Earlier this week, I share with you a peek inside my natural medicine cabinet. Today I want to share with you where to buy all the ingredients and products that I use and love! If you are interested at all in learning how to use home remedies, natural cleaning, beauty, and skincare products in your homemaking then I want to share how you can start converting your home to more natural products without breaking the bank!
When I first started learning about home remedies and making my home more natural, I was skeptical and had some concerns. Sometimes, it felt like my friends who were sharing about these natural alternatives to conventional medicine were promising huge amazing results. I sometimes
felt
feel like the benefits and capabilities of home remedies are exaggerated.
So I want to be honest and up front with you – home remedies are not a cure all for every ailment that you will come across. Natural cleaning products don’t always clean better than their conventional counter parts. And sometimes, conventional medicine is the best or only option for treating your family.
And remember, I’m not a doctor, I’m just a concerned Homemaker who wants to create the healthiest house possible for my family. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend you check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database! Or check out my resource section at the bottom of this post for learning more about home remedies and natural cleaning.
In my video and in the article I posted earlier this week, I shared four main things I use for home remedies and natural cleaning: herbs, essential oils, vitamins & supplements, and other misc things in my medicine cabinet. So now, I want to share where to buy these items, what to look for, and how to find the BEST prices!
My Favorite Places to Buy Natural Ingredients
I went back and forth on how to organize this article. Many of these places (such as Amazon) you can buy ingredients in multiple categories but I wanted to make it was easy as possible for you to sift through each category (herbs, essential oils, ect) to find out where to purchase exactly what you need! So if I missed something, please leave a comment and I will let you know where I get those items.
Where to Buy Herbs & Accessories
Bulk Herb Store
The owner of The Bulk Herb Store is a Christian woman named Shoshanna who is delightful. She has written dozens of helpful articles on their blog as well as filmed hundreds of videos on how to use herbs. Even if you find another place that you want to order your herbs from, you should still check out all the free resources she has to offer.
The Bulk Herb Store is my favorite place to order herbs because they have a huge selection, their prices are fantastic, they have a ton of resources for helping you learn about and understand how to use herbs, and they make a lot of specialty mixes of herbs that you can buy pre-packaged! As a busy homemaker, this is so helpful to buy a blend of herbs that are specially mixed for helping with a nasty cough instead of trying to research how to do it myself.
What to know: The Bulk Herb Store offers FREE shipping on orders over $100. I highly recommend you wait until you have $100 to order OR get a group of friends together and go in on an order together, it really does save! Also, if you sign up for their newsletter they email out special coupons for like 6 – 10 items in their store every month. You never know what the items on sale will be until the newsletter for that month comes out, but I’ve saved so much money shopping those sales! But you only see those specials when you sign up for their newsletter.
Items I love from The Bulk Herb Store include (and remember, most of these items are sold in 1 lb and 1/2 lb bags which last a LONG time):
4oz Amber Tincture Bottles (to hold tinctures)
Organic Beeswax (for making suncreen and chap stick)
Vegetable Glycerin (for making tinctures for pregnant women and children)
4oz Tin Cans (for holding homemade salve, lotions, and sunscreen)
Tea Sample Kit
New Mama and Baby Kit
Tincture Mix Kit
Erin’s Super Green Drink Mix (I add this to smoothies)
Activated Charcoal
Bentonite Clay
Calendula Flowers (great for making diaper rash cream and lotions)
Spirulina Powder
Bulk herbs for cooking (plus they have a ton of great herbs for cooking such as basil, pepper, bay leaf, and more!)
Mountain Rose Herbs
I love ordering from Mountain Rose Herbs, although I don’t order from them as often as I do from BHS. They do have a bigger selection of items though and even carry things like their own brand of essential oils (which I’ll share more about in the essential oils section). You should compare the prices of what you need between Mountain Rose Herbs and Bulk Herb Store and then just do one order with the company that has lower prices for what you need.
For example, I’ve found that 4oz glass tincture bottles are cheaper at Mountain Rose Herbs but beeswax is $3.50 cheaper at Bulk Herb Store. Just do some price comparison between the two or get a group of people who want to order from both sites together and split the orders.
What to know: If their website is a little overwhelming (they have like a million products) then order their free printed catalog so you can browse through what they offer at your leisure! Always check out their monthly discounts page. They do not offer free shipping so make sure you calculate that into the price difference between Bulk Herb Store as well. Again, get your friends together to do a bulk order because they offer bulk ordering prices (which might make up the difference of shipping).
Please note: some of these links are affiliate links. I do receive a small commission if you purchase through some of these links but please now, this does not increase the price for you and this is really where I buy all my stuff. These affiliate links support the maintenance and sustainability of my blog and helps my family!
What I love from Mountain Rose Herbs:
Cocoa Butter Wafers (for making lotions and chap stick)
Lip Balm Tubes
Glass Droppers & Amber Tincture Bottles (for storing tinctures and essential oil mixes)
Shea Butter (for making lotions, sunscreen, and chap stick)
Any kind of dried herb that you could imagine
Spices and seasoning blends
Amazon
Amazon is always a good place if you need something quick or are looking for a good price. While Bulk Herb Store or Mountain Rose Herbs might actually have something cheaper, you may only need one or two items and don’t want to pay for shipping. And we have Amazon Prime which means we get FREE 2 day shipping from Amazon, even if we only order one item! We’ve had Amazon Prime for 3 years now and love it! Find out more about Amazon Prime HERE.
Here are some things I’ve ordered on Amazon:
Beeswax (for making lotions, sunscreen, and chapstick)
Shea Butter (for making lotions, sunscreen, and chapstick)
Calendula Flowers (for making lotions and diaper rash creams)
Echinacea dried
And probably just about anything else you can think of ;)
Where to Buy Essential Oils
I’m not going to get into a brand discussion really here. I know people have fierce opinions about brands. But here are some suggestions on where I have personally purchased essential oils from. But I will say, be cautious of buying an unknown brand. Not all oils are created equal. Some brands of oils are not intended to be used topically (they say so on the bottle) so always do your research before buying so you know exactly what you are getting!
doTerra
Personally, the majority of the oils that I use are doTerra brand. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the oils and I’m convinced of the purity as well. When I first ordered my started kit, I actually became a “consultant” with doTerra because now I get to purchase oils at wholesale price (although I’ve never actually sold any oils as a consultant). You can find out more about doTerra’s oils here.
What I love about doTerra is that they sell specialty bottles of oil blends that are pre-mixed blends of several different oils that are meant to help with a specific problem (tension headache, stress, chest congestion, ect). You can see my article about my top 10 favorite oils I get from doTerra.
Mountain Rose Herbs
As I mentioned above, Mountain Rose Herbs actually has their own line of essential oils. I’ve only ordered one oil from them before because I was looking for a specific oil to add to a blend that I couldn’t find anywhere else. They seem to be a good quality and are certified organic, but beyond that, I don’t know much about their essential oils. Do some research on their oils before buying. But they offer a full line of essential oils, diffusers (including a really good priced diffuser at $20 that I’m tempted to try), aroma oils (how interesting!), and starter kits.
VitaCost
If you are already going to do an order from Vitacost, it’s easy to through in a few essential oils when you need them! And remember – you can get $10 OFF your first order from VitaCost when you sign up through this link :) Here’s what I’ve ordered from VitaCost in the past:
Aura Cacia essential oils (definitely one of the cheaper brands but still effective)
VitaCost Brand essential oils (I’ve never ordered these, so do your research first)
Plug in room diffuser (I have two of these that we move around the house when needed, great for bathrooms!)
Amazon
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of ordering through a consultant or one of these websites, Amazon carries many of these oils. When comparing the different companies, make sure to note the bottle size difference. For example: most of doTerra’s oils are 15ml bottles while a lot of Young Living’s are 5ml bottles. At first glance, Young Living seems way cheaper but they are typically priced about the same. They offer:
A ton of doTerra oils at amazing prices (although I’m not sure if they carry every one).
Young Living oils (another great brand!)
Aura Cacia oils
Modern Essentials Book (An amazing reference book for eo’s that I own)
Essential Oils for Beginners book
Gentle Babies Book
Vitamins, Supplements, & Everything Else
Other than the things I’ve already covered, I order everything else from Vitacost and Amazon. When I need an item, I just search between Amazon and Vitacost for the lower price (Vitacost usually wins). But here’s what I order from both.
Vitacost
I pretty much order all of my household items from Vitacost: deodorant, toothe paste, cleaning products, ect. I don’t buy hardly anything in stores anymore (other than tooth brushes and toilet paper). I’ve found that Vitacost consistently has lower prices than even Costco and Amazon! But always double check because prices do change frequently! I tend to do an order about every month. Don’t forget: You can get $10 OFF your first order when you sign up through THIS link.
Here’s what I’ve ordered from Vitacost:
Childlife Echinacea Drops
Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap (Baby mild)
Every Man Jack Deodorant (for my husband)
J.R. Liggitt’s Old Fashioned Shampoo Bar (This is what my husband and I both use for Shampoo)
Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar (Used as conditioner and for cleaning. I did find this cheaper at my local walmart, same brand!)
Lifetime Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate (for me)
Rainbow Light Prenatal Multivitamin (for me – no, I’m not pregnant this is just the multivitamin I use)
Rainbow Light Men’s One Energy Multivitamin (for hubby)
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Pacs
Twinlab Norwegian Cod Liver Oil Softgels (for hubby and I) and the oil (for the babies)
Vitamin e oil (a natural preservant in homemade products and good for your skin)
Earthpaste Toothpaste
Rockin Green Laundry Detergent (I use this occasionally for our cloth diapers)
Green Tea Kombucha (caffeine free)
YW Eco Bee Farms Raw Honey (this is my FAVORITE raw honey – it tastes sooo good)
Childlife Multi Vitamin and Mineral
Redmond’s Real Salt (the ONLY salt I used in our cooking)
PB8 Probiotic (all four of us take this)
Biokleen Chlorine Free Oxygen Bleach (for laundry)
Hyland’s Headache Tablets
Bob’s Red Mill Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries (for grinding wheat – I’ve since found a local source for wheat berries)
Amazon
For anything else that I can’t find at Vitacost or if I need it in a hurry, I order it on Amazon. Here’s what I get:
Soap Nuts (for laundry detergent)
Shea Butter (for lotions, sunscreen, and chapstick)
Beeswax Pellets (for sunscreen and chapstick)
Plastic Empty Bottles (for storing homemade lotion and sunscreen)
Empty chap stick tubes (for homemade chap stick)
Earthpaste Toothpaste (it’s more expensive on Amazon, but it’s handy to order when I need it quick)
Alba Botanica Mineral Sunscreen (for when I don’t have any homemade and need to just grab a tube and go)
PB8 Probiotic (I ordered this from Amazon, instead of Vitacost, one week when I ran out and we needed it quick)
Gaia Herbs Plantforce Liquid Iron (much cheaper than Vitacost and one of the only natural, plant-based forms of iron with some really amazing herbs added in)
Empty Deodorant Bottles (for making your own homemade deodorant)
If I missed anything in list this please let me know! I’m always happy to share the products I use and where to find the best prices online! What are some items that I missed that YOU use! Share in the comments below.
Read more about home remedies & natural cleaning:
Stocking a Natural Medicine Cabinet (complete with video)
An Introduction to Essential Oils
Essential Oils Resources
My top 10 Favorite Essential Oils
Why we use cloth diapers
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