27. October 2026

“Pure” says almost nothing: how I recognise a good essential oil

“Pure” is on almost every bottle and is hardly regulated. Four features that really tell you the quality of an essential oil, and what a recent lab test shows.

An essential oil is the concentrated power of a plant. That is why one drop is often enough. And that is why what is in that drop matters. Almost every bottle says “pure”. That is exactly why the word says almost nothing. In this article I show you what I look at instead.

Why quality is everything with oils

One drop of oil often takes a large amount of plant material. What ends up in the bottle is highly concentrated. That goes for the plant compounds. But it goes just as much for everything that doesn’t belong there.

An oil that has been stretched, cut or rebuilt in a lab can smell similar. But it is not the same. And it cannot do what a genuine oil does.

So everything I share about oils here applies to oils of outstanding quality.

“Pure” is on almost every label

For essential oils, the term is not clearly regulated and hardly controlled. In Germany, even “essential oil” itself is not a legally protected term. So what “pure” means in a given case is, in case of doubt, up to the producer.

I have held bottles that said “pure” in big letters. On a second look they contained around 80 percent alcohol. It was even in the ingredients list. You just had to read it.

What a recent lab test shows

A test from May 2026 shows how big the problem is. The US manufacturer NOW Foods tested lavender oils from different brands sold on Amazon. Only three brands met the criteria of the international standard for genuine lavender oil and showed no signs of adulteration. The rest failed.

The lab found other lavender species or blends instead of true lavender, dilution with carrier oils or mineral-oil-type substances, and synthetic compounds that don’t occur in genuine lavender oil. Notably, the cheapest products did worst.

You don’t have to blindly trust a test report from a manufacturer. But it shows very clearly why one word on a label is not enough.

Four things I look at

1. The ingredients list: only the plant

A good essential oil contains only the plant. No alcohol. No carrier oil. No synthetic additives. If the list shows more than the plant itself, you know where you stand.

2. The botanical name

Not all lavender is the same. There are more than 30 species of lavender, and they differ a lot. A good bottle does not just say “lavender”, it says Lavandula angustifolia. Only the Latin name tells you which plant is really inside. For true lavender oil there is even an international standard, ISO 3515. It sets the ranges for the most important compounds.

3. The origin

A plant gives its best where it is at home. Soil, climate and harvest time decide what ends up in the oil. A trustworthy producer tells you where the plant was grown. Not just where it was distilled or bottled in the end.

4. Lab testing of every batch

Good producers have every single batch analysed, for example by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The analysis shows what is inside. And what must not be. Even better: you can see the results. Trust is good. A test report is better.

The botanical name shows which plant is really inside

A strong sign: oil in your water

A strong sign is when a producer explicitly labels its oil as food. That means standing behind a purity you cannot fake.

I drink a drop of lemon oil in my water every day. That is exactly why I look so closely. What I drink, I need to know.

Your little test for today

Grab a bottle from your shelf and check:

Does it show the botanical name?
Does the ingredients list show only the plant?
Can you find out where the plant comes from?
Is there a test report for the batch?

If you can say yes four times, you have a good oil. If not, you now know what to ask next time you buy.

Frequently asked questions

Is an expensive oil automatically a good oil?

Not automatically. In the test, the cheapest products did worst. But what really counts are the four features above, not the price alone.

What does “nature-identical” mean?

The compound was rebuilt in a lab. It is chemically the same as a compound found in nature, but it does not come from the plant. That is not an essential oil.