But Aren't Essential Oils Expensive?

But Aren't Essential Oils Expensive?

There are a few times in conversations when I have been telling someone about an oil like Sandalwood and the benefits that it has. As people take in the information, particularly those that have sampled oils and know how effective that they are, the question of price comes up. It always does if someone is truly interested in a product. Usually people realize that a product that is difficult to acquire and purify and is effective does carry a price. When you are as particular as doTerra is about not only what species of plants are used but also where they are harvested from, you set a high standard. But from time to time the friend, acquaintance, or colleague that you are talking with will get 'the look' on their face. You know 'the look'. The look of sticker shock, the look of "Whoa, that is NUTS! There is no way that I am buying THAT tiny little bottle for THAT price, I don't care how well it works." You can explain that the cost is based on factors related to harvest, shipping, and the high quality of doTerra certified 100% pure products. You can point out that effective health options, particularly those that treat lingering problems that standard methods have been unable to resolve, are worth the money. But ultimately sticker shock is tough to get past for all of us.

So are essential oils expensive? As with all things, it is a matter of perspective and context. It is also a case by case issue. Different items have dramatically different prices. Whether it is different cuts of steak prepared in different ways, different types of fruit, or essential oils there are going to be differences. It is easy to get an idea about price and cherry pick one way or the other. For example, things like lemon, lime, lemongrass, and clove all retail at around $15 a bottle. At around 250 drops a bottle we a talking pennies per dose, about 6 cents per drop. These are items that I use consistently, so to me they represent a 'normal' cost for essential oils. Conversely, when you look at some of the more expensive oils it can appear daunting. The idea of spending $100 for a fifteen mil bottle of Helichrysum seems pretty extreme to most of us. I mean $100 is some really nice Christmas of birthday shopping, or for those of us that live in areas that don't have a terribly high cost of living, a very nice night out with your spouse. It is a big chunk of change for most of us. Also, we live in a super-economy-sized more, bigger, better, faster kind of world. I can buy jumbo-sized stomach relief stuff for a ten spot at a local megamart. So why would I spend 40 some odd dollars for a fifteen mil bottle of DigestZen?

This is where communication is so important. In a way, it is harder to talk about the economics of essential oils than their impact on our health. As it turns out, demonstrating the effectiveness of essential oils is the easy part. We always need to be working on educating ourselves and others. This is true not only in regard to the effectiveness of different oils but also economics. It is not just a simple matter of figuring out the price per drop. That is good knowledge to have, but I think that the more valuable information is dose size. Often medications are taken by the ounce, the spoonful, or in pill form. In most cases essential oils are taken by the drop. One or two drops at a time is all that you use in most cases. When you consider the dose size of that bottle of that DigestZen when compared to pink stomach relief medicine it's a no brainer. Between 125 and 250 doses of DigestZen as compared to maybe 30 doses of your standard stomach relief is worth considering. So as it turns out, DoTerra essential oils are effective, efficient, and economical we just need to educate ourselves about them.