Why Are Young Living Essential Oils Expensive?!?

You're loving learning about essential oils so far, and you keep hearing about how great Young Living oils are… then you run into a bottomless pit of blogs telling you all about how Young Living is a colossal waste of money because they swear all essential oils are the same, and you can find oils for cheaper. They swear Young Living essential oils are expensive… but are they right??

Well… those blog posts you found are partly right… you can find “essential oils” for cheaper. However, no… not all oils are the same. Not by a long shot. Some “essential oils” aren't even actual essential oils! (I know… mind-blowing… keep reading and I'll explain)

So… should you invest in Young Living? Or are they unnecessarily expensive?

This is really dependent on what is right for you. If you're just wanting something inexpensive to provide you with a good smelling house, perhaps… perhaps not. If you, like me, are concerned about:

  • ingredients and potential effects on your family
  • quality
  • knowing the company you're entrusting your money in is transparent about what they are providing to you

Then yes… Young Living is for you. Before you start wondering how much is marketing, keep reading.

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Have you heard the truth about essential oil regulations?

You may find some of this shocking… I sure did when I first found out in 2013 when I started diving into researching different essential oil brands to find the one that works best for my body and my family. I wanted to know if all the hype was real, and needed to know if other bloggers were right in saying “all oils are the same” in their “don't over pay” rants. Well… I found out just how unregulated the essential oil industry actually is. And it disturbed me immensely.

The FDA and FTC do not list a definition to describe what an essential oil is or what it should be.

The FTC only requires:

  • a generic description,
  • the amount the bottle contains,
  • the company name,
  • the company address to be listed on the bottles.

The FDA only regulates how essential oils are marketed… only enforcing marketers to not discuss the medicinal benefits of essential oils when they could possibly make a profit from the sale of essential oils.

This is precisely why you won't find information about medical benefits of essential oils on this website… and why I advocate for bloggers to NOT produce that same information on their websites. Instead, I recommend books you can purchase that you can look up the information on your own or to discuss with our pharmacist, herbalist, aromatherapist, chiropractor, or naturopathic doctor.

Even NAHA, The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy states:

Aromatherapy is currently an unregulated and unlicensed field both for the practice of aromatherapy as well as the manufacture of aromatherapy products.

With there being no regulation, there is an awful lot of room for modifications and misleading marketing practices. And this is true on BOTH sides of essential oils… the production AND the EDUCATION side.

Why the regulations are important:

According to The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple, essential oil companies commonly purchase essential oils from a broker and dilute them to 5% prior to bottling and selling them. These oils are commonly diluted or replaced with synthetic oils or diluted with solvents or other carrier oils to turn a higher profit. Essential oil brokers often do the same thing. There is more often than not no logistical accountability  system in place to ensure what was taken from the farms and distilleries remain pure.

I'm a huge advocate for transparency and honesty. When reading about these common misleading practices, a pit formed in my stomach. Everyone should know about this! This level of deception is not ok. Not at all ok.

Comparing Oil Brands

Before settling on an essential oil brand, I spent 2 years (2013/2014) and a ridiculous amount of money comparing different essential oil brands. I only chose popular brands that I was familiar with. I chose not to include lesser known brands because that was when essential oil popularity began rising dramatically and many brands were popping up for a brief amount of time to cash in on the profits before closing down.

If all oils are the same, then the same oil should smell the same regardless of which company it's from.  Let me be the first to admit this is not at all the case.

While there should be some variation due to farming location and season, some of the oil brands were so dramatically different it cause massive headaches. I'm a seasoned essential oil user. I started using oils when I was 5 years old (nearly 30 years ago). While I don't possess a nose of a bloodhound nor do I have fancy equipment, I can tell you I am someone who is massively sensitive to synthetic chemicals.

When I get the same instant headache sniffing lavender oil from one company that resembles the same headaches I receive while walking past the cleaning isle at Target, that sets off some major red flags for me about the quality of that lavender oil.

I started using Young Living regularly in 2014, and noticed an immediate difference to everything I had tried before. In fact, I found many oils needed 8-10 drops in the diffuser to see the same results as 3-5 drops from Young Living's equivalent oil.

** PLEASE NOTE ** Don't be fooled by clever marketing. Not all essential oils are created equally. Make sure you're not wasting your money on fake or altered essential oils (even if they're labeled as “pure essential oil”). Don't miss our explosive report outlining the dirty little secrets of the essential oil industry to ensure you're not wasting your money on brands of oils that legally mislead you through deceitful marketing practices.


My analysis: are young living oils expensive?

Initially, sometimes. The answer to this question really depends on your perspective and what is important to you. The essential oil company I used prior to Young Living was Oshadhi. They are not a network marketing company, but have similar standards and quality, and costs within pennies of Young Living's counterparts. They are honestly the only other essential oil company I will personally use and purchase. Some companies seem to sell at prices that are dramatically lower than Young Living. These I've noticed I tend to have more negative reactions to when I use them. Negative reactions meaning difficulty breathing, sneezing marathons, skin rashes, headaches, and nausea. I didn't have these with Young Living, and still haven't experienced them with Young Living.

Other oil companies that I didn't react to, I felt I needed to use more of the oil to get the same effect. This begs the question: when you need twice as much of a cheaper oil… are you really saving money? 

So no… with the large amount of essential oils my family uses, I don't feel that Young Living is expensive.

** please note, I purposely did not list company names of oils I'm unhappy with specifically because I want to respect their business. I hope they become inspired to make a better quality oil and hold their suppliers accountable for the lower quality they're pushing. I did publish my direct comparison between Young Living and doTERRA because of popular demand.

Young Living oils are expensive… but are there more benefits?

When you look at the therapeutic values of properly made essential oils and the health benefits received when working towards keeping your body healthy and working optimally, you end up with less yuck and more energy. This reduces your need for doctor visits and medications… because you're focused on maintaining wellness.

When you use essential oils in your cleaning routines, you're using harsh chemicals less. Less chemicals means less yuck. Harsh chemicals in your cleaning routine or air fresheners can cause a whole host of “unexplainable” health problems that can quickly rack up medical bills as well as reducing income as you'll need more sick days.

When you replace those harsh chemicals with safe alternatives (like essential oils), you stop seeing the ill effects. How much money would you save if you were able to prevent unnecessary illness caused by avoidable chemical exposure?

Between lost wages and the ridiculous prices of managing sicknesses, I'd say investing in a quality essential oil and a lifestyle based on healthy alternatives to toxic chemical laden products would pay you back in dividends in the long run.

More Perks: Like earning FREE essential oils and products:

There are several ways you can earn free essential oils and oil infused products with Young Living. This often helps offset the costs, providing you with more than what you're paying for. Each month, Young Living gives away $200+ worth of oils and products to everyone who makes qualifying orders. Check out our Current Promotions page for more information.

You can also take advantage of the Essential Rewards Program that allows you to earn and accumulate points to use as product credit. You then get to cash in those points on the oils and/or products you choose that you want. This program allows you to earn 10-25% back on everything you purchase.

Conclusion

You do the math and see if Young Living makes sense for your budget. For us, it absolutely makes sense.

Although the individual bottles may be more expensive, the overall benefits of using them make up for the price. The cost savings using them vs cheaper oils makes sense to us too because when you need to use less per bottle for the same applications, you end up saving money there too.

Personally, I love saving money… the smart way. I look at the long-term cost-savings analysis. Medical care expenses are on the rise, even without needing more than annual checkups.

I could only imagine the costs if my health ailments were to return. Looking back at all the time I've spent chronically sick in the past. I think of how valuable my time is now that we have two little ones.

Honestly a $20-80 bottle of oil that helps us boost our health is well worth the $0.08-0.32 per drop (~ 250 drops per 15ml) to help keep us healthy. Its so much cheaper than the $55 insurance co-pays, plus the hours spent at Urgent Care or a doc's office.

Get your oils paid for

I know what you're thinking: ugh another hard sell. Nope. Just a quick mention that Young Living does offer the opportunity to receive supplemental income. This doesn't require you to need to be obnoxious or overly stressed.

However, if you do decide you would like to have the opportunity to add to your income to increase your ability to afford your oily habit, then choosing the proper team is absolutely essential. You need to have an active team who understands your lifestyle and needs, and have the ability to coach you properly in achieving your goals, whether you want to get your oils paid for, you want to replace an income, or you want to shoot for some big dreams.

There are many ways you can create your own business using Young Living oils, and it doesn't take much to earn enough to pay for your orders.


If you enjoyed this post, please comment below and share it with your friends and on your favorite Pinterest board to save it for later. Our website team LOVES to hear about your personal experiences and wins using essential oils.

Nicole

Don't miss out on free essential oils, discounts on essential oil-infused household products, and healthy lifestyle coaching! Join our membership today for product discounts, group support, and complimentary coaching. Or take our complimentary online, self-paced introduction to essential oils course.


Looking for more info about essential oils and adopting a healthier lifestyle? Be sure to check out our Healthy Home online course for tips on how to identify and replace common harmful products from your home.