Rosemary oil
Plate 1 From plant to bottle
10 mL$21.95
Rosemary oil is an essential oil steam distilled from the flowering tops of rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis. Ours is labelled pure essential oil, and sold as organic, grown and bottled in Australia. It smells green and sharp, like a sprig crushed between your fingers.
- 1The flowering tops, cut twice a year, dried and steam distilled.
- 2The oil, in its 10 mL bottle.
Delivered across Australia in 5 to 10 business days, free on orders of $47 or more. Unopened bottles can be returned for a refund within 90 days.
The oil
What rosemary oil is
Rosemary is a shrub of the Mediterranean, named from the Latin ros marinus, dew of the sea. To make rosemary essential oil, the flowering tops are cut twice a year, dried, then steam distilled. What comes off is strong enough to be counted a drop at a time: a 10 mL bottle holds about 300 drops. Essentially's is an organic rosemary oil.
The rosemary oil people make at home is a different thing: dried rosemary soaked in a carrier oil, which holds only a little of the scent. How to make rosemary oil shows that method, and why you cannot distil at home.
| Making | Strength | 10 mL | 30 mL | 50 mL | 100 mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body oil | 2% | 6 | 18 | 30 | 60 |
| Bath | 3% | 13 drops in 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of carrier oil, per bath. The tablespoon is this guide's own example amount. | |||
| Diffuser | Follow your diffuser's own instructions first. As a guideline, 3 to 5 drops for every 100 mL of water, from the Tisserand Institute's support team. | ||||
The label
Reading a rosemary oil label
A label cannot prove on its own that an oil is pure. What it can do, with the shop's listing beside it, is tell you five things, and the sixth you work out yourself. Here is each one, and where ours says it.
- Botanical name
- The plant's Latin name. Rosemary moved into the sage genus in 2017, so newer labels may say Salvia rosmarinus.
- On our label: Rosmarinus officinalis
- Chemotype
- Rosemary oils come in more than one chemistry, cineole, verbenone and alpha-pinene among them. The label or the listing should say which.
- In our shop's listing: ct. alpha-pinene
- Origin
- Where the plant was grown, and where the oil was bottled.
- In our shop's listing: grown and bottled in Australia
- Growing
- Whether the plants were grown organically.
- In our shop's listing: organic
- Size
- Essential oil is sold in small bottles, because it is used a few drops at a time: a 10 mL bottle holds about 300 drops.
- On our label: 10 mL
- Price per mL
- Not on any label: divide the price by the size. It is the fair way to compare bottles of different sizes.
- Ours: $21.95 for 10 mL, $2.20 a mL
Questions
Questions about rosemary oil
- What is rosemary oil best used for?
- For its scent, and around the home: in a diffuser, a bath, a body oil, a scalp oil or a cleaning spray. How to use rosemary oil gives the drops for each.
- What is the difference between rosemary oil and rosemary essential oil?
- Rosemary essential oil is distilled, and strong enough to be measured in drops. The rosemary oil made at home is an infused oil: dried rosemary soaked in a carrier, much weaker. How to make rosemary oil explains both.
- Which rosemary oil is 100% pure?
- A label alone cannot prove that an oil is pure. What the label and the shop's listing can tell you is the plant, its chemotype, where it was grown and bottled, and whether it is organic. Our label says pure essential oil and Rosmarinus officinalis; our shop's listing adds organic, ct. alpha-pinene and its Australian origin.
- Is rosemary oil safe to use every day?
- We know of no source that gives a daily limit, so here are Essentially's own safety lines, no more and no less. Dilute in a carrier oil before it touches skin, and try a small patch first. Keep away from eyes. Do not swallow. Keep out of reach of children. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, ask your doctor before using any essential oil.
- Does rosemary oil work for hair growth?
- We make no claim that it does. We sell this oil, so we are not the people to answer a medical question. If you want to know how people use it on the scalp, that is on the page about rosemary oil for hair.
- Where can I get rosemary oil in Australia?
- This one is from Essentially, who bottle it in Australia: 10 mL for $21.95, delivered in 5 to 10 business days. Buy rosemary oil from Essentially.
More on rosemary oil
- Rosemary oil for hair
How people mix it into a scalp oil: the drops, the carrier, the patch test.
- How to use rosemary oil
A diffuser, a bath, a body oil, the house, and what it blends with.
- How to make rosemary oil
Infusing dried rosemary in a carrier at home, step by step.
About this guide
Made by Essentially, who bottle this rosemary oil in Australia and sell it at essentially.com.au. Updated November 2026.
Sources: dilution strengths from the Tisserand Institute; the plant's renaming from Wikipedia, citing Kew's Plants of the World Online; the patch test from Healthline; food safety from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.