Almost all pure essential oils are bottled in amber glass, and most of the essential oil brands we supply choose it. Amber glass bottles for essential oils are a sensible default, not a decision you need to think twice over. That said, it's worth knowing what the research says about light and essential oils, why the right bottle comes down to testing it with your own formulation, and which things protect your oil more than the colour of the glass.
We'll cover them all below.
Why almost everyone uses amber (and why that's fine)
Our order book shows that customers don't pick glass colour based on how it reacts to light. They pick a look for their brand and stick with it. And for essential oils, the look is almost always amber.
This isn't a bad thing; it's a reasonable default. When a brand chooses its bottles, it's really choosing how the range looks on a shelf, and amber does that job while giving the oil good protection from light.
So if you've already chosen amber, you haven't made a mistake, and if you're starting out, amber is where most people begin. To see the other colours customers buy, browse our glass dropper bottle collections.
What the research actually shows about light and essential oils
Research shows that light can change some essential oils.
The clearest example we have found is a 2012 study by Claudia Turek and Florian Stintzing, published in Food Research International. The researchers stored a set of essential oils under different storage conditions. At 38°C, one compound in rosemary oil (α-terpinene) fell to under 10% of its starting level within three weeks. Worth noticing: that was at 38°C, which is well above a cool shelf.
Different oils also react differently. A 2019 study by Ilijana Odak and colleagues, Alteration in the Chemical Composition of Immortelle, Silver Fir and Prickly Juniper Essential Oils Induced by Light, exposed immortelle, silver fir and prickly juniper oils to UV-A light. Immortelle oil changed significantly, while silver fir and prickly juniper showed only slight changes among their minor components. So "essential oils are light sensitive" is true as a general warning, but it isn't equally true for every oil.
On the glass itself, darker glass lets less light through than clear. How much a particular bottle blocks still varies, so treat that as a direction, not a number for any specific bottle.
Why won't we quote you an exact percentage?
Simple: because we haven't fully tested our specific amber glass bottles. We can give you guidance, but we won't give you a percentage for how much UV light our amber glass keeps out.
Also, how much light gets through a bottle depends on three things:
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What the glass is made of
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How dark the colour is
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How thick the wall is
Two amber bottles from two different factories can perform differently. Green glass shows this clearly: a pale green tint lets plenty of light through, while a dark green close to amber blocks far more.
The only way to get a real number for a bottle is to test that actual bottle with a spectrophotometer, which measures how much light passes through at each wavelength. Until you've done that with our glass, here is what we can tell you: amber blocks a lot more light than clear.
What actually matters more than glass colour
Bottle colour only helps while light is actually hitting the bottle. If you keep the light off it completely, the colour matters a lot less. Here's what we think matters more than glass colour:
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Box it. A bottle that travels and sits in a carton barely sees any light. That can matter as much as the tint of the glass.
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Label it properly. A good wrap-around label covers a lot of the glass. You're designing a label anyway, so you may as well make it work for you. Our labelling guide lists suggested sizes.
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Test it in the bottle you'll actually sell it in. We're a bottle supplier, not a formulator.
Whether your blend stays the way you want it in a bottle is something only your own testing and your formulator can answer. The easiest way to test is to buy first. Our Discovery Pack gives you 12 bottles and 12 matching closures, and if it's not the right product for you, you can send it back within 30 days in saleable condition. Return postage is at your cost.
Three more things to think about
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Watch the pipette, not just the glass. Natural rubber bulbs go stiff faster in daylight, and heat speeds that up. The worst case is a dropper bottle left in a car in summer, where it can hit 50 to 70°C inside. Tea tree, grapefruit and other citrus oils are already harder on natural rubber, so check the bulb material on our pipettes page before you order.
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Think about the closure. Every time a dropper cap comes off, air gets in. A pump lets in less, so if your product works with a lotion pump, it's the more protective choice.
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Think about how fast it gets used. A bottle that's finished in a few weeks has far less time to change than one that sits half-full on a bathroom shelf for a year.
If you want more protection than amber
If you want to keep even more light out, choose a painted bottle. We sell spray-painted glass bottles in matte black and matte white, and they keep light out.
There are trade-offs. Painted bottles mark and scratch more easily than plain glass, which matters if they're handled a lot or rattling around in a box. I've also seen one case where a blend of oil and alcohol dissolved the paint, so do test your formula. One case isn't a pattern, but it's another reason to test your actual product in the bottle before you order a full run.
One thing that won't help is frosted glass. Frosting is acid-etched into the surface. It gives that soft matte look, but it's purely cosmetic and adds no UV protection. A frosted clear bottle is still clear glass underneath.
For most brands, amber is a sensible place to start. If you want to see the other colours side by side, they're on our glass dropper bottles page. If you're still choosing a closure, see our pipettes and dripper inserts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does amber glass block UV light?
Yes, it lets much less UV and visible light through than clear glass, which is why it's the default for essential oils. We can't give a percentage for our own bottles, because it depends on the glass recipe, tint depth and wall thickness. Amber also can't guarantee your oil stays stable on its own, since some oils barely react to light while others change quickly. Treat it as a starting point: fill a few bottles with your blend, store them the way your customers will, and watch for changes in smell and colour over a few months. Add an outer box and a good label, and you've covered a lot of the risk.
Do I need different glass for different essential oils?
For most brands, no. Research does show some oils are much more sensitive to light than others, but keeping one bottle style across your range matters more for your brand than fine-tuning colour oil by oil. It also keeps your reorders simple. Where the oil genuinely changes what you need is the closure, not the glass. Tea tree, grapefruit and some citrus oils are harder on natural rubber pipette bulbs, so check the bulb material before you order droppers for those or consider using a dripper closure rather than a pipette. If you have one unusual or expensive oil in your range, test it in your chosen bottle over a few months rather than guessing.
What actually protects my product from light degradation?
Mostly, keeping light off it. Glass colour is only one layer, and it only works while light is actually hitting the bottle. The bigger wins are the ones around it. An outer box or carton keeps most light off the product while it's in transit or sitting on a shelf. A wrap-around label covers a good share of the glass. And where the product lives matters just as much: out of direct sun and away from heat, because heat was a big factor in the research above. Amber glass is a sensible base layer under all of that. If you want to know for certain how your product holds up, fill a few bottles with your actual blend, store them the way your customers will, and check them over a few months.
Is coloured glass ever not enough?
Sometimes. Nobody can tell you in advance which products are not resilient enough, including us. Some oils barely react to light, others change quickly. Coloured glass lowers the risk; it can't remove it. If you want more protection than amber, a painted bottle, such as a matte black or white bottle, keeps more light out. Frosting won't help, because it's cosmetic. Whatever you choose, the real answer is testing: put your actual product in the bottle you plan to sell it in, store it the way your customers will, and check it over a few months.
Conclusion
Amber is the sensible default for essential oils, and most brands never need to look further. But the glass is only one layer. The box, the label, the closure, and where the bottle lives do a lot of the work.
If you're ready to order, our amber glass dropper bottles come in a range of sizes. If you'd rather try them with your own blend first, start with a Discovery Pack. If it's not right, you can return it within 30 days in saleable condition, and return postage is at your cost.
