Essential Oil Roller Bottle Buying Guide

Introduction to AromaWeb's Roller Bottle Guide

Many reputable essential oil vendors (and some not-so-reputable vendors) offer pre-made essential oil blends packaged in roller-bottles.

This can be a wonderfully convenient way to try roller bottle blends, especially if you don't want to take the time to make your own or if you don't want to buy the individual ingredients and bottles necessary to make your own roller-bottle formulations.

If you're like me and many others, however, the time will come when you want to have the ability to make your own essential oil roller-bottle blends.

In addition to the essential and carrier oils needed for your blend, you will also need to have one or more clean, empty roller-bottles and accompanying components on hand to make your blends.

Typical Components of Roller Bottles

When you go to purchase empty roller bottles for use when making your roll-on blends, you will find that they generally come unassembled.

The typical components are as follows:

• Glass Bottle
• Ball That Fits into the Ball Housing
• Ball Housing That Fits into the Glass Bottle
• Plastic (Polypropylene) Cap That Screws Onto the Glass Bottle

Often, the ball is already installed into the ball housing, but not always.

A Crucial Consideration When Buying Empty Roller-Bottles

I frequently make essential oil blends especially for use in roller-bottles, and I've purchased many different empty roller bottles over the years.

I've learned from experience that some rollerballs are unreliable and don't glide smoothly.

Some are difficult to use and don't move at all.

Imagine the excitement of creating a special essential oil roll-on blend to then realize that the new roller-bottle that you purchased to store it in is defective or hard to use.

It's expensive, wasteful and frustrating when that happens!

I've learned from experience that it's crucial to have dependable empty roller-bottles that glide smoothly on hand before I start creating my roll-on formulations.

With my experiences, frustrations and wasted money in mind, I decided to create this Essential Oil Roller Bottle Buying Guide. I want to keep you from dealing with the hassles that I've had and help you find and purchase dependable roller bottles for your essential oil blends.

Tips for Choosing and Purchasing Empty Roller Bottles

Best Material for the Bottle

Choose darker glass whenever possible. I personally prefer amber, cobalt blue and dark green bottles. The darker glass generally will filter out UV rays which can shorten the shelf life of your blends.

I've seen some bottles that are frosted or have gradient shading or beautifully painted exteriors. Although these bottles can be stunning, I personally avoid them just in case the spray or paint they use winds up getting into the exterior of the bottles.

If you need to use clear bottles, try to keep them out of direct light as much as possible.

Best Material for the Roller Ball

Based on my experiences, I find that roller bottles that use stainless steel roller balls typical glide the smoothest. Some brands and some lots are better than others.

I tend to find roller balls that are made of plastic (polyethylene seems to be the common material) and that I buy from generic, non-aromatherapy specific sources like Amazon are usually less likely to glide as smoothly as those made from stainless steel. I am speculating that the reason is because the stainless steel causes less friction against the ball housing.

The ball housing itself seems to be made out of polypropylene. How precisely a company designs the ball housing opening in comparison with the exact size of the roller ball can be a contributing factor to how smoothly the ball glides, regardless of what material is used for the roller ball itself.

Best Size for Roller Bottles

Most roller bottles come in a 10 ml size, and I find this to be the most convenient size to blend for and use.

Therefore, the essential oil roller bottle recipes that you find on AromaWeb are formulated for 10 ml sized bottles.

I also have seen and do sometimes use 3 ml roller bottles. The 3 ml size is best for use in formulations that call for more precious essential oils, when very little of the blend is needed or for businesses that want to offer a trial size to their customers.

Where to Find Empty Roller Bottles for Purchase

AromaWeb features categorized Aromatherapy Business Directory that includes a useful Bottles and Packaging category. Many of the companies that you see listed in this category offer empty roller bottles for purchase. Overall, I've been very pleased with my purchases of roller bottles from AromaWeb's advertisers. Even the roller bottles with plastic balls have worked smoothly for me overall.

I prefer to patronize AromaWeb's advertisers for my essential oils and supplies. Purchasing directly from AromaWeb's advertisers helps to support small businesses and the quality is generally better.

The Amazon Brand That I've Had The Best Luck With So Far

There have been times where I'm in a crunch for time and need to purchase my roller bottles on Amazon. (As a sidenote, I do not recommend buying essential oils or carrier oils on Amazon, but I have had good results when carefully purchasing empty bottles through Amazon.)

So far, the roller balls that I've had the best success with on Amazon as far as quality, roller smoothness and price are the Vivaplex 10 ml Glass Roll-on Bottles with Stainless Steel Roller Balls.

Vivaplex offers several their roll-ons in packs of 6 or 24 and in different colors even green, so you may want to search Amazon for the phrase Vivaplex Glass Roll On Bottle Stainless Steel.

Just be sure you're buying the Vivaplex brand, if that's the brand you want because Amazon sometimes lists other brands even when searching for a specific brand name.

Also be sure that you read all of the recent reviews and specifically pay attention to 1-star reviews for the pack of roller-bottles you want to purchase to make sure the quality is still great.

Labeling Your Roller Bottles

It's always best to label your roller bottles and include the ingredients and the date that you made the roller bottle blend.

The label size that I generally use for 10 ml roller bottles is around 2.25 inches wide x 2.0 inches tall, but double check that against the bottles that you use as you might need to use a different label style. It's possible that you might purchase a bottle with a shape that is different than the typical ones I use.

If you're looking for cute labels with pre-printed patterns on them, the Kare & Kind Value Pack of 385 Writable Labels through Amazon have worked for me and have good adhesion. This Amazon listing has several label pack options, so be sure you are looking at the right ones. These labels can also be used for essential oil inhalers and lip balms.

You can see the label in use on a 10 ml roller bottle in the photo on AromaWeb's Memory & Focus Essential Oil Roll-On Recipe for Adults page.

However, there is very little room to write much on the Kare & Kind labels. In cases where you don't have much room to write, I recommend including your own code number on your label that you use to coincide with a journal that you keep where you include the full formulation and notes.

Affiliate Disclaimer

The Amazon links on this page are Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. So far, I have had great luck with the brands I mentioned on this page, but I can only attest to my own experiences and cannot take responsibility if their quality deteriorates or your experiences differ from my own.

Looking for Essential Oil Roller-Bottle Blend Recipes?

Anxiety Essential Oil Roll-On Recipe

Memory & Focus Essential Oil Roll-On Recipe for Adults

General Safety Information

Do not take any oils internally and do not apply undiluted essential oils, absolutes, CO2s or other concentrated essences onto the skin without advanced essential oil knowledge or consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. For general dilution information, read AromaWeb's Guide to Diluting Essential Oils. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and be sure to first read the recommended dilution ratios for children. Consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using oils with children, the elderly, if you have medical issues or are taking medications. Before using this or any essential oil, carefully read AromaWeb's Essential Oil Safety Information page. For in-depth information on oil safety issues, read Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young.

Shelf Life

View Shelf Life Information

Important Information About the Profiles

The essential oil information provided on AromaWeb is intended for basic educational purposes only. The references to safety information, test results, constituents and percentages is generalized information. Essential oils can vary greatly in composition. The data is not necessary complete and is not guaranteed to be accurate. The essential oil photos are intended to represent the typical and approximate color of each essential oil. However, essential oil composition and color can vary based on harvesting, distillation, age of the essential oil and other factors. Profiles for several CO2 Extracts and absolutes are included within the directory, and are denoted as such.