or diluted or whatever.)

But I am saying that there can be several valid choices, and my decision may not be the same as yours. And that’s fine.

Is there more than one “best” essential oils company?

Choosing an essential oils brand can be one of those difficult decisions that we may differ on.

You don’t want to waste your hard-earned money on oils that don’t work. Quality matters so that your oils will do more than just smell pretty.

You want to know that care, quality, and expertise have gone into every drop of oil in that bottle.

But there’s a lot of controversy on this topic. If you ask 100 different people about the best essential oils company, you may very well get 100 different answers. It seems everyone has slightly different criteria for choosing what they believe is the best essential oils company.

I’ve personally gone round in circles and literally agonized over it as I’ve read all the reviews and analyses and tried different options.

In the interest of full disclosure, I even started to write a post about why I was no longer going to promote the brand of oils that I’m going to tell you about here. (True story.)

I moved past that after lots of questions and some good talks with my good friend who also likes to question and research everything. I do believe that the oils I’m going to tell you about are pretty much the best quality you can find.

But if you’d like to read about this topic from a different perspective from mine, Adrienne at Whole New Mom has a very well-thought-out, in-depth analysis on the subject.

Yes, I’m aware that if I send you over to her series, I may “lose” you here. But I’d rather you make the right decision for your family than try to hide anyone else’s perspective from you.

I believe in making decisions from a place of knowledge.

So, here we go.

Criteria for Choosing the Best Essential Oils Company

These are the criteria that I determined were the most important to me as I made my decision for the essential oils company my family and I would use.

• Value: I want the highest value product for my money.
• Transparency: I should know the company’s processes and feel I can ask them questions.
• Organic practices: If I’m going to take the time to replace toxic products, the replacements had better not have pesticides or other toxins from the farming practices.
• Sourcing: Many oils have to come from third-party suppliers. These oils should come from trusted suppliers whose practices are similar to those of the company I’m buying from.
• Earth-friendliness: Essential oils use a huge amount of plant materials. The company I use should be earth conscious and use sustainable practices.
• Purity: The products should not be contaminated in any way by fillers or synthetics.
• Potency: The oils should be high potency so that they work and work well with just a small amount of product.
• Years of experience: I wanted a company with a long track record.
• Testing process: The more involved the testing process, the higher the likelihood of high quality oils.
• Product selection: A large product selection means I don’t have to shop around with several different companies. I love one-stop shopping for convenience and peace of mind.

You may come to a different conclusion or have different criteria than I have. I recognize that there are several good brands out there with different benefits.

But after all my research, there was one company that fit all my criteria.

I personally believe that Young Living is the best essential oils company. Here’s why.

1. Young Living oils provide the best value

When my good friend first introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils, the biggest sticking point for me was the price.

I tend to be a very frugal person and only spend more if I truly believe the value is there. I spent a lot of time researching the best prices on essential oils and how to get the best bang for my buck.

After trying a few cheaper brands and not getting the results I wanted, I went back to my friend. I finally hit that “Purchase” button, and I’m so glad I did.

With Young Living, even though I’m spending more than I would for “bargain” oils, I truly believe I’m getting the best value.

The Premium Starter Kit is a huge value

Although there are other ways to get started with Young Living, I personally love the Premium Starter Kit. It comes with a diffuser, 12 oils and blends that you can use for nearly all of your family’s natural wellness needs, and several samples for over 50% off of what you would pay retail.

Subscribe to Save offers even more value

Young Living also offers a program called Subscribe to Save (STS), which is like a monthly wellness subscription box with some special perks that you don’t get in a normal subscription box. With STS you get up to 25% of your purchase price back in points that you can apply to future purchases for free products.

I’ve redeemed points for several hundred dollars worth of free oils, supplements, and personal care products. Plus every month Young Living offers different free products just for placing your regular monthly order.

“Free” is one of my favorite words, and I love Subscribe to Save. It’s totally worth it.

Products are highly concentrated

Young Living’s products are concentrated, so you only have to use a little bit. One bottle of the Thieves Household Cleaner will make around 20 spray bottles of all-purpose cleaner.

That means each spray bottle ends up costing you just a little more than $1. Try getting a non-toxic cleaner at the grocery store for that price!

You can use the cleaner on basically any surface in your house and not be afraid that it will harm you or or your family. (Cleaners are one of the worst sources of environmental toxins.)

The same goes for any of the essential oils. Because they’re so potent, you usually only need a drop or two.

One bottle can last you several months or more. You can mix them up into your own DIY creations (like face creams, deodorant, toothpaste, or body washes) to make them go even farther.

2. Over two decades of experience

Young Living has been in the essential oils business since 1994. That’s 25 years experience in essential oils–more than anyone else in the industry.

They own over 10,000 acres of farmland around the world. Their years of experience mean they know exactly when to harvest for the highest quality.

Young Living is the world leader in producing and guaranteeing 100% pure and potent therapeutic-grade essential oils and plant-based products. They know what they are doing, and I trust them to do it well.

3. Seed to Seal

Seed to Seal is the primary reason I chose Young Living.

I know Young Living is not the only company that offers high quality oils. But I chose Young Living because they are committed to providing the highest quality essential oils and oil-infused products anywhere.

They own many of their own farms and partner closely with other farms to guarantee potency and purity. Plants are harvested at their peak and distilled precisely for the highest therapeutic benefit.

The Seed to Seal guarantee represents their commitment to quality.

What does Seed to Seal mean?

Young Living’s Seed to Seal standard means that, from the time the seed is sourced to when the oil is put in a bottle, it undergoes intense quality control to ensure it’s the highest quality.

Did you know a lot of companies dilute or adulterate their oils with carrier oils or synthetics? And current standards state that the bottle has to include only 5% pure essential oil to be labelled “pure.”

Young Living does not dilute or adulterate their oils.

The only thing in the essential oil bottle is the plant itself. No additives or fillers. No synthetic fragrance or preservatives. And no dyes. Nothing that will jeopardize your body’s delicate balance.

All ingredients in every product Young Living offers are plant based. Not synthetic. Not toxic. Ingredients to promote your health and wellness, not tear it down.  

Seed to Seal comprises three pillars: Sourcing, Science, and Standards.

Sourcing

The sourcing pillar of Seed to Seal means that all of the plant materials that go into a Young Living bottle come from one of three places: a Young-Living owned farm, a partner farm, or a Seed-to-Seal-certified supplier that has signed a contract to follow standards Young Living has set in place.

They verify quality through strict testing and audits. If a product does not meet Young Living’s standards of quality and responsible sustainability, they won’t sell it.

The sourcing pillar of Seed to Seal actually starts even before the seed is planted. Young Living’s scientists test the soil for pesticide residue from previous farming. They test the water for purity. They won’t plant in a field that doesn’t meet their high standards.

Read more about the sourcing pillar here.

Science

The researcher in me loves this pillar. Young Living employs more than 50 highly educated and experienced scientists to test the quality of their products. They also hire 3rd-party experts to verify their work.

They use state-of-the-art equipment. And they’re constantly doing more research to make sure their product claims and uses are backed by scientific data.

Intense product testing

Every product Young Living sells must go through a rigorous testing process before it ever reaches your home. Many companies perform only a handful of tests because they’re expensive to perform.

Young Living’s testing process is different. They perform each of the following tests (found here) multiple times before they consider a product ready for sale.

• Densitometry
• Viscometry
• Refractometry
• Olfactometry
• Polarimetry
• Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)
• Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES)
• Gas Chromatography (GC)
• High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
• Automated Micro-Enumeration
• Accelerated Stability Testing
• Disintegration
• pH
• Microscopy
• Combustibility
• Flash Point
• Water Activity
• Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS)
• Chiral Chromatography
• Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS)

The Young Living blog says that, in total, a product will have “gone through about 90 tests to ensure the highest quality” before it ever reaches your home.

Standards

Young Living is committed to high standards. When you buy inexpensive essential oils, the product is often synthetic, adulterated, or sourced unethically.

Young Living goes above and beyond to be sure their products are pure, highly potent, unadulterated, and ethically sourced.

Some time ago the news broke that some of Young Living’s employees had been improperly sourcing certain endangered plant materials. Instead of trying to cover it up, Young Living’s corporate office reported on themselves as soon as they found out what was happening.

They worked with the government to make things right. As a result, they ended up being the first essential oils company to create a Lacey Act compliance program certified by the government.

Young Living educates, evaluates, certifies, and monitors all partner farms and suppliers to ensure they are following the Lacey Act Compliance Program.

4. Organic farming practices

Young Living uses only organic farming practices, including

• clean pest control using their own essential oils
• hand weeding
• non-hybrid, non-GMO seeds
• companion planting
• worm composting

5. Huge product selection

This is one of the most compelling reasons I keep using Young Living (as if the quality and value weren’t enough!)

While other companies may offer decent essential oils, no one offers quite the product line that Young Living does.

You’ll find over 270 essential oils and blends and 600+ essential-oil-infused products, including makeup, personal care, home cleaning, supplements, kids and baby lines, a men’s line, and a pet’s line.

They’re not just an essential oils company. They’re a lifestyle company.

They offer a full range of clean products for everything my home needs. I don’t need to go to the grocery store and check all the labels.

Getting my products shipped directly to me every month with Subscribe to Save is incredibly convenient. It also reduces my stress levels figuring out which products are clean enough for my home.

I get peace of mind–so not only am I improving my family’s physical health; I’m also improving my mental health. And I believe that mental health is just as important, if not more so.

6. Transparency

Young Living is transparent about their entire process. Anyone can visit their farms whenever they want to.

They might even put you to work harvesting and distilling when you visit!

7. Sustainability

Young Living takes wise stewardship of the Earth seriously. In addition to working to ensure that all materials are ethically and sustainably sourced, they have also started a zero-waste initiative.

8. The Young Living Foundation

The Young Living Foundation’s mission is to empower “individuals to achieve their potential and defy limitations by providing wellness and education opportunities to underserved communities.”

They work with over 170 charities around the world to build schools, end human trafficking, fight malaria in Uganda, provide disaster relief, and more. You can read more about the foundation here.

9. Community and education

Over 6 million people worldwide trust Young Living for their essential oils needs. But with Young Living you won’t feel like just one of their many customers.

When you use my link to get started with Young Living you’ll get plugged in to my team of kind, friendly, knowledgeable individuals who are happy to answer any and all of your questions and get you feeling confident with your essential oils.

You can find out more about what special bonuses I offer here.

There are tons of opportunities available within Young Living to learn more about your oils and how to use them. You’ll also get free resources for sharing the products with other people, if you choose to do so.

10. The opportunity

If you love wellness and you love your essential oils, you’ll probably want to share them with people you know. Young Living gives you a generous opportunity to do so.

It’s possible to earn a full-time income from Young Living, just by sharing about the products that you already use and love yourself.

The startup costs are low, and you don’t have to keep any inventory. Your customers will order their products directly from Young Living.

But if you don’t want to sell, you never, ever have to. 89% of members join just to get the best prices on the products.

Conclusion

There are many good essential oil companies out there, but for the criteria I chose for myself and my family, there is only one best essential oils company.

Ready to learn more? Take a look at my guide to creating natural wellness for your family in my free Pioneerish Micro Homestead Toolkit. Or feel free to contact me at jessica {@} pioneerish.com with questions!