Some essential oils have a high cost because the plants used are sometimes rare, and they may come from far away or not be cultivated, but only grow in the wild. Then, all do not have the same “ yield ”: thus, it takes 25 kg of cistus leaves to make 5 ml of essential oil against only 2.5 kg of cistus flowers.helichrysum for example.
Picking this plant is rare and difficult. Only the flower buds, picked one by one, are used for the manufacture of essential oil. While for cistus (another plant from which essential oil is extracted), both the leaves and the twigs are picked. They are two very expensive HE but with different output.
Are there different qualities of essential oils?
A good essential oil is bought by pharmacy, in an organic store, under certain brands known for their reliability, online at a few very reputable suppliers, not in a market in a naked bottle, without the following indications.
The bottle must be in colored glass, or in a metal bottle coated with glass on the inside so as to prevent any contact which promotes the exchange of material. The quality of the EO you buy is indicated on the cardboard packaging the bottle: the words “100% pure and natural essential oil, 100% integral”, HECT (chemotyped essential oil) or HEBBD (botanically and biochemically defined essential oil) , the name in French and in Latin, the one or two molecules most representative of its composition, the name and contact details of the laboratory, the geographical origin of the plant, the organ from which the EO is extracted, the expiry date . Nothing prevents you from claiming the chromatographic analysis of EO, a guarantee of its compliance with the European and French pharmacopoeias.
The more expensive the essential oil, the more quality it is?
If price is not an absolute criterion of quality, it can nevertheless be a good indicator. Some essential oils can fetch a high price because of the large amount of raw material required to produce them or because of the often low yield of distillation. “The prize goes to the rose, explains pharmacist Danièle Festy,” since it only provides a few grams per 100 kg! But pistachio lentiscus, cistus and especially lemon balm also have a very low yield and are necessarily very expensive. Dear”. So avoid EO, the price of which is much lower than most of those charged for the same oil and ask your pharmacist for advice so that he directs you to a particular supplier whose quality of products is recognized.
Read also :
The top 10 most essential oils
The 7 essential oils essential on vacation
