Plant Therapy Essential Oils Review
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Plant Therapy is family owned and operated business that boasts an impressive variety of essential oils. They offer tons of certified organic oils, where most companies tend to have only a handful, if any. They also offer quite competitive prices on all their products. Manufacturing pure, high quality essential oils at this variety and quantity is both difficult and expensive to do, which can leave consumers skeptical about the validity of the products. Plant Therapy is also a lesser known brand compared to the industry leaders such as Young Living and DoTerra. So how does Plant Therapy measure up to its competitors, and are their oils of comparable quality? We decided to find out!
Our Favourite Essential Oils from
Plant Therapy
1. Top 6 Organic Oils + Diffuser
Every so often we stumble across a product offering from a company and are blown away by both the quality and value. This is one of those times. Plant Therapy offers a value pack of 6 of their top organic essential oils (peppermint, sweet orange, eucalyptus, lemon, tea tree and lavender) and it also comes with their NoveFuse diffuser. And, this entire set is usually available for only $60, which you just can't find with any other company in the space. Their organic oils are great quality, and you just can't go wrong with this deal.
2. Peppermint
Plant Therapy makes some blends that we often purchase for diffusing, but we actually find ourselves purchasing the majority of our isolates from them. There are a few reasons for this. Their quality is on par if not superior to some of the big players, as well as their certified organic and certified cruelty free designations. Their peppermint is potent, pleasant and very affordable making it our second choice for their top oil (although it's also included in the top 6).
3. Geranium
Geranium is a bit of a unique aroma, and not everyone likes it. It's one of our favourites, and because of Plant Therapy's quality and value, it's one of our go-to's. The aroma of geranium if you aren't familiar with it, is floral like roses, yet somewhat citrusy or tangy due to some compositional similarities to citronella. Geranium is well known for its therapeutic uses reducing symptoms of menstrual cramps and menopause. But, it also has a host of other therapeutic benefits, and
Purity
The purity of any essential oil is an important indicator of its quality. Cheap oils are inexpensive because they are either synthetic or diluted with adulterants and additives. This compromises their purity, and therefore their aroma as well as their therapeutic effectiveness. We like to recommend companies that adhere to the highest standards of purity, which starts with extraction methods and quality control.
Extraction Method
The extraction method is how an essential oil is extracted from a particular botanical. Different methods are used for different botanicals depending on which method will best extract the oil without damaging the source. Cold press extraction (used for citruses) and steam distillation (for leaves, stems, and flowers) produce the purest essential oils. Solvent extraction can produce extremely pure oils, but the use of solvent does lead some people to consider this method less effective. Most companies that produce high end oils only use this method for very rare or very expensive oils such as jasmine and rose. When this method is used, the oil is usually labelled as an “absolute.” It does mean it is any less pure, but it indicates the use of a solvent in the extraction method. Like most of the companies we recommend, Plant Therapy uses cold press and steam distillation for almost all of its oils, with the few exceptions of their absolutes.
Quality Control
The extraction method is not the only important part of ensuring an essential oil is pure. The quality of the botanicals also plays a huge role in the overall purity of an essential oil. Farms and factories that source, distill and supply essential oils also need to be checked. Plant Therapy takes time to look into all of their source farms, distillers and suppliers before they place their orders. They have an onsight organoleptic tester for all of their oils, which are then sent to a third party for further GC/MS purity testing. This type of test is the industry standard, and ensures there are not adulterants or contaminants in the oils.
In order to get pure oils, Rocky Mountain Essential Oils (RMO) practices top quality procedures and testing. They primarily extract their oils using either steam distillation or cold press. Steam distillation is usually used for plant materials like leaves, flowers and roots. It a way of extracting the essential oils naturally, without the use of chemicals or synthetics. It is also a method that can gently extract the oil in delicate plant parts such as pedals. Cold press is the method used for most citrus fruits. Cold press also does not use any chemicals or synthetics, and is the best way to preserve the aromatics of the fruit.
Testing
As mentioned, GC/MS is the industry standard for essential oils. Most companies will conduct this test more than once - first to ensure the source is pure, then again once the batch arrives to ensure it is of the same source. As far available information, Plant Therapy is a little vague on exactly which tests (and how many) are done by a third party. There are also tests such as heavy metal testing and pesticide testing that some other companies advertise but which Plant Therapy does not.
That being said, their website provides (free of charge and without request) the actual reports from 2-3 GC/MS tests for each and every one of their oils. Therefore this apparent vagueness should be taken with a grain of salt, as it doesn’t appear they have anything to hide. Furthermore, heavy metal and pesticide testing are not always necessary when an oil is properly sourced and GC/MS tested. It is very unlikely that these materials contain volatile enough constituents to contaminate the oils after extraction has occurred. In fact, this is just another reason that proper extraction methods are so important, since they naturally filter out certain contaminants.
Grading and Certifications
Organic
Plant Therapy does offer an impressive line of USDA certified organic oils. They provide over 60 organic singles and blends, as well as a line of “kid safe” organic oils. One reason certified organic oils are more rare is that qualifying for the certification is extremely difficult. It means that the source farm, the botanical, and all facilities involved in processing have been through stringent auditing to ensure they are organic. Therefore it is especially impressive for Plant Therapy to offer such a wide variety of organics, and we’re so glad they do!
Therapeutic Grade
Plant therapy oils are not labelled as therapeutic grade. This is not because their oils are low quality, but simply a matter of choice by the company itself. Since there is no objective third party testing available that qualifies a given oil as “therapeutic grade,” some companies see it as mere marketing and opt not to advertise it. Wherever you stand on this issue, it is important to know that therapeutic grading gives no indication as to the actual quality of the oil. Personally, we find this to me most important of all.
Leaping Bunny
One thing that sets Plant Therapy apart from their competitors is that all of their oils are Leaping Bunny certified. This organization is anti-animal cruelty, and seeks to verify that no animal testing was done on a given product. This makes Plant Therapy products cruelty and animal testing free.
Variety
Plant Therapy definitely offers one of the widest ranges of essential oils. There are hundreds of singles, “synergies” (which is what they call their blends, roll ons, organics and kid safe oils. Plant therapy even has a line of essential oils designed specifically for men, and it is awesome. Their products include a line of essential oil blends and sets for you beard, like the “smoky lumberjack set,” complete with smoky lumberjack oil, dropper, and beard balm.
They also boast a huge variety of sets at really great prices. If you really want to get a sense of the variety this company offers, we strongly suggest you browse their products yourself. They definitely stand out as having one of the broadest selections out there.
Labelling
We are big fans of a good label, because having useful information about your oils on hand can be really convenient. Of course, the labels are especially tiny on essential oil bottles, so this can be a difficult feat. Plant Therapy lists the standard information, such as ingredients, directions for topical use, and any indications like certified organic, absolutes, or kid friendly. But, you can also find tons of information on their website if you want to know more about their oils.
Plant Therapy advertises all kinds of information about each oil, such as botanical source name, aroma strength, scent description, blend recommendations, test reports and more. They is also a wealth of information about essential oils in general shared by their certified aromatherapists for educational purposes. You can even look up your single essential oil and find Plant Therapy’s recommendations for blending if you like to DIY.
Value
With their high quality, extensive list of organics and other products, you would expect Plant Therapy to be in the upper echelon of prices. Surprisingly, their prices are actually very competitive, even compared to huge brands like Young Living and DoTerra. Their sets are especially good, giving you a bundle of essential oils for much cheaper than buying individually. They are of course more expensive than low end essential oils, but as we always say, you get what you pay for. Truly pure, quality essential oils require a lot of care and attention through multiple stages of production, so premium oils will always come at a slightly higher cost.
Some oils come at a premium cost without the quality to back it up. These and low cost synthetic oils are always poor value, because they are either vastly overpriced or simply poor quality. Plant Therapy oils are 100% pure, high quality oils at a competitive price. You’ll definitely get great bang for your buck.
Final Verdict: Are Plant Therapy Essential Oils a Good Buy?
Plant Therapy places huge value on quality and educating its customers. With the spread of MLM and growing distrust between essential oil lovers and the companies they purchase from, Plant Therapy is pretty refreshing. They offer a huge range of top quality essential oils, and an impressive variety of organics. They also have creative sets such as oils for men and kid safe singles and blends. With their wealth of knowledge, willingness to share it, and impressive products, Plant Therapy is a great choice for any essential oil fan.
More of the Best Brands
While Plant Therapy is one of our favourite companies to support because of their great quality, value, organic certification, and leaping bunny certification of cruelty free, we understand that not everyone may share our opinions. Because everyone looks for something different, we wrote an entire comprehensive guide of the best essential oil companies for you to review and research on your own, if you didn't find what you needed in Plant Therapy.