If I ever catch you putting neat essential oils on your skin I am gonna be VERY DISSAPOINTED IN YOU and also any blog who tells you its fine is a hack who doesn’t know what the fuck they’re talking out and is probably going to end up with chemical burns.
NOTE; adding a few drops of oil to your regular skin oil/lotion or shampoo is not using it neat. That is diluting it, and is perfectly acceptable.
I mean, if you get chemical burns it’s because there are harmful chemicals in your oils. Per FDA regulations, an essential oil only has to contain 7% of the actual ingredient to be called “pure”. The rest can be synthetic. This is why there is a greater risk of irritation and why many are not safe for consumption, even citrus oils like Orange and Lemon. And this is why you can get a chemical smell. Stay away from store and other very cheap brands.
AFAIK the only brand on the market that’s ACTUALLY 100% pure is doTERRA. And even then, straight oils can cause irritation on people sensitive skin and children. ALWAYS dilute your oil. Fractionated Coconut Oil is the best way to do this, as it will stay liquid. You can also use regular coconut oil or an I scented lotion. Or of course diffuse a few drops with water.
I’ve seen some pretty bad burns on people who used straight clove and pepper oil. It’s not just because there’s additives. Newsflash! Essential oils are made of chemicals! SOME OF THOSE CAN BE HARMFUL, PARTICULARLY WHEN HIGHLY CONCENTRATED AS THEY ARE IN ESSENTIAL OIL.
And there’s lots of carrier oils you can use. No one is the ‘best’. Almond, olive, jojoba, rosehip, avocado…whatever someone finds works best for them. And doTerra is a good brand, but by no means the ONLY good brand.
That 7% thing you just said? Is a myth, usually used by essential oil companies to claim that THEIRS is DIFFERENT!!!!! It’s untrue, and a lie, and NOT TRUE. So far as I can tell, the first mentions of this were by sales reps of a multi level marketing scam to try and hawk their shit. It’s bullshit. And NOT TRUE.
and
DO
NOT
INGEST
ESSENTIAL
OILS
GOD
DAMMIT
UNLESS
YOU
CONSULT
A
DOCTOR
FIRST
If you want to try oregano for immunity, fine, GO MAKE SOME TEA WITH DRIED OREGANO FOR FUCK’S SAKE
100% this. I don’t even use 100% tea tree oil neat on my skin, I dilute it with jojoba oil. This doesn’t make it any less effective. If anything it makes it more effective, because I’m not irritating the shit out of already irritated and damaged skin. Oils that explicitly state on the bottle are okay to be applied directly to the skin? Have typically been diluted with something else to make it safe. (NB: water does not dilute essential oils, it disperses them, but doesn’t dilute them. The only time water and essential oil should meat without a carrier oil is in a vaporizer or oil burner.)
Also be really careful using menthol oils (y’know, the stuff you use for congestion) around small children, as they can actually cause breathing difficulties in small children and even result in death. https://naha.org/naha-blog/peppermint-safety-info/
I had a witchy friend who made her own sinus congestion oil blend for years, she was a licensed aromatherapist and had been working for decades in the field. And without thinking, used it on her daughter who was under 6, to help ease a bad head cold. The child went in to respiratory distress and died. She did everything right, the oils were 100% organic natural and well diluted with appropriate carrier oils—that still didn’t make it safe to use on a child. I have midwifing friends who wont even apply vicks vapor rub to their kids because of the risk of respiratory arrest.
If your baby is congested, by all means fill the bathroom with warm steam if it will help them breathe, but avoid menthol oils. Please. And do not apply any essential oil neat to their skin. I’m begging you.
Natural does not mean safe. “Chemical free” does not mean Safe. It just means you better know what the fuck you’re doing and that requires doing more research than trusting pinterest-tumblr witch posts that talk about “chemicals” with no basic understanding that Essential Oils are a chemical substance. Synthetically scented or otherwise.
If the above warnings don’t get you to take the risk seriously, remember that a lot of essential oils are plants natural defenses against insects. So while there are some benefits to using them, they also are the means for a plant to bring harm to a living creature.
Do Not Ingest Them until you consult a doctor. Some can cause problems such as liver or kidney failure if eaten. Talk to a doctor or nurse before consuming any oils or you might find yourself talking to a lot of them.
Do Not Put Them On Your Skin until you did your research and learned if it is safe. Some are safe, some have to be diluted, and some can’t be never be put on skin.
Be Aware of Kid and Small Animals. It takes less to harm something small than it does to harm a full grown adult. Kids also react differently to things than how an adult would react because they are still growing.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 