Well met friends, happy Thursday! Welcome to my most recent "Get Your Learn On" with today's topic focusing on Essential Oil Safety! I am so happy that you're here and that you have decided to read up on the safety of essential oils. I am a long-time user of Essential Oils and am a former Young Living Essential Oil Independent Presenter. I'm not here to bash YL and although I do think that they have phenomenal quality oils, I have decided to make the switch to using another company's EOs. It's with no hard feelings to YL, it's just that I cannot afford the cost of their oils. As with any other MLM company, the cost is always escalated because they have to account for all the people they have to pay in the down-line in order for the company to make any money. As much as I love the quality of YL, as a small business owner that uses a lot of oils in her products, I had to search for an alternative and I couldn't be happier to tell you ALL ABOUT my new found love for Plant Therapy!
I recently became a re-seller for Plant Therapy and instantly became an ENORMOUS fan of this company! The high quality of their oils is just as wonderful as any other high end essential oil company, producing PURE essential oils with batch certifications and documentation on distillation process / sourcing (just as you like to see from any "other" therapeutic grade company) but the MAJOR PERK is that Plant Therapy is guided by Robert Tisserand, if you don't know him click his name and it will take you to his website.
Robert Tisserand is "one of the world’s leading experts in aromatherapy. He works as an independent industry consultant, online educator and live presenter. He keeps his finger on the pulse of scientific development in the aromatherapy world, following the newest research and developments. Learn more about Robert, explore the world of essential oils and aromatherapy through his online webinars and live events, and benefit from his knowledge through Essential Oils Safety, the book that sets the industry and home use standards."
In addition to having Mr. Tisserand's guidance they also have employed essential oil certified aromatherapists there to help guide you. They have tons of links to help educate, provide recipes, have an online chat to reach certified aromatherapists to answer any and all questions, not to mention their customer service is next to none, they also love to help small businesses (I could go on and on)... I obviously LOVE PT!
When I think back to my time at the "other" company I was affiliated with, it was mostly friends and upline advising that there aren't any "real dangers" to oiling; however, after much research there is a lot to be cautious about! I say this with no malice in my heart, as I know my friends there truly only want to help, and care for me/my well being, but after a lot of research and education, I have decided to part ways from selling oils (the company, NOT the people). Most people from the "other" companies as many PT fans like to refer to the MLMs of EOs, tend to advise "safely" ingesting and using oils undiluted, which under medical supervision ingesting can be okay, but most people are just ingesting without much direction from a medical or aroma certified consultant, which is NOT.
You can have allergic reactions to EOs and it is EXTREMELY important to dilute your oils and know the dilution rates for both you and your children. Now, I am not saying this to scare you away from oils! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I use oils regularly, I use them in ALL of my products (coming soon!), specifically because I choose to not use chemical fragrance (there will be another post on the harmful effects of chemical fragrances), and additionally because essential oils have amazing health benefits and smell divine!
Now relative to allergic reactions, they are rare for most when properly diluting your oils. It is also important to research which essential oils are kid safe, which you can also find on PTs website! Below you will find a few dilutions charts that I pulled from Plant Therapy's Website:
Plant Therapy says that "a good rule of thumb is to use one drop of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil for a 1% dilution. For a 0.50% dilution, because you cannot measure half of one drop, increase the amount of carrier oil used. If you are unable to add more carrier oil, round down to get a whole number for you essential oil drops. For example, 1.5 drops would become 1 drop. " -Plant Therapy
Did you also know that essential oils and water do not mix? Many people tend to just go willy nilly and add a few drops of essential oils right to their baths (hey, I'm even guilty of this in the past!), but this is actually something you DO NOT want to do. And don't feel bad if you have, it's okay, we've all done it and are okay, but once better informed we can make better decisions. We are all here to learn from one another and my goal is to help be another voice to educate. I am personally enrolled in an essential oil class so that I myself can become a certified essential oil master aromatherapist, with the hope to be able to share my knowledge with other and ultimately help you to stay safe and get the most benefits from oiling! Below you'll find the best explanation as to why you do not just add EO drops directly to your bath, as well as information as to how you CAN use essential oils in your bath! All of our bath products that use essential oils have been primed with a carrier oil and an emulsifier to allow the oils and the bath water to mix so that you never have to worry when using our bath products, we take the utmost care when formulating all of our recipes with your well being always kept at the top of our priority list!
What we have found on Robert Tisserand's website is the most informative and well rounded answer on why you don't want to use essential oils directly in your bath:
"Essential oils do not mix with water, they float in tiny droplets on the surface, and you are about to sit on those droplets of undiluted essential oil. Whenever essential oils are ‘mixed’ with water without a dispersing agent, there is a high risk of irritation, since undiluted droplets of essential oil attach to the skin, often in sensitive areas. Because the oils are warmed up by the water, and also cannot evaporate, they often sting like crazy. This can happen with any essential oil, though it seems to be especially bad with citrus oils. Adding a fatty oil to your bath does make for a more greasy bathing experience, and some argue that it can stain your bathtub. If this is your concern, you could try using less greasy fatty oil such as jojoba or fractionated coconut oil. Neither full-fat milk nor Epsom salts properly dissolve essential oils. This may shave a few % of the risk, but it’s really not recommended, especially for anyone who might be sensitive. So, your choices are: thoroughly mix in a vegetable oil (you will get a floating bath oil), or emulsify the EOs into an aqueous medium such as water or a hydrosol using an emulsifying agent." -Robert Tisserand Institute
When choosing an emulsifying agent, many recommend using Solubol or Polysorbate 80. I have tried finding Solubol as it is a pretty natural emulsifier but I have had trouble finding it easily accessible here in the US. It is a product manufactured in France and though I'm sure you can locate it on Google, I have only used Polysorbate 80 which you can find here on Amazon.
Essential oils are amazing and when safely used they can greatly enhance your well being and be part of a healthy lifestyle. They are regularly used by millions of people across the globe, most without incident when used correctly. Essential Oils are also used medicinally in many different cultures such as in Chinese Medicine and originally in Egypt where aromatherapy originated. However, as with any other addition to your health routine, it is important to understand the risks and the benefits. Though today we have only really scratched the surface of some of the things to be aware of with essential oils, I hope that you have found this post informative and helpful! A few other topics you may consider researching further would be specific essential oils, ones that you need to avoid if you have certain health ailments, ones that are safe for children (link from Plant Therapy on Kid Safe blends), certain oils should be avoided when pregnant (and certain oils can help certain pregnancy ailments like peppermint for itchiness and lemon for nausea).
If you have any questions or want to discuss this further please feel free to comment on the blog below or email me directly at sabrina@sabrinathegoodwitch.com
(Just to note there area couple affiliate links that have been utilized in this blog, by clicking on these links there is a small commission paid to Sabrina The Good Witch to help run this blog and provide you with all the wonderful knowledge that I have to share. These links won't cost you a thing, it is just important to have transparency.)
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