How much essential oils should you buy at one time?

Many essential oils are a better value if you purchase in large quantity. You may also discover an essential oil you wish to collect and store just as you would an outstanding wine in a great year.

Here’s how to make sure you get the best value when deciding how much essential oil to buy.

Buy only as much essential oil in one bottle as you or your household will use in one year. Just like wine, essential oils start to oxidize as soon as the bottle seal is broken and the oil is exposed to air. The oxidation process on essential oils is relatively slow (citrus oils excepted-they oxidize faster), but “use within a year” is a good rule of thumb once the seal is broken.

One ounce of essential oil contains about 600 drops. A typical application of essential oil is 2-4 drops. Most people do not use essential oils daily. Due to the concentration of essential oils, it is rarely advisable to use them on a continual daily basis.

For an essential oil you will be using only seasonally (for example: for sinus/allergy problems), you will probably be best off buying about 1/3 ounce, or 10 milliliters. If several people in your household also use the same essential oil, you may wish to purchase a full ounce, or 30 milliliters.

How about that outstanding oil that you want to store? Go ahead and buy a larger quantify, maybe even several ounces, but immediately rebottle your purchase into several smaller sealed bottles. Store your back up bottles in a cool dry place. That way you can get the benefit of bulk buying, but retain the quality of a sealed bottle.