When purchasing an essential oil it is important to check:

• The Batch Number: This will tell you the oil company's exact source, field and origin. For research purposes it is important to get all your oil from same batch and brand. This rules out wide variations in chemical constituents.
• Latin name: This means the therapist knows the exact oil they are purchasing.
• The part of the plant used: It is important that the oil is extracted from the correct part of the plant or it will not have the desired properties.
• The country of origin: The climate and soil type can effect the quality of the oil so it's important that it is cultivated in the identified country.
• Number of millilitres: This indicates if you are getting value for your money.
• Safety Advice: For example - must be diluted in vegetable oil / not to be used in pregnancy etc.
• Dropper: If the bottle has a dropper it will avoid waste and make the bottle safer. Remember pure oils can be very potent! Never used the dropper with different bottles, this will contaminate the oil.
• Dark glass bottle: This will protect the oil from U.V. light which can alter it's chemical composition.