Frequently Asked Questions
Product Information
Are your essential oils 100% natural and pure?
Are your essential oils certified organic by the Soil Association or a similar certification body?
How long can I store essential oils?
I have heard that Sandalwood is an endangered species. Why are you selling it?
Do you stock any products containing animal ingredients?
The jojoba oil you have sent me is cloudy
Are your products safe to use when pregnant?
Can I use your products in food?
Do you use preservatives in any of your products?
Can I return your bottles for refill or re-use?
Can you supply Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)?
Can you provide tables of product constituents?
Can you provide Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC / MS) traces?
How do you ensure the quality of your oils?
Are your oils ethically sourced?
How do I buy copies of Julia and Alec Lawless’s books?
Can you help me with my product development?
Are your essential oils 100% natural and pure?
Our essential oils are 100% natural. We offer a large range of 100% pure essential oils and precious oils. In addition, due to the expense of buying some precious oils in their pure form, we also offer blended oils diluted to a 5% concentration in fractionated coconut oil*.
Our benzoin is prepared in a 50% concentration diluted in benzyl benzoate (an alcohol that occurs naturally in benzoin) as the pure resin is a sticky solid. In our experience, most other companies offer benzoin in DPG (di propylene glycol) or castor oil in 10-20% dilution.
Click here to read our quality statement.
Click here to buy pure oils.
Click here to buy blended oils.
*Coconut oil solidifies at cool temperatures. The light, clear and odourless fraction of the oil that remains mobile is poured off– hence the term fractionated.
Are your essential oils certified organic by the Soil Association or a similar certification body?
We offer a range of our most popular oils in an organic version, certified by the Soil Association. Click here to buy.
How long can I store essential oils?
If kept in a cool, dark place most oils should keep for at least 2 years after bottling. Some, such as Sandalwood and Patchouli, improve with age. Others, such as Lemon can deteriorate so we recommend buying smaller quantities more often. We do not display a sell by or use by date on the product, but all oils carry a batch number which indicates the year and day manufactured (e.g. 10216 = year 2010, 216th day of the year).
I have heard that Sandalwood is an endangered species. Why are you selling it?
Sandalwood is listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List, which is an internationally recognised database of threatened species. In recognition of this, we source our Sandalwood from New Caledonia in the South Pacific, where the government has been controlling sustainable production of Sandalwood for over ten years. They grow an island sub-species of genuine Santalum Album.
We do have a small amount of Mysore Sandalwood, which we laid down in stock some time ago.
One of the chapters in Alec Lawless’s book, “Artisan Perfumery or Being Led by the Nose” discusses the sourcing of Sandalwood in greater detail.
We don’t use a number of other ingredients such as Rosewood as we have not been able to find a sustainable source.
Do you stock any products containing animal ingredients?
The only animal derivative we do use and supply is beeswax, which is found in our Organic Base Cream.
The extraction processes for essential oils (steam distillation) and absolutes and concretes (solvent extraction) do not, in our experience, use animal products.
The jojoba oil you have sent me is cloudy
Jojoba oil naturally contains waxes that solidify at cooler temperatures. Pure jojoba should solidify at temperatures lower than 6°C – so it will solidify in the fridge. The oil will clear at normal room temperatures.
Jojoba is available in a form where these waxes have been removed. This is known as “refined” or “winterised” oil. It is also often mixed with cheaper oils such as soya or sunflower oil.
Are your products safe to use when pregnant?
Some aromatherapy oils are contra-indicated for pregnancy. Please note that by law we are not allowed to offer medical or therapeutic advice. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified aromatherapist if you wish to use essential oils during pregnancy.
Carrier oils, such as wheatgerm, are safe to use in pregnancy.
Can I use your products in food?
We advise that you do not take essential oils internally – for example, peppermint oil is very strong and can burn the mouth and throat.
Flower waters and certain carrier oils, such wheatgerm oil, may be safe to use in food. However, please be advised that whilst we take great care to keep our manufacturing facilities clean and hygienic, they meet requirements for bottling of oils for external use only. They are not certified to food hygiene standards.
Do you use preservatives in any of your products?
Our “Carry Me Essentials” range, Flower Waters and Organic Base Cream contain preservatives. Please see the details for the individual products for a full list of ingredients.
Can I return your bottles for refill or re-use?
Unfortunately we are unable to accept returns of bottles for re-use or refill, as we don’t have facilities for cleaning and sterilisation of the empty containers. We recommend local recycling of both our glass and plastic bottles.
Can you supply Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)?
MSDS are primarily required when making bulk shipments of oils.
However, if you need copies of the MSDS for a particular product, please contact us and we will endeavour to help.
Can you provide tables of product constituents?
Click here for product constituent tables of our most popular oils.
Can you provide Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC / MS) traces?
We work closely with suppliers to ensure the quality of our oils, which may include examination of GC / MS traces. We don’t analyse every single batch of oil we buy, as we believe the technique has limitations in its ability to pick up adulterants and guarantee quality.
Click here for a discussion of the limitations and appropriate use of GC / MS analysis.
If required, we can arrange GC / MS analysis of specific batches of oils at additional charge. Please contact us for more details.
How do you ensure the quality of your oils?
Click here to read our quality and sourcing statement.
Are your oils ethically sourced?
Click here to read our quality and sourcing statement.
How do I buy copies of Julia and Alec Lawless’s books?
We stock copies of Julia’s books on Tea Tree, Lavender and Rosemary as well as a booklet on the Home Use of Essential Oils. Click here to buy
Alec’s book, “Artisan Perfumery or Being Led by the Nose” is available exclusively from Essentially Me, our sister company, at www.essentially-me.co.uk.
For a complete bibliography click here
Can you help me with my product development?
We receive many requests for advice on product development. We can help with this and with contract manufacture and supply of ingredients.
Giving detailed, reliable advice for your specific needs can be very time-consuming, so we charge modest consultancy rates to cover our time and expenses.
Click here to contact us to discuss further.
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