NOW - Essential Oils

Product Notes:

Extracted from high quality botanicals using processes designed to bring you the oils with minimal interference and maximum potency, NOW offers dozens of types of essential oils, which are all non-GMO product verified and pesticide free, and also free of synthetic fertilizer and herbicidal residue.

Bottle Types and Sizes

Most of these products come in 30 ml (1 fl oz) amber bottles (to protect them from UV light) with flow restrictors in the nozzles to only dispense one drip at a time, although some entries come in much larger sizes -- particularly the ones you might use as carrier oils to make blends.

For planning purposes regarding just how many uses the standard bottle sizes represent, NOW reports each 30 ml bottle provides about 600 drops, and the manufacturers of smaller diffusers with 100 ml water tanks to add the oil to tend to recommend using about 3 to 5 drops of a single concentrated type per use (or just 2 or 3 if combining types), so that's about 150 sole ingredient diffusing uses per 30 ml bottle (at a 4 drops per use average), or 240 in blends with other non-carrier oils (at an average of 2.5 drops per use). Or for ultrasonic diffusers lacking a water tank, where the directions might be 5 to 7 drops per use, that would be about 100 sole ingredient diffusions per bottle (or twice that, when combining two or more types at once).

Aromatic Groupings

NOW's EOs are all intended primarily for aromatherapy purposes, and come in three main types: 100% Pure; 100% Pure AND certified Organic; or in Blends of some of the more expensive 100% Pure types pre-diluted in Jojoba oil.

Different companies, practitioners, or experts group them in slightly different ways, but NOW uses 9 scent categories to characterize its scented oils: Camphoraceous; Citrus; Floral; Herbaceous; Mint; Musky; Spicy; Sweet; and Woodsy.

Some of these only have a few active members in NOW's Canadian line (not including their more complex blends or roll-ons).

E.g., the Mint family consists of just three: Peppermint; Spearmint, and Wintergreen Oils.

And there are only five mainly Musky scents: Citronella; Frankincense; Lemon & Eucalyptus Blend; Myrrh; and Patchouli.

Their largest scent category, Sweet, has a dozen active Canadian members we normally stock*:
  Anise; Bergamot; Clary Sage; Clove; Geranium; Grapefruit; Lemon; Lemongrass; Lime; Orange; Rose Absolute Blend; Tangerine; and Vanilla Blend.
*(Plus two we could bring in upon request: Carrot Seed and Chamomile.)

The active members of the remaining six scent groupings are set out in the following two tables (although there is a great deal of overlap since many have multiple attributes): 

(also, there is one more Herbaceous type - White Thyme - left out below,  and Melissa (Lemon Balm) is both Citrus & Herbaceous):

Other Uses and Safety Concerns

Many use EOs in other ways, including for topical uses to benefit various types of skin conditions, for example, although not all types are suitable for that. For those that are safe for topical use, NOW's guidance there is to dilute them with carrier oils (often in a 1 to 5 ratio); the third graphic here shows to achieve several concentration levels for various volumes, and the fourth one shows which oils are most suited to each different skin type. 

Of course, some also take EOs internally. That is not recommended, unless you really know what you are doing. The fifth slide shows which types are particularly toxic and should never be ingested. 

Essential oils can also be hazardous to children and pets, even if only used topically (due to the dangers of being licked off) - especially cats. The final two slides provide some guidance on which EOs should not be used around children, including in diffusers, as well as some tips on how to use them around pets.

Nearly all the individual scents we offer now have individual product pages here - some which offer variations in either the size or the type (100% Pure; Organic; or Blend) - except for these last two still offered here, which are available in limited quantity because they have been discontinued by NOW.

Characteristics of the Two Discontinued Scents Still Available in Limited Quantity Here:

Nutmeg Oil - Sweet, spicy, and nutty, the scent of nutmeg is warm and generous.

Ylang Ylang Extra - The peony-like scent of this flower of love is sweet and romantic - with depth. The intoxicating scent of this Indonesian "flower of flowers" makes its essential oil a popular aphrodisiac, following an Indonesian tradition of sprinkling ylang ylang flowers on the beds of newlywed couples before their wedding night. Seductive and enticing, this scent is known for its relaxing sedative and antidepressant effects.

Related Products: NOW also produces several other lines of EOs which we also offer, including more complex combinations of 'Scentsational' blended essential oils for diffusers, as well as a newer line of Roll-Ons for topical application.