Essential Oil Potency

Guest · Aug 3, 2009

I love herbs, and consequently essential oils, but I read a lot of disclaimers on them in my herbal books. Some warn about skin irritations, harmful during pregnancy etc. Is that something I should be concerned about when adding them to soap? Or does the lye remove the harmfulness of eos?

If the potency of eos does come through in soap, which ones should I avoid/use caution with? Which ones are safe(r) then?

Thank you!

Guest · Aug 3, 2009

I don't like peppermint essential oil in soap. I can FEEL it tingle!

andreja · Aug 3, 2009

CastorFan said:
I don't like peppermint essential oil in soap. I can FEEL it tingle!

I don't have issues with peppermint EO. Maybe I didn't use it much. I can still smell it perfectly well though.

dagmar88 · Aug 3, 2009

Justpeachy said:
I love herbs, and consequently essential oils, but I read a lot of disclaimers on them in my herbal books. Some warn about skin irritations, harmful during pregnancy etc. Is that something I should be concerned about when adding them to soap? Or does the lye remove the harmfulness of eos?

If the potency of eos does come through in soap, which ones should I avoid/use caution with? Which ones are safe(r) then?

Thank you!

Yes, you should be concerned about irritations and potential danger to pregnant women; those properties do come through in soap. Although I cannot say to what extend, it's always better to stay on the safe side.

Please take a look at http://www.essentialoils.co.za/pregnancy.htm. It will tell you which EO's can be harmfull during pregancy; but also they also have information about irriation and sensitation.

Guest · Aug 3, 2009

Thanks for the link....it's really helpful.

I've only ever used peppermint, lavendar, and grapefruit, which are all relatively safe. I'm glad I asked!!

CastorFan--I love that peppermint tingle!

I guess that shows how potent eos are though....