Frequently Asked Questions

The aromatherapy standard is approximately 20 drops per 1ml of essential oil.

That said, the exact number of drops can vary depending on the oil’s viscosity (thickness).

• Thinner oils (like citrus) may give you more drops per ml
  
• Thicker oils (like sandalwood or patchouli) will produce fewer drops per ml
  

So while 20 drops per ml is a great general guide, it's always good to adjust based on the specific oil you're working with.

This can vary depending on the purpose, but as a general guideline, we recommend using 1–5% essential oil to 95–99% carrier oil.

If you’re new to using essential oils, it’s always best to start on the lower end of that range. The essential oils we stock are pure and therapeutic-grade, which means they’re very potent and should be used with care to avoid irritation or sensitivity.

Yes! Our bases come with their own preservative, so you can use them just as they are. But they’re also perfect for customizing to suit your own needs.

If you add extra oils, botanicals, or other ingredients—especially water-based ones—we recommend adding additional preservative. The built-in preservative might not be enough to protect the extra ingredients.

Keep in mind: these bases aren’t concentrates meant to be diluted to a specific volume. Your final amount will be the base plus whatever you add.

They’re highly customizable—you can mix in extra carrier oils, essential oils, botanicals, and more. Just be careful not to add too much, as this can change the consistency or destabilize the formula. Some experimentation might be needed to get it just right!

On our website, any product that is certified Food Grade by the supplier will be clearly indicated in the product listing. If you’re unsure about a product’s suitability for consumption, feel free to reach out to us — we’re happy to help!

Please note, our own premises are audited and certified safe for handling food products, ensuring the highest standards of safety and hygiene.

Food Grade
This refers to ingredients certified by an independent body (such as the FSA) as safe for human consumption. They are tested and produced under strict food-safe conditions. However, once repacked by a facility not certified by the Food Safety Authority (FSA), the product can no longer be sold or labeled as food grade — even if the original source was certified.

Food Safe
These ingredients are pure, originally food grade, and commonly used in food. They are handled in hygienic conditions, and our facility is inspected and approved as food safe by local municipal health authorities. However, as we are not a certified food production facility, we do not label these items as food grade. They are safe for personal use but not recommended for products intended for ingestion if being sold to the public.

On Essentially Natural, product listings will clearly indicate if a product is certified organic.

Organic certification is a rigorous and often costly process that many suppliers choose not to pursue—even if their products meet organic standards. In many cases, the farmers growing our essential oils, carrier oils, and botanicals use organic fertilizers and avoid harmful pesticides but haven’t gone through formal certification due to the high costs involved.

We always aim to offer natural, responsibly sourced products and are transparent about certification where it applies.

“Organic” means a product has passed official audits and certification, proving it was grown and processed using approved organic methods — like organic pesticides, non-GMO seeds, and sustainable farming practices.

At Essentially Natural, we’re deeply committed to supporting sustainable and ethical farming. However, we also understand that official organic certification can be time-consuming and costly, which sometimes makes good-quality products even more expensive, especially for small local growers.

So, while not all our products are certified organic, they are still grown or sourced in ways that are nurturing, sustainable, and low in chemical inputs.

If you’re ever unsure about a product, just ask — we’re happy to share the Certificate of Analysis (CoA) so you can see exactly what’s inside.

The  Essentially Natural brand range of products is proudly certified Cruelty Free and Vegan. We are firmly against animal cruelty and make every effort to source products that have never been tested on animals.

That said, we also acknowledge that some modern products on the market today were developed with past animal testing to ensure safety. If you’d like to know more about the historical testing status of any specific product, please don’t hesitate to contact us — we’re happy to provide clarity.

At Essentially Natural, we have a very strict ingredients policy that guides everything we stock. Before adding any product, we carefully review every ingredient on the label to ensure it meets our high standards.

We are firmly against certain ingredients due to health and safety concerns, so you won’t find any of these in our shop or in the products we carry:

• BHA & BHT
• Cyclic silicones
• Diethanolamine (DEA), Triethanolamine (TEA), Monoethanolamine (MEA) and other ethalomines
• Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea
• EDTA
• Formaldehydes 
• Lead and other heavy metals in any toxic amounts
• Mineral oils, paraffin and petrolatum
• Oxybenzene and other chemicals sunscreens
• Parabens
• Phthalates 
• Propylene glycol & butylene glycol
• SLS and SLES
• Sulfates 
• Synthetic harmful colourants 
• Synthetic fragrances
• Talc
• Toluene
• Triclosan 

This list evolves as new scientific research emerges, and we continuously update our standards to offer you the safest and healthiest options.

If you’re interested in exploring better, safer alternatives, please feel free to contact us — we’re happy to help you find what works best for you.

Sometimes, synthetic really is better! We’ve chosen to stock high-quality, lab-produced mica powders because they’re a safer, more ethical alternative to natural mica.

Synthetic micas are made from heavy metal–free substrates and coloured with oxide pigments. They’re nature-identical to mica found in the earth, but because they’re created in a lab, they avoid the environmental damage and unethical mining practices often linked to natural mica.

They’re also eco-friendly, safe to use in cosmetics, and offer vibrant, consistent colour — without compromising on ethics or safety.

Most essential oils are extracted through steam distillation — a process that gently pulls the aromatic oils from plants like lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint.

Absolutes, on the other hand, are made using a solvent extraction method. This is typically used for delicate flowers (like jasmine or rose) that don’t do well with steam or don’t yield much oil through distillation.

Why are absolutes more expensive?

• It takes a large amount of plant material to produce a very small quantity.
  
• Many of these flowers are seasonal and hand-harvested.
  
• The process is labour-intensive, and the result is a very concentrated, luxurious extract that’s used sparingly in perfumery and high-end formulations.
  

Yes, they are different — and each serves a unique purpose.

Pure Essential Oils come straight from a single distillation of plant material with no alterations. This means the oil reflects the natural variations of the plant – things like weather, soil, and harvest timing can affect the scent, colour, or composition of each batch.

Standardised Essential Oils, on the other hand, are carefully adjusted for consistency. This may include:

• Blending multiple batches to balance out natural differences
  
• Reintroducing natural compounds (like linalool or menthol) to match a consistent chemical profile
  
• Removing certain components that may affect shelf life or scent
  

No synthetic additives are used — only naturally occurring components are adjusted. Both types are high quality; the choice simply depends on your needs. If you're formulating and need consistency, standardised may be the better fit. If you’re after the raw, unaltered essence of the plant, pure is perfect.

No, they’re quite different.

Mineral oil is a petroleum-derived byproduct — basically refined crude oil. It’s synthetic, non-renewable, and doesn’t provide any nutrients for your skin. While it’s inexpensive and often used as a barrier (like in baby oil), it can clog pores (comedogenic) and doesn’t offer skin support.

Carrier oils, however, are plant-based and renewable. They’re rich in skin-loving nutrients like fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Rather than just sitting on your skin, carrier oils nourish, soothe inflammation, and help maintain your skin’s natural barrier and microbiome. Plus, different carrier oils have different comedogenic ratings, so you can choose ones best suited to your skin type.

Not at all — and we completely understand your concern.

Many conventional cosmetics use synthetic preservatives like parabens, which are effective at preventing mould and bacteria but have raised questions about their impact on our health over time.

That said, not all preservatives are bad. At Essentially Natural, we prioritise gentler, naturally derived preservatives that are both skin-friendly and effective. While natural doesn’t always mean completely risk-free, we carefully select preservatives with a low chance of causing irritation.

Since everyone’s skin is unique, some people may still be sensitive to certain ingredients — which is why we always recommend doing a patch test before trying a new product or ingredient.

Yes! A hydrosol is a natural byproduct of steam distillation. During this process, steam passes through plant material, releasing aromatic compounds. When the steam cools, it separates into essential oil and hydrosol — the water-based part that carries subtle plant essence.

Floral waters, on the other hand, are made by blending a small amount of essential oil into water, often with a bit of alcohol to help the oil mix evenly.

Both are high-quality and effective, but hydrosols are considered “true distillates” and usually have more therapeutic benefits compared to floral waters.