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Safety Information

Essential Oil Safety Information

Essential Oils are highly concentrated substance and should be treated with care.  Click here for more essential oil safety information from the University of Minnesota.

Here are some guidelines to ensure safe use of essential oils:

Start with one Essential oil. Learn all you can about it. Become comfortable working with it and learn what works for you and your family. When working with Essential oils, keep a bottle of carrier oil (vegetable oil) handy for use in diluting the essential oils. Once you have mastered one Essential oil, continue working with essential oils by adding one essential oil at a time.

Keep ALL oils out of the reach of Children

Keep ALL Essential Oils away from open flames and fire.

NEVER consume undiluted oils.

Use only 100% pure natural essential oils from plants.

Store Oils in a cool dry place in a tightly closed, dark glass or metal container out of direct sunlight.

Do Not use undiluted essential oils on the skin. Dilute essential oils with vegetable oils known as .Carrier Oils. like Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Olive Oil and many others. (Refer to listing of Carrier oils for a complete list of available oils)

There are a VERY FEW exceptions to this rule: non-irritating oils like Lavender or Tea Tree oils can be used undiluted on insect bites, burns, pimples, minor cuts, scrapes, and skin eruptions as long as you do not have skin sensitivity.

ALWAYS skin test essential oils for sensitivity. Some people who are allergic to synthetic fragrances (made from chemicals) will not be sensitive to natural essential oils made from plant sources.

To do a Patch test:
Apply 1-2 drops(gtts) of 100% pure essential oil on the back of your wrist and cover with a bandage, leave for at least 1 hour. If irritation or redness occurs, rinse the area with cold water. STOP USING THE OIL IMMEDIATELY. This application of testing is known as “neat” application (which means applying the oil at full strength without being diluted in a carrier oil as Almond Oil, Grape Seed Oil, or Olive.)

Keep all essential oils away from eyes and mucous membranes. If you get essential oils in your eyes, flush your eyes with vegetable oil, never use water.

Oils that are known to be irritating to the skin and should always be tested before useinclude:

  • Allspice Bay
  • Bitter Almond
  • Basil
  • Birch
  • Cassia
  • Cajeput
  • Cedar Leaf
  • Cinnamon Leaf
  • Clove Bud
  • Fir Needle
  • Lemon
  • Lemongrass
  • Peppermint
  • Pine
  • Sweet Fennel
  • Tagetes
  • Tea Tree
  • Thyme
  • Wintergreen

 

The following oils make the skin more sensitive to Ultraviolet light (Phototoxicity). Photoxcity causes skin pigmentation when exposed to direct sunlight. DO NOT GO INTO THE SUN WITH THESE OILS ON YOUR SKIN:

  • Angelica Root
  • Bergamot (except bergapten-free type)
  • Cumin
  • Ginger
  • Lovage
  • Verbena
  • ALL citrus oils:
    • lemon
    • Lime
    • Orange
    • Tangerine
    • Grapefruit
    • And any other citrus oils

AVOID using the following oils during pregnancy:

  • Ajowan
  • Angelica
  • Anise Star
  • Aniseed
  • Basil
  • Bay laurel
  • Birch
  • Bitter Almond
  • Calamintha
  • Cedar Leaf
  • Cedarwood (all types)
  • Celery
  • Cinnamon Leaf
  • Citronella
  • Clary Sage
  • Clove Bud
  • Cumin
  • Fennel (sweet)
  • Geranium
  • Hyssop
  • Juniperberry
  • Labdanum
  • Lovage
  • Marjoram
  • Myrrh
  • Nutmeg
  • Parsley
  • Snake Root
  • Sage (Spanish)
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme (white)
  • Wintergreen

 

In the first four months of Pregnancy it is best to avoid: Peppermint, Rose and Rosemary

People with seizures or epilepsy should avoid using these oils:

  • Cedar Leaf
  • Hyssop
  • Lavandin
  • Sage
  • Spike Lavender
  • Sweet Fennel
  • Rosemary

People with High Blood Pressure should avoid the following oils:

  • Hyssop
  • Rosemary
  • Sage (Common & Spanish)
  • Thyme

People with Diabetes should avoid the following oils:

  • Hyssop
  • Rosemary
  • Sage (all types)

Potentially Toxic Oils: (ref. The Essential Oil Safety Data Manual by Robert Tisserand) The following oils have LIMITED external use, primarily for perfumery. Extreme care should be taken when using these oils:

  • Bitter Almond (Prunus amygdalus var.amara)
  • Inula (Inula graveolens)
  • Khella (Ammi visnaga)
  • Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris)
  • Pennyroyal (Mentha pelugium)
  • Red Thyme
  • Sassafras (Albidum)
  • Thuja (Thuja occidentalis)
  • Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

Toxic Essential Oils: Flinthills Aromatherapy recommends not using the following oils at all.

  • Ajowan (Ptychotis ajowan, Carum ajowan)
  • Arnica (Arnica Montana)
  • Bolda (Peumus boldus)
  • Buchu (Barosma betulina)
  • Calamus (Acorus calamus)
  • Cascarilla (Croton eluteria)
  • Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
  • Camphor, brown and yellow (Cinnamonum camphora)
  • Deer tongue (Carphephorus odoratissimus)
  • Horseradish (Cochlearia ammoricia, Ammoracia rusticana)
  • Jaborandi (Pilocarpus jaborandi)
  • Mustard (Brassica nigra)
  • Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus)
  • Nutmeg (Myristica fragans)
  • Parsley (Petroselinum sativum, Carum sativum)
  • Rue (Ruta graveolens)
  • Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparissus)
  • Spanish broom (Spartium junceum)
  • Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
  • Tonka (Dipteryx odorata)
  • Tumeric (Curcuma longa)
  • Wormseed (Chenopodium ambrosiodes, C. anthelminticum)
  • Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

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