the best lavender essential oils of 2023

I use lavender essential oil quite a bit and although it's not my favorite scent or oil, I believe from reading journal articles that lavender is one of the most tested and proven therapeutic essential oils.  It's also a great base for many blends.  When I ran out of my doTERRA lavender oil (I don't purchase from doTERRA anymore for ethical reasons), I became obsessed with finding THE best lavender essential oil.  Oh, how many articles and GCMS reports I poured over!  I don't want to be the only one to benefit from all that research, so this post was born.  Enjoy!

I would trust ALL of the following lavender essential oils to be pure, unadulterated, undiluted, and high quality.  Seriously!  I combed through their description and GCMS reports, compared prices, and production dates.  No, I have not tried all of these, but I would be happy to have any of them.

best lavender essential oils budget picks ($1.00 or less per ml as of July 2023)

• Plant Therapy Organic Lavender from Greece/Bulgaria (May 2022)
• Simply Earth Bulgaria Lavender (March 2023)
• Revive French Lavender  (March 2020)
• Davina Wellness Bulgaria Lavender (October 2020)

very best lavender essential oils overall

• Edens Garden Bulgarian Lavender
• Revive Organic Greek Certified Lavender

noteworthy picks

• Rocky Mountain Lavender from Greece/France (Mar 2023)
• Kokokahn high altitude French Lavender from Provence, France
• Nature's Gift High Altitude Wild from Provence, France (Feb 2023)

fun lavender sets

• Edens Garden lavender 3 set or go crazy with the lavender 6 set
• Revive lavender trio

Ever wondered how to make sense of those big words on GCMS reports?  Hopefully, the following guide will help you.  I'm not an expert chemist, but I am an expert consumer and I don't click "buy"  on essential oils without feeling good about it.  The following are key things to look for in lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) GCMS compound percentages:

• Linalool:  Normal range is 25-40%.
• Linalyl acetate: Normal range is 25-45%.
• Lavandulyl acetate:  Normal range is 2-4%.   Super low percentages of lavandulyl acetate could be a red flag for adulteration. Super high quality, unique lavenders have higher than 4%, but this is not typical.
• Terpinen-4-ol:  Normal range is 2-6%.  Terpinen-4-ol supposedly provided immune support.
• Beta carophyllene: Look for 2% or more to benefit skin
• Camphor: 1% or less
• 1,8-Cineole: 1% or less
• Borneol: 1% or less

Lavender is often adulterated with the cheaper and lower quality lavadin which is usually higher in camphor, or with synthetic linalool or synthetic linalyl acetate.

I would love to hear about your experiences with lavender oil and specific brands!