We know that essential oils interact with many forms of chemistry, including some plastics. Many varieties of plastics exist, some of which are more impervious to essential oils than others. While this is a concern, not all plastics are as delicate as others and not all essential oils affect plastics in the same way. Citrus oils, in particular, have a chemical composition that is known to interfere with the chemistry of plastics. We should only use plastics that will not breakdown when exposed to essential oils. For instance, doTERRA^® uses plastic parts (lids, orifices, diffusers, etc.) that are made of HDPE plastic and will not be broken down by essential oils. Typically, HDPE plastic as well as plastics number 1 (PETE) and 2 are safe for use with essential oils. - Dr. David K. Hill D.C. - Founding Executive, Chief Medical Officer / Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee

Why I (Kate) decided to introduce a plastic range!

To be perfectly honest, with a toddler running around the house I would much prefer to be using plastic instead of glass where I can, particularly in the bathroom; I love to make my own foaming body wash but the thought of broken glass in the bottom of the shower sends shivers down my spine. There are a few other areas in the home that in my opinion if you have children in the house a smash free option would be better suited; if you have tiles in your home I know you feel my pain…. or anxiety if you have successfully managed to keep all your aromatherapy glassware off your floor!

PET, PETG & HDPE are suitable for high ratios of essential oil however I would never exceed a ratio of more than 5% essential oil so for example if you had a 100ml plastic container I wouldn’t recommend using any more than 5mls of essential oil. Quite frankly if you need to use more than 85 drops (there are approximately 85 drops of essential oil in a 5ml bottle) of essential oil to achieve your desired result I think you might be doing it wrong or possibly using essential oils of poor quality.

LDPE & PP Plastics are suitable for medium to low essential oil ratios of less than 2%. Keeping that in mind 2% is still approximately 34 drops of essential oil per 100mls.

So why is glass the best option? 

Heat, light, oxygen, moisture, are all factors that can affect the expiration date of essential oil. Where possible it is recommended that you store essential oils in amber or cobalt glass bottles, since sunlight can accelerate the expiration of the oil.

I hope you find the above information helpful, should you wish to know more or have any questions about any of my products please feel free to send me an email kate@aromatherapyessentials.online or contact me on facebook