Cautionary Advice
Remember that essential oils are highly concentrated and volatile plant extracts that can be toxic or irritating if not used correctly. Even though aromatherapy can be easy, safe, and pleasant to incorporate into your daily life, that doesn’t mean you should stop using caution and common sense when handling essential oils.
Any time you’re working with pure essential oils, keep the following things in mind:
General Guidelines for Safe Essential Oil Use
- Do not apply pure essential oils directly to the skin. Most oils should be diluted in a carrier oil before coming in contact with flesh. Otherwise, you risk “burning” the skin, creating a prickly sensation that may evolve into a rash. Lemon, cinnamon, and peppermint are all essential oils that can have this effect, and should be diluted for safe use.
- Do not exceed recommended dosages. For instance, if an aromatic bath typically calls for eight drops of an essential oil, don’t pour in eighty!
- Do not take essential oils internally unless under the supervision of a practicing aromatherapist or physician. If ingested incorrectly, essential oils can irritate the stomach lining. Worse, as much as 15 milliliters of any essential oil can be fatal if ingested.
- Do not use certain essential oils on areas that will be exposed to bright sun. Angelica, bergamot, cumin, lemon, lime, orange, and verbena essential oil may invite large red burn marks if used on skin that’s exposed to heavy sunlight.
- Do be aware of potential skin irritants. Basil, lemon, lemongrass, lemon verbena, melissa, peppermint, thyme, tea tree, cinnamon leaf, sweet fennel, Siberian fir needle, parsley seed, and pimento leaf essential oil are all potential skin irritants. In baths, use only a maximum of three drops of these essences. Avoid them altogether if you have sensitive skin or are prone to allergic reactions.
- Keep essential oils away from eyes; they can burn the cornea. If eye contact occurs, flush the eye with whole milk – water will only spread the oil.
- Do not use any oil for longer than three weeks. Break the habit after three weeks and take a week off before resuming use of your favorite essential oils.
Essential Oils to Avoid Under Certain Circumstances
- If you suffer from epilepsy, avoid sweet fennel, hyssop, sage, and rosemary essential oil, which may trigger and attack.
- If you have high blood pressure, you should not use sage, rosemary, or red thyme essential oils.
- Pregnant women should avoid basil, clary sage, hyssop, juniper, marjoram, and sage essential oils; they are harmful to the fetus and can induce an abortion. It’s also a good idea to stay away from fennel, peppermint, and rosemary – at least during the first three months of pregnancy.
Essential Oils that Should NEVER Be Used
While you would never find them on our website, if you ever do encounter the following toxic oils, avoid them. These should NEVER be used in aromatherapy:
- Aniseed*
- Bitter almond
- Boldo leaf
- Calamus
- Cinnamon bark
- Clove
- Clove Bud*
- Yellow camphor
- Horseradish
- Hyssop*
- Jaborandi leaf
- Mugwort
- Mustard
- Oregano
- Pennyroyal
- Rue
- Sage*
- Sassafras
- Savin
- Savory
- Southernwood
- Tansy
- Thuja
- Wintergreen
- Wormseed
- Wormwood
*These oils should only be used by trained and experienced aromatherapists. Otherwise, avoid them.