Essential oils are super trendy these days. But did you know they can be harmful if used wrong? Find out how to be safe below!
Did you know that essential oils can be dangerous? It’s much easier than you think to elicit an allergic reaction!
You deserve to know how to use essential oils safely to avoid any unwanted reactions. This goes for us, kids, and pets!
Most people don’t even know that essential oils pose any kind of risk to our health. They’re still widely seen as pseudoscience in our society, and that’s incredibly dangerous.
Essential oils can be risky if they are not use properly. And the correct use of them is not well-known at all!
Read on to find out how everyone in your household could be negatively affected by essential oils, and how to avoid it!
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Can Essential Oils Be Harmful?
You know the phrase “Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing?” That’s what makes essential oils potentially dangerous.
Essential oils are so incredibly concentrated that they can quickly overload our senses. And I don’t just mean smell.
Essential oils can cause a myriad of problems for the skin and internal organs.
Seriously, do a quick google search and you will see all kinds of horror stories of misinformed people who used essential oils without any kind of guideline.
That’s why using essential oils safely are so important. Their use has skyrocketed, but few know their true risk.
The Long History of Essential Oils | How We Got Here
Did you know that essential oils have been around for thousands of years? The ancient Egyptians used them for religious ceremonies and even in some of their cosmetics.
The Greeks then absorbed the Egyptian’s knowledge, and it slowly spread throughout the rest of the world, with Asia leading its own discovery of essential oils.
Up until the 1970’s, essential oils were only used sparingly and in situations of dire need. For example, lavender oil was used to treat burns and ease pain.
It was almost never used daily for its aromatherapy benefits to help with anxiety like it is today.
Just like many things in the health and wellness world, we don’t know too much about what repeated exposure to essential oils will do to us over time.
However, what research we are uncovering is not great.
The Potential Dangers of Essential Oils
With companies making essential oils into these products with no warnings or instructions, it’s no wonder there are so many horror stories out there! One of the worst I found was from Stacy Haluka, below.
A friend recommended essential oils to her from an MLM company. The company told her that the oils were so pure, she could apply them however she wanted.
A few months later, she landed in the emergency room with severe welts, blisters, swollen eyes, and toxic shock. All of which are essential oil overdose symptoms.
Stacy can never be exposed to essential oils without breaking out in hives, because her body has had enough of them. This condition is called sensitization, and it can be very dangerous.
Imagine having to go through life worried that you could go into toxic shock because someone was unknowingly diffusing some lavender!
So please, educate yourself on using essential oils safely! Just reading this post will do you a world of good.
Health and wellness have become more and more popular, which means that essential oils have also rose to fame. Because of this, big corporations have advertised essential oils as cure-all ingredients.
The truth, however, is that science hasn’t tested essential oils for very much.
REVIVE Essential Oils | The Best Brand for Using Essential Oils Safely
REVIVE Essential Oils is (to me) one of the best essential oil companies on the market. If you need some affordable yet effective essential oils, you should check them out!
I have an in-depth REVIVE Essential Oils review if you want to learn more. They are not a multi-level marketing (MLM) company which I appreciate. Most well-known essential oil companies are MLM style, which can be a pain.
They have a great beginner’s diffuser kit, perfect for someone new to essential oils.
And you can even get 10% off your first order with the code ESSENTIAL10 🙂
One of my few gripes about REVIVE is that I don’t see much essential oil education on their website.
While they do have a chart of all their essential oils and the best way to use them, I think there’s a great opportunity missed with educating their customers to avoid any reactions.
With that said, here’s what I would put on my own essential oil site if I had one.
How Do You *Actually* Use Essential Oils Safely?
The absolute safest way to use essential oils is to diffuse! I use and love this diffuser kit on the occasion I feel like lightening the mood.
Using oils on the skin is okay if you dilute, and ingesting essential oils is almost always discouraged unless a specific product is made for that purpose.
Even then, the product should be heavily diluted (I hope!).
Essential oils are totally safe to breathe in if you’re standing a few feet away from a diffuser. Just keep in mind that the rules of sensitivity still apply to children and other at-risk groups.
There is no essential oil that is considered “the safest” to use. They all have some level or risk, with some being more dangerous than others.
If you’re going to remember anything from this post, these are the key rules you must always follow to ensure essential oil safety:
- Keep out of reach of children
- All bottles must be stored in a cool place out of direct sunlight
- Keep all essential oils out of mucous membranes (ears, eyes, nose and mouth)
- Choose a high-quality essential oil, like REVIVE Essential Oils
The first rule is obvious, because children’s bodies cannot handle the potency of essential oils. There have been many reported hospitalizations, and even a few deaths, related to children getting into their parent’s essential oil cabinet.
I swear I’m trying not to scare you with this information! But you deserve to be informed.
Keeping your oils in a dark place makes their potency last longer because prolonged exposure to sunlight can dull their effectiveness.
Essential oils technically never expire, but they can lose their potency over time. The same general idea goes for choosing a high-quality essential oil. You want your oils to be pure and potent, without any unnecessary additives.
Lastly, you want to keep all essential oils away from any mucous membranes, like your ears, eyes and nose. You can easily disrupt those mucous membranes and cause irritation and inflammation that may involve a trip to the ER.
But don’t worry too much, because we’ll go over what to do if that does happen in a minute.
Always Dilute Your Essential Oils!
Now that we have the most basic rules out of the way, we can get into the more nitty-gritty.
The key to proper essential oil safety is dilution! You can use any carrier oil to tone down the potency of your essential oil, and you’ll be fine.
Some oils are more potent than others, and certain oils do better, say, diffused, than applied to the skin.
For example, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree are notorious for poisoning when ingested, but they do great diluted on the skin or diffused. Rosemary is another invigorating essential oil that is often discouraged from ingesting but does wonders for the skin and sore muscles.
You can see proper essential oil dilution in action on my DIY bath oil recipe.
The easiest way to navigate this is to do some research on each individual oil before you buy them. And always consult with a licensed aromatherapist.
I am not a professional!! I just have knowledge and years of experience under my belt. But there are ways to avoid some common mistakes:
Use the Right Carrier Oils
This cannot be stressed enough when it comes to essential oil safety. Especially when applied to the skin.
Take the edge off your essential oil’s potency with a nourishing carrier oil! This will act as a one-two punch for your skin’s health. Some common carrier oils include:
I love to use jojoba oil on my face! You can see it in action on my homemade lotion recipe.
Sweet almond oil is amazing on skin in general, and I used it in my recipe for sugar scrub that’s great for shaving.
All of those great fatty acids can help keep your skin looking young while staying moisturized. Which is great to have for the wintertime!
As for rosehip oil, it’s an underrated way to get long, strong hair super fast! I’ve got all the secrets on rosehip oil right here.
See how I use essential oils in a lot of my DIY’s? You also won’t fail to see some kind of carrier oil far behind because I would never give you a DIY that was unsafe.
I even use them in my regular hair oil treatments! They’re so good for you, that I don’t see a reason not to use them!
Now you may be wondering how some of REVIVE’s blends say that you can use them on your skin. Nearly all of their blends are made with fractionated coconut oil because of its long shelf life.
But don’t worry, your blends won’t turn solid when they reache room temperature. But you can always add some additional dilution to your blends too, especially if you are using them on children over two years old.
Use the Right Dilution Rate with an Essential Oil Dilution Chart
I know that dilution rates seem incredibly overwhelming when you first look at them. And it may be easier to simply ignore them and try your luck, but please don’t do this!
I’ve been guilty of it in the past, but only with oils that weren’t terribly dangerous to begin with.
Check out my graphic below for the basics on dilution rates. This applies to children, adults, and the elderly.
The fourth section also applies to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, those with a compromised immune system, or those with sensitive skin.
Be Careful with Oils that Have a High Phototoxicity
What’s this big word I just used? Phototoxicity is an oil’s ability to cause an adverse reaction to the skin when exposed to sunlight.
This can include red spots and severe burns. Luckily, there are only a few popular essential oils that have high phototoxicity. They are:
- Grapefruit—Phototoxic after 24 drops
- Lemon—Phototoxic after 12 drops
- Lime—Phototoxic after 4 drops
- Bergamot—Phototoxic after 1 drop
I ordered this list from lowest to highest risk of phototoxicity. Grapefruit oil usually gets the worst rap for phototoxicity, but bergamot should be your number one oil to look out for.
It goes great in a diffuser, and that’s about it! I would steer clear of using bergamot on your skin altogether unless it’s properly diluted by a professional.
What Essential Oils Should Be Avoided?
I thought I’d include a few more essential oils to be careful with if you decide to use them. The reasons being that they are so potent that they can cause burns to the skin.
These oils have caused ailments ranging from seizures to diarrhea in children who have accidentally ingested them. Be extra careful you don’t get these in your eyes or nose!
- Cinnamon essential oil
- Clove essential oil
- Oregano essential oil
- Wormwood essential oil—It’s so dangerous that REVIVE won’t even carry it!
What to Do if You Get Essential Oils in Your Eyes, Nose, or Mouth
I get it, life happens. I’ve seen and heard stories of even professionals getting an essential oil somewhere it shouldn’t be.
And if it does happen, don’t freak out! I know I’m telling you all kinds of horror stories, but those are the absolute worst-case scenario. What usually happens is some minor irritation or burning.
The first thing people think to do if they get essential oil in their eyes is to wash it out with water. Don’t do this!
It will just spread the water across even more of those sensitive mucous membranes. Instead, you have to dilute the essential oil to bring down its potency.
Yes, I’m serious. You can prevent irritation by adding a carrier oil into the area that has been affected. Milk works great too.
If you get a potentially dangerous essential oil in your eye, put a few drops of a carrier oil in there. Or if that idea freaks you out, flush out the area with some milk straight from the fridge.
Milk works because the fat content helps to reduce the oil’s potency, so go for a full fat milk if you can.
Flush out the area as best you can with your weapon of choice and give the area a few minutes to breathe. If irritation or severe burns start to occur, seek medical help immediately.
It’s okay if there’s some mild irritation. You did just run a couple foreign substances through the area. But if it doesn’t go away after 24 hours or worsens, a trip to the ER might be in order.
The Bottom Line with Using Essential Oils Safely
When using an essential oil for the first time, always do a small patch test. Just dilute a drop or two with some carrier oil and dab it on the inside of your wrist. If nothing happens in 24 hours, then you don’t have any adverse reactions toward it.
If you do decide to diffuse an oil, always diffuse in 30 minute intervals in a well-ventilated area. Make sure that pets aren’t around, depending on which oil you use.
If diffusing for children, only put two drops in the diffuser to avoid any adverse reactions.
Unless specified by a professional, always dilute your essential oils!
This is one of the key precautions to take when using essential oils. Even if you get it in your eye, just add a carrier oil to prevent irritation. You should find an essential oil brand you trust, like REVIVE Essential Oils.
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