Due to pleasant fragrance, essential oil marketplaces in Vietnam are thriving and highly demanding, but the quality of the extract is still unknown to many.

Many stores offering such merchandise in Ho Chi Minh City claim on their websites that their products are of pure nature, adding that the products not only soothe the inhalers but they can also be used for treatment as well as cosmetics.

Along with aromatic diffusers and burners of many kinds, an essential oil shop on Ho Bieu Chanh Street, Phu Nhuan District, has a myriad of essential oil varieties, including peppermint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, lemon grass, and so on, with prices ranging from VND49,000 (US$2.2) to VND299,000 ($13.4) per bottle.

“The oil vapor can repel mosquitoes, and that of peppermint can even keep mice at distance,” a sales clerk revealed.

“You only need to fill the bowl at the top of the burner with water and place a few drops of essential oils on the water, then place a lighted tea light underneath the bowl or plug the burner in to vaporize."

“The water and essential oils evaporate as steam, letting the pleasant aroma of the essential oils fill the room,” the clerk said, adding that the essential oil extracted from peppermint, lemon grass, and cinnamon is produced by the shop itself.

“Only lavender essential oil is imported from India,” the clerk said.

Another store on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in District 3 advertised that the shop features 100 percent natural essential oil with more than 30 variations.

Many extracts are of rare plants such as cypress, ylang-ylang, thyme, patchouli, and more, a shop assistant introduced, adding that all products the shop provides are shipped from France.

The clerk said that the prices are from VND95,000 ($4.25) to VND420,000 ($18.83) per 10ml, depending on bottle size and the oil.

Excessive use may cause allergy

Doctor Phan Quoc Bao from the Ho Chi Minh City University Medical Center recounted that he has encountered a patient suffering from allergic skin ulcers due to direct contact with a kind of essential oil.

“Depending on one’s physiology, excessive use of essential oil may lead to allergy, or may even cause burn,” Dr. Bao said, adding that those who have sensitive skin, suffer from chronic asthma, or have infants should not use essential oil.

According to Doctor Nguyen Hong Son from Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City recommended consumers to “be concerned about the place of manufacture, import certificates from the country of origin or licenses granted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.”

“However, it is hard to do so if the seller makes such products on his own,” Dr. Son added.

Nguyen Duc Nghia, a herbalist from the Ho Chi Minh City Medicinal Materials Association, said, “Sellers can claim their products are of the finest quality, but it is the consumers’ taste that matters.

“The distillation of essential oil, like that of brewing alcohol, requires a vast variety of ingredients; solvents can be added before they are on sale.”

According to essential oil producers, pure essential oil cannot be confused with artificial fragrance as the artificial ones feature a short-lived smell, have no therapeutic effect and may also cause neural inhibition, leading one to suffer from headache.

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