If you love essential oils as much as we do, you’ve probably already noticed that some of these therapeutic wonders of nature come with an eye-opening price tag. But chances are pretty good that you’ve only scratched the surface of the world’s most expensive essential oils. The fact is, the crème de la crème of botanical distillates are so rare (and proportionately pricey!) that only the most die hard oil connoisseur would even consider adding them to their collection.
To quench our thirst for all things essential oil and to appease our undying natural health curiosity, we’ve decided to dig up a little information on these best of the best that the world of essential oils has to offer, to explore the origins and traditional uses of each distillate, and of course to discover exactly why they cost as much as they do.
And just for fun, this time we’re going to count backwards – starting with “Hey, that’s not too pricey” and working our way down the list to “Holy cow! That’s crazy expensive!!!”
Without further ado, here are the Top 20 Most Expensive Essential Oils In the World!
20. German “Blue” Chamomile
Average price per ml: $4.76 ($142.80 / ounce)
German “Blue” Chamomile essential oil is derived from Matricaria chamomilla, a flower in the daisy family. The oil gets its nickname comes from its high concentration of azuline and resulting deep blue coloration. German chamomile essential oil is best known for its skin healing and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as its potent ability to relax the body and mind.
The price of German chamomile essential oil reflects not only its popularity and thus high demand for the oil, but also in the sheer number of flowers required to produce it. Each blossom yields only 1% or less of its total mass in essential oil, meaning that at least 6.25 pounds of flowers are needed to produce just one ounce of the oil.
If you’re ready to experience the unparalleled calm and relaxation provided by this incredible oil, you can purchase a 5 ml bottle of Blue Chamomile essential oil here for around $23 (?$4.63/ml) or pick up this 10 ml bottle for just under $37 to get the best price per milliliter (?$3.70/ml). Alternately, you can find Organic Blue Chamomile essential oil for a slightly higher $22 per dram (?$5.95/ml) from Eden Botanicals.
19. Australian Sandalwood
Average price per ml: $5.30 ($159.00 / ounce)
Australian Sandalwood oil comes from the heartwood of mature Santalum spicatum trees. Traditionally used for spiritual and religious ceremonies, sandalwood oil is also well known for its calming effects and for its anti-microbial properties. (You can read more about the health benefits of sandalwood essential oil here.)
The price of Australian sandalwood essential oil is due in part to its popularity, but moreso to how difficult the oil is to produce. Sandalwood essential oil can only be harvested from mature trees of at 30 years of age and the tree must be cut down in order to produce it. You can read more about these tree and the harvesting of their oil here.
If you’d like to try it out, you can purchase a 5 ml bottle of Australian Sandalwood essential oil here for around $27 (?$5.40/ml) or pick up this 10 ml bottle for around $40 to get the best price per milliliter (?$4.00/ml). Alternately, you can find premium Australian Sandalwood essential oil for a slightly higher $24 per dram (?$6.49/ml) from Eden Botanicals.
18. Violet Leaf Absolute
Average price per ml: $5.50 ($165.00 / ounce)
Violet Leaf Absolute oil distilled from the leaves of Viola odorata, commonly known as sweet violet or English violet. While one might assume that the oil would smell like violet flowers, this is not the case. Instead, this prized absolute oil possesses a very green aroma and is often used to reduce the cloying scents of other floral oils.
Again, the price of Violet Leaf Absolute is due to high demand for the oil as well as the amount of plants which must be harvested in order to produce the oil.
If you’d like to try it out, you can purchase a 5 ml bottle of Violet Leaf Absolute oil here for just under $27 (?$5.40/ml) or pick up this 10 ml bottle for just under $46 to get the best price per milliliter (?$4.60/ml). Alternately, you can find Violet Leaf Absolute oil for a slightly higher $24 per dram (?$6.49/ml) from Eden Botanicals.
17. Angelica Root
Average price per ml: $5.57 ($167.10 / ounce)
Angelica Root essential oil comes from Angelica archangelica – the same herb which has gained recognition for its positive effect on the reproductive system. Essential oil of angelica root can be used to detoxify the body, boost the immune system and improve respiratory health.
The high cost of angelica root essential oil comes from the number of blossoms needed to produce it – over 30 pounds of flowers to make just 1 ounce of oil.
If you’d like to try it out, you can purchase a 5 ml bottle of Angelica Root essential oil here for around $30 (?$6.00/ml) or pick up this 10 ml bottle for just under $45 to get the best price per milliliter (?$4.50/ml). Alternately, you can find wild harvested Angelica Root essential oil for a slightly higher $23 per dram (?$6.22/ml) from Floracopeia.
16. St. John’s Wort
Average price per ml: $6.15 ($184.50 / ounce)
Distilled from the popular herb Hypericum perforatum, St. John’s Wort essential oil can be used topically to combat pain, tension and inflammation – specifically that caused by tension headaches or migraines. When blended with Calendula, St John’s Wort oil can be used to soothe away soreness from sprains, bruises and muscle cramps. A diluted combination of St John’s Wort with wintergreen or birch oil also makes an excellent topical remedy for gout symptoms.
St John’s Wort is a weed and even considered an invasive species in many parts of the world, thus logically one wouldn’t assume that the essential oil of this plant would make it onto the ‘most expensive’ list. However, because St John’s Wort is such a popular and effective herbal remedy for depression and its oil is not, cultivating the herb to produce essential oil wouldn’t be nearly as profitable unless it were given a lofty price tag.
If you’d like to try it out, you can purchase a 5 ml bottle of St John’s Wort essential oil here for around $29 (?$5.80/ml) or pick up this 10 ml bottle for just under $40 to get the best price per milliliter (?$4.00/ml). Alternately, you can find Organic St John’s Wort essential oil for a slightly higher $32 per dram (?$8.65/ml) from Floracopeia.