Some people have abused and continue to abuse essential oils, using way too much. This can cause sensitization, burns and other harmful effects. It’s true that not much is needed, but when we set an arbitrary amount that’s based off of fear, and not true science, then we’re cheating ourselves. I know that I may ruffle some feathers for what I’m about say here, but I feel the need to share the dangers of diluting essential oils. Unfortunately, I’ve seen so many people fall into inaccurate and unsafe usage information (and no, it’s not always from using too much!)

Skincare guidelines don’t equal therapeutic use

Most essential oil dilution rates out there are written for overall skincare for the general person. It’s assuming that they don’t know anything about essential oil safety, and it’s to protect them as a consumer. Especially in Europe, aromatherapy and massage go hand in hand, so we’re talking about guidelines that are derived from the safety of massaging a diluted essential oil over the entire body.

Many aromatherapists recommend the dilution ratios handed down by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA). In fact, my e-book, Body & Skin – DIY bodycare, uses the IFRA safety standards. They’re highly useful for staying safe when making skincare products for a consumer who isn’t likely to follow application restrictions. However, using essential oils to achieve wellness is a whole other ball game.

Arbitrary guidelines

When we say “use a 1% dilution” of all essential oils and just leave it at that, then we run into inaccuracies. What if your health is compromised, should you use less? What if you’re only using it as a spot treatment, is it safe to use more? The truth is that each essential oil works effectively and safely for different issues, for different ages, at different dilution rates.

Let me give you an example. Say that you want to use an essential oil to help support your thyroid. You dilute it to 1% because that’s what you’ve heard is safe. After all, you don’t want to risk sensitization or a burn! But what if the body of scientific literature shows that that essential oil is only effective for the thyroid if it’s at a 5% concentration? And what if the research shows that unless it’s at a 20% concentration, there won’t be any negative side effects or harm? (Please keep in mind this is a totally made up example, just for the purpose of illustrating my point.)

The point is, that you have to balance safety and efficacy, and it IS possible to have both! We don’t have to slather on essential oils in order for them to work. We also don’t have to dilute them to death and then dilute again because “better safe than sorry.”

I had formulated a “boo-boo” salve for someone that used tea tree and lavender at a 2% dilution. Lavender essential oil can safely be used undiluted as a spot treatment for skin irritations, while tea tree is recommended at 5% to be effective. However, for the sake of being (very) conservative, I kept it at 2%. She added a safety note to dilute to 1%, or even .5% if you’re scared of using the 2%. Which makes me wonder, will a .5% dilution of these oils as a spot treatment for skin irritations even be effective?

The dose makes the poison

Going back to my earlier point, most essential oil dilution rates are for an uneducated consumer. You need a wide safety window so that even if they’re rubbing lotion all over, they’ll still be fine. In Tisserand’s book on Essential Oil Safety, which has become the aromatherapy Bible for many aromatherapists, he recommends a maximum .7% dilution of lime oil. This is taken directly from IFRA standards that recommend a .7% dilution maximum for commercial leave on skincare products.

“If I were to sell a body lotion in the EU, I’d be required to limit the lime oil to 0.7%. But this isn’t a toxicological principle that applies to medicinal applications. Because professional aromatherapists are not just selling body lotions to the public without any direction. And it violates the primary concept of toxicology – that the dose makes the poison. At no point is there any clarification of how much of the product is applied to the person.” – Jessie Hawkins PhD

If you’re using lime diluted to 2% as a spot treatment, (which can be safe) then you would be exposed to, on average, less than 1/2 of a drop of lime essential oil. If however you’re applying a lotion to your arms, legs and entire body and using about 3 tablespoons of lotion at a .7% dilution, then you’d be getting about 9 -10 drops of essential oil. There’s a big difference there! In the supposedly “unsafe” preparation, you’re exposed to 20 times less essential oil.

By using dilution guidelines that are meant for commercial skincare products, not therapeutic benefits,  we’re not properly diluting.

How over-diluting essential oils can harm you

When essential oils are diluted to the point that they’re not actually helping you, then you won’t get results, and you’re just wasting your money. You’re also wasting essential oils, which are a precious resource. And if you’re not using enough to actually get results, then you may decide that they’re just a bunch of hype and go to the doctor for some of the “real” stuff.

There are plenty of high quality clinical studies out there showing that essential oils can and do work, often more effectively and more safely than conventional solutions. In fact, eucalyptus essential oil is 3 times more effective at fending off lice than over the counter lice shampoos with risky pesticides. It also has a long history of safe use for children.

Fear based guidelines

For over 100 years, eucalyptus essential oil has been safely and effectively used for millions of children and adults. It’s licensed and approved for OTC lice shampoos in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, and is widely used for young children by aromatherapists in Europe.

You may have heard about the one case study of a 4 year old girl who had a grand mal seizure after using eucalyptus globulus essential oil in shampoo. Does that mean that for the past 100 years we had it all wrong, and that we’ve been playing Russian roulette with our health? Should we just never use eucalyptus on 4 year olds then? Or to be really safe why don’t we just move that age limit up to age 6 as many out there are recommending?

Let’s take a closer look though. In this particular incident, 8 teaspoons of an 11% eucalyptus dilution was washed through her hair, then a 2.5% dilution of conditioner was left on her head for over 3 hours and she had symptoms leading up to a seizure. After the conditioner was washed out, she had no more symptoms. Zero. Obviously this little girl was given way too much eucalyptus globulus essential oil! A normal and safe amount is to use about ¼ tsp of a .5% dilution of eucalyptus radiata (this chemotype is lower in active constituents) for a 4 year old… and not 8 teaspoons.

What not to rely on

When we take one or two adverse events, or just read the abstract of a study, and ignore the evidence as a whole, we run into issues. The same thing applies to diluting essential oils. When we’re only looking at a few people who had negative reactions from gross misuse, it’s easy to let fear take over. If we’re so scared of our essential oils, then why are we using them?

We shouldn’t rely on cosmetic skincare guidelines, one or two case studies, or people who are setting fear based, not evidence based, restrictions when we want to use an essential oil therapeutically.  All too often people rely on someone else’s opinion, rather than the evidence when diluting essential oils.

I am absolutely in favor of diluting essential oils in almost every situation (lavender as a spot treatment being the only exception I can think of). This prevents adverse reactions, and makes sure we’re not wasting our essential oils. They have to be diluted properly though.

Who do we listen to then?

The subject of properly diluting essential oils is so vast, that there have been entire 500 page books written on the subject, and aromatherapist spend years learning the ins and outs of the subject. So unfortunately knowing how to properly dilute for therapeutic benefits is way beyond the scope of one little article.

There are a lot of voices out there, but I do like to glean a variety of information from quality natural health resources. I wanted to share a resource with you that I’ve found to be super helpful. You may have heard me say before that I love the evidence based approach used by Vintage Remedies. I’ve taken several of their intermediate courses, including the aromatology course that focuses on the internal use of essential oils, and the classical aromatherapy course. Eventually, I’d like to enroll at their sister school, The Franklin Institute and get my clinical aromatherapy certification. It really just depends on how much you want to learn, and what you want to do with it.

Reading more into it

If you’re not ready for a course and are simply looking for some good books that really dive deeper into essential oil use, then I’d highly recommend anything by Shirley or Penny Price. They’re both world renowned aromatherapists that don’t thrive off of unnecessarily conservative recommendations. I have Penny’s Aromatherapy for Health Professionals book, and Aromatherapy for Babies and Children book that are both super helpful. The one is a textbook, so  it’s more expensive, but incredibly worth it in my opinion.

Where do you go for reliable essential oil information? Should you maybe reconsider your sources? Let us know in the comments below!

The post The danger of diluting essential oils appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

During the summer I feel like there’s a sign on my back that says “drink me.” Despite the fact that mosquitos seem to love me, I can’t say the feeling is mutual. With this badger balm copycat recipe though, you’ll have effective and lasting protection to help keep the unwanted little friends away.

The dangers of camp

This summer my little guy had his first trip to an overnight camp. I wasn’t worried about him getting hurt, or being away from home for the first time… I was worried that someone would share their toxic, conventional bug spray with him. Just the idea of that poison on his little body made me cringe.

So to ease my mind I made sure to send him off with some healthy bug repellant and told the camp counselor we (strongly) preferred not to share. And in case you’re not so convinced DEET is really that bad, then take a look at all the damage it can do to not just our bodies, but animals and the environment.

Why a badger balm?

Since this recipe uses essential oils, which are very volatile substances, the balm base helps them to stay on the skin much longer than a spray. It also doubles as a nourishing skin protectant. These essential oils will deter a wide variety of pesky things, including mosquitos and ticks that can carry disease.

How to use it safely

This recipe is safe for children ages 3-4 and up, but there are some caveats. A higher concentration of essential oils are needed in order to be effective at repelling bugs, but this also means that more care is needed when using the bug balm.
A little bit can be applied to the ankles and wrists, and for older children and adults, it can also be applied to the back of the neck. This will offer optimal protection, without risking a headache from breathing in the oils for a prolonged period of time. This safety info comes from a personal conversation with Jessie Hawkins, founder of the Franklin Institute of Wellness.

The dilution rates for this are a little higher than what I typically use in a skincare product, but this is common for a bug repellant. Keep in mind that using less will decrease the effectiveness, and it’s still very safe at the concentration it’s at. It’s also something that I have no issues using on my 4 year old.

Natural bug repellant – DIY badger balm

• 50 drops citronella (5% concentration)
• 20 drops cedarwood (2% concentration)
• 10 drops lemongrass (1% concentration)
• 10 drops rosemary (1% concentration)
• 50 drops geranium (5% concentration)
• 2 T. organic beeswax pellets – get it here
• 6 T sweet almond, grapeseed or coconut oil – get carrier oils here

1. In a small saucepan combine the carrier oil and beeswax. Heat over the lowest heat possible, stirring occasionally until it’s completely melted.
2. Allow the oil and wax to cool for just a couple minutes, then stir in the essential oils.
3. Immediately pour into your tin or glass jar and cap. Since this will still be warm, you don’t want the volatile oils evaporating into the air!
4. Rub on ankles, wrists and the back of the neck to help deter pests.

How do you keep the bug’s at bay? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to share this article with the buttons below!

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There are a lot of essential oil myths floating around out there. I covered quite a few of them in this post here, like if it’s really so scary to ingest oils, or if you can use them safely on little ones. Something I’ve learned more about recently though is what phototoxic essential oils REALLY are and how to safely use them.

I thought I had it figured out. Citrus essential oils were phototoxic, meaning that when they were applied to the skin they could cause skin to be much more likely to burn in the sun. But.. I had it all wrong.

Are Citrus Essential Oils Phototoxic?

Yes and no. Certain essential oils do cause the skin to be more prone to burning and many of them are citrus oils. However, not all citrus essential oils are phototoxic. Here’s a list of phototoxic essential oils according to Robert Tisserand and the International Fragrance Association, or IFRA.

Phototoxic essential oils

• Bitter orange peel, cold pressed
• Fig leaf absolute
• Bergamot oil, cold pressed
• Lime oil, cold pressed
• Lemon oil, cold pressed
• Grapefruit oil, cold pressed
• Cumin oil
• Rue oil
• Angelica root oil

Update: There’s controversy over grapefruit being on this list, as professionals in the essential oil field have said that an analysis of the chemical breakdown of the oil and the existing literature show no concerns of phototoxicity. Being a citrus oil however, it tends to just get lumped in with the avoid list. This info comes from a personal conversation with Jessie Hawkins PhD of the Franklin Institute.

Citrus oils that are NOT phototoxic

• Lime oil, steam distilled
• Lemon oil, steam distilled
• Mandarin, cold pressed
• Tangerine, cold pressed
• Sweet or wild orange (citrus sinensis), cold pressed

 Phototoxic Essential Oil Safety for Skin

Based off of my readings from different aromatherapy blogs, I was well aware of the fact that phototoxic essential oils just shouldn’t be used on the skin. Or if you did use them, to make sure you didn’t expose skin to the sun for at least 12 hours, or up to 3 days. That’s not exactly true though.

Wash off products

If you’re including the phototoxic essential oil in a wash off product, then the same rules don’t apply. Since the essential oil won’t be sitting on the skin, there is no concern for phototoxicity. So you can wash your face with a lemon oil laced scrub and go out for a day at the beach with no ill effects.

Anything that’s meant to be washed off of the skin, such as soap, shampoo, face wash and body scrubs can safely use phototoxic essential oils. Each oil however has a maximum percentage that can be used in products before you’re risking skin irritation and sensitization. These guidelines of course are referring to skincare only and don’t apply to essential oils used in higher concentrations for medical purposes.

Leave on products

Some bodycare products that use essential oils are meant to be left on the skin, such as lotion, body butter, body spray and lip balm. Since the oils are going to be sitting on the top layer of the skin somewhat, you do have to exercise more caution here.

Most people believe that phototoxic essential oils can’t be used on the skin at all under any circumstance, but there are actually safe usage limits for leave on products. These guidelines don’t include essential oils used on the lip area. Since the lips are more delicate, the use of essential oils on them is more restricted.  In general, essential oils make up about 2% of skincare products. They’re very concentrated substances, so you don’t need much.

Below are the maximum percentages of certain phototoxic oils that can be used on the skin, and roughly how many drops that would be per ounce of carrier oil or other material. The IFRA guidelines differ a little from what Tisserand recommends in his book Essential Oil Safety. Tisserand seems to be a little more conservative with phototoxic essential oil usage.

Using phototoxic essential oils in leave on products (lotion, body butter, body spray)

Lemon, cold pressed – 2% or about 12 drops per ounce of carrier
Lime, cold pressed – .7% or about 4 drops per ounce of carrier
Bergamot, cold pressed – .4% or about 2 drops per ounce of carrier
Grapefruit, cold pressed – 4% or about 24 drops per ounce of carrier
Bitter orange, cold pressed – 1.25% or about 7 drops per ounce of carrier

Using phototoxic essential oils in wash off products (soap, face wash, body wash)

Lemon, cold pressed – 5% or about 30 drops per ounce of carrier
Lime, cold pressed – 25% or about 150 drops per ounce of carrier
Bergamot, cold pressed – 5% or about 30 drops per ounce of carrier
Grapefruit, cold pressed – 5% or about 30 drops per ounce of carrier
Bitter orange, cold pressed – Listed as no restriction for wash off product. I can’t locate a maximum usage limit for bitter orange, although I’m assuming an undiluted oil could be irritating to skin. Based off of other usage guidelines, I personally wouldn’t use more than 5% in a wash off product, or about 30 drops per carrier.

Resources:

• IFRA phototoxicity standards
• Wholesale Supplies Plus
• Aroma Web

The post The Truth about Phototoxic Essential Oil Safety appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

This controversy has been raging ever since the battle between certain essential oil companies and traditionally trained aromatherapists began. There are strong arguments and opinions on both sides of the aisle, but who is right on this one? I don’t claim to know everything on the issue, but as an herbalist who has since branched into aromatology and aromatherapy, I’d like to give this issue some attention. Is it safe, or is it dangerous to ingest essential oils?

Myth busting

First I’d like to begin with some common ingestion myths. As with anything there is a proper balance. Extremes on either end can be harmful.

1. Essential oils should never be consumed under any circumstance.

I guarantee you’ve consumed essential oils to some degree in your life time. Ever had a breath mint? Altoids and other brands list “oil of peppermint” on the ingredients list. If you’ve ever brushed your teeth with a natural toothpaste, most likely it contained essential oils for flavoring. This brand of fermented cod liver oil is widely touted (and now controversial) in WAPF circles, and it’s flavored with essential oils. Essential oils have been used to flavor food, especially natural foods, for many years.

2. Essential oils should only be consumed under the guidance of an aromatherapist.

Aromatherapists typically have only a few hundred hours of essential oil training. This traditional approach focuses on inhalation and diluted topical applications. Unless they’ve also specifically studied the internal use of oils, they’re no more qualified than you are to make these decisions.

One thing I’ve found through my studies in the Vintage Remedies program, is that traditional aromatherapy isn’t necessarily based on current scientific evidence, but rather traditional use. This isn’t to discredit the knowledge an aromatherapist has, but sometimes their guidelines contradict what the current body of scientific literature has shown to be safe.

3. Essential oils can kill you when ingested.

This one is actually true (sort of). There have been cases when people died from ingesting essential oils. One example is Eucalyptus essential oil. There have been seizures, comas and even deaths reported with this oil. Having read that, you’re probably assuming that Eucalyptus essential oil should never be ingested since it’s so harmful.

What you probably don’t know, is that Eucalyptus is widely available in Australia, and people have drank entire bottles to try and commit suicide. In one case, someone drank 50ml, which is over 1.5 ounces and they still survived the suicide attempt. This is way more than the recommended and safe 1-2 drops.

4. Essential oils are safe to ingest if they’re labeled “therapeutic grade.”

Therapeutic grade is simply a marketing term. Phrases like “100% pure” and “all natural” also have no credible meaning unless the company is able to provide evidence to back up their claim. Pick up an essential oil at your local health food store and chances are it will specifically tell you it’s not for ingestion, despite the fact that it’s probably labeled “therapeutic.”

For an essential oil to be pure enough to ingest, you want an oil without fillers, contamination or pesticides and one that has been 3^rd party tested. Anyone can declare their product is “pure,” which is why the 3^rd party testing is vital to confirm safety.

5. Instead of ingesting essential oils, just ingest the whole herb.

Essential oils are contained in the whole herb. Every time you make yourself a cup of herbal tea, or a homemade cough syrup, you’re consuming essential oils. This isn’t the same as dumping three drops in your morning beverage, but they are present in small amounts just the same. I personally use both the whole herb and essential oils. Since the isolated essential oils are much more potent, you’ll naturally need a fraction of the amount compared to the whole herb.

One good example is ginger. Both ginger tea and the essential oil have been used to soothe upset stomachs, however the active component is found in the essential oil. So it’s actually more effective to consume the oil.

How to safely consume essential oils

Diluting essential oils for consumption

Essential oils should be thoroughly mixed with another substance like honey, sugar or oil before consuming. This ensures that you’re getting a diluted amount and that the essential oil isn’t directly hitting your mucus membranes when swallowed.

I’ll put a couple of drops in a pot of my morning superfood latte. No I don’t drink the whole pot myself…well, not usually. You can add a couple of drops to homemade ice cream or popsicles. I’ll even make lavender lemonade with my essential oils. The key here is that it’s a small amount and it’s fully distributed throughout the food.

Wellness support

This is where it gets a little more controversial. There are recommendations out there to put 10 drops of potent oils like oregano and cinnamon in a capsule. I have to agree with the traditional users on this one though. High amounts of essential oil like this are generally unnecessary and can cause damage.

Common medications like Tylenol are actually much riskier than essential oil ingestion. “acetaminophen overdose results in over 56,000 injuries, 2,500 hospitalizations, and an estimated 450 deaths per year.” (source) It’s very easy to overdose with OTC and prescription medications, but you have a much wider safety net with plant based solutions.

How to safely ingest oils

That being said, I do ingest essential oils in small amounts on occasion to keep my body healthy. It’s important to use common sense when diluting. 1-2 drops is generally the recommended amount. I like to put 1-2 drops in a capsule and fill to the top with olive oil. I’ll also put diluted essential oils under my tongue, since this gets it right into the bloodstream.

For children, essential oils generally make up .5-1% of the total product. This will not only be effective, but it’s a tiny fraction of an amount that can cause an adverse event. In this double blind, placebo controlled, randomized study, several hundred children as young as 1 were safely given essential oils, including citrus oils diluted in honey to support throat health. This resulted in zero breathing issues or complications. With that being said though, I highly recommend getting some aromatology training before giving any essential oils internally to children.

How I DON’T ingest oils

I’ve already mentioned that I avoid large amounts. I also don’t put oils in my water. Even though thousands of people have done so without apparent incident, they can cause mucus membrane irritation. The only cases I know of are anecdotal however, and involve repeated, undiluted use of oils, typically “hot” oils, like cinnamon.

You also never want to ingest low quality oils. If they’ve been sprayed with pesticides, bought off of the open market in who knows what kind of condition, or other negative factors, then they shouldn’t be going in your mouth. It took me a long time to decide which oils I wanted to use and felt safe using with my family. You can connect with me HERE and I’ll share with you which brand I love, has the highest quality and the best prices.

Who do you trust for safe essential oil information?

There’s so much bad information out there when it comes to using essential oils. How do you sift through it all to make sure you’re helping yourself and your family the best you can? I took an aromatology course from Vintage Remedies that covers the basics of internal essential oil use, but its since been discontinued.

The New York Institute of Aromatherapy is certified by the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapists (NAHA) and offers a course in the French  (or internal) use of essential oils. Not many quality aromatherapy schools are teaching this information, and most just say to never ingest essential oils. I’ve taken an introductory course from this school, but I’ve had my eye on their internal usage course!

You can learn more about the New York Institute of Aromatherapy’s French Aromatherapy (internal use) here.

Who do you turn to for essential oil information? – Comment below!

Resources:

Vintage Remedies Aromatic Medicine

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