Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Essential Oil Safety - Quick Reference Download
http://www.frannsalthealth.com/blog/essential-oils-safety-quick-reference/
http://www.frannsalthealth.com/blog/essential-oils-safety-quick-reference/
PDF Download - EO Safety - Quick Reference
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Saffron
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scard
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link, I'm trying to save for an order of essential oils, this is a great reference.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
@Andie -- Have a look. Maybe make this a sticky?
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Sadly, the site is no longer active. Try this link below or I have the PDF if anyone wants a copy, PM me.
EO-safetyref.pdf
Last edited:
Aromasuzie
Well-Known Member
As an Aromatherapy Tutor, I would not take any notice of these contraindications apart from skin sensitivity and the phototoxicity of the citrus oils and possibly use with homeopathy. The dilution you are using in soap will not affect any of these conditions, the amount being absorbed by the skin is negligent. Most of these contraindications relate to the HERB, not the essential oil. While someone has put a lot of effort into this, these myths keep going around. A good example of this is Pennyroyal eo. I have quite happily used Pennyroyal eo in my soaps. This oil is toxic to the liver when taken ORALLY. It has a huge reputation for being an abortifacient but this is actually a side effect of liver toxicity and in the old days was used for this, but it was more than likely to kill both mother and babe. Topical use of this essential oils in fine. If anyone has any queries about the safety of essential oils, I am happy for you to contact me
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
And yet, this is listed in the Aromatherapy, Herbs & Essential Oils sub-forum, which is separate from the 3 main soap sub-forums here at SMF. So not all who would find & use this chart would be referencing it for soap making purposes. Many people here make leave-on products such as lotions, deodorants, and so forth. So I think your recommendation to not take any notice of the other contraindications should include the caveat that you mean it only in relation to wash-off products and not for leave-on products.
Aromasuzie
Well-Known Member
A lot of the essential oils listed in the chart are not used in aromatherapy and would not be used for fragrance.
Even with leave on products, these contraindications don't fit, assuming the essential oil dosage is between 2-5%. If topical use could affect these health conditions, there would be warning labels all over perfumes as the essential oil percentage is way higher than leave on any leave-on product. The amount of essential oil being absorbed by the body is minimal. I have always questioned why the oils are contra-indicated and when you start looking for research, those contra-indications are not relatable to essential oils but are herb based and in relation to oral use. I stand by what I say, the biggest danger in using essential oils for fragrancing is skin irritation and sensitivity.
Check out Robert Tisserand's book on Essential Oil safety and this quote from the book "Aromatherapy for Health Professional" by Len and Shirley Price sum my thoughts up beautifully.
"Because of the complexity of essential oil chemistry, a number of essential oils are labelled as toxic without any evidence of their causing harm to human beings, except by gross misuse. Toxicity of the main component of an essential oils does not always constitute proof that the whole essential oil is toxic to humans, whatever the results of research on rats and mice (which are injected with or made to ingest essential oils).
The book "Aromatherapy for Health Professionals" is used in the UK, where essential oils are used in hospital settings, on people with the listed conditions as well as during pregnancy, childbirth and on babies. They actually recommend using Cedarwood (Cedrus Atlantica) for cradle cap, yet the reference chart from FrannsAltHealth contraindicates it. If you could explain to me why this contra-indication is valid, I'm more than happy to hear you out.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Well said, @Earlene That is SO me... I make more non-soap stuff that uses essential oils than soap for sure and this chart has been a handy-dandy reference for me. Still, I appreciate @Aromasuzie's comments.
I can't explain it as I am not trained nor have studied the chemical make-up of those particular EOs so would not even venture an explanation. However as an RN (retired, true, but with a fairly long career behind that, but in the US and not the UK - rules are not necessarily the same in the two countries), I can say that what is allowed in hospital is under physician supervision, so I would not be as worried as if a layperson made a decision based on insufficient information and NO discernible (to me as a consumer) training on the subject. Still, as to what is allowed in the different areas around the world, I would err on the side of caution, given the option. It is my own personal preference.
BTW, although I have been wanting the Tisserand book, it is far too costly to consider purchasing new and even used, still quite costly. Considering how infrequently I use EOs, the cost is not something I have found justifiable. I choose to rely on the IFRA standards and accept those without fear of harming anyone as a result.
Aromasuzie
Well-Known Member
Hi Earlene
Was this contraindication list compiled from the IFRA standards?
Perusing the IFRA standards, I have no issue with the recommendations given for fragrance dilutions for products and I can understand that they give recommendations for INDIVIDUAL CHEMICAL COMPONENTS, but just because an essential oil may have this component (usually in very low dilutions) does not mean it should be given a blanket contraindication that it is toxic.
I am simply pointing out that you need to check sources when looking at contraindications for essential oils. If someone has given a contraindication, they should be able to explain why it's been given that.
If someone can't explain it to me, should I blindly follow?
Toxicity is ALWAYS dose-dependant. As we are discussing application to the skin, the amount of essential oil being absorbed is miniscule.
I would rather people become educated about essential oils and if there are contraindications, ask why they have them.
Quoting from Robert Tisserand, in "Essential Oil Safety"
"In general, we have taken the approach that essential oils are safe unless proven hazardous. It seems unnecessary to treat essential oils as pharmaceuticals, especially if they are only used externally."
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
@Aromasuzie I'm curious about bitter almond EO. Some suppliers won't sell it without diluting 50/50 with sweet almond. Care to comment?
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I almost forgot about this because emails from them are few and far between. You can subscribe to the newsletter and get gobs of free info here:
https://tisserandinstitute.org/
Carla Burke
Well-Known Member
Thank you, for sharing yours! (Edited to add: I have allergies to a ridiculously high number of fragrance oils, so must rely on essential oils. This is very helpful, for me to have!)
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Me too.
I don't know. Maybe the OP knows the answer to that question. As I said I prefer to reference IFRA.
I agree and never suggested otherwise.
Of course not, and to my recollection I have not suggested that you do. What I said was that for me, I choose to avoid EOs that are contraindicated for certain groups (pregnant women, children) in products for those groups because for me I feel that is best practice. I am speaking for myself. Personally, I'd rather err on the side of being over cautious than to err on the side of causing damage when it comes to certain groups of people and personal care products.
Perhaps miniscule if used properly and applied to intact skin. Perhaps not if used improperly or applied to damaged skin or mucous membranes. Remember my background is nursing and I have seen lots of non-intact skin and mucous membranes in my career, so I know for a fact that lots of people apply personal care products to less than healthy skin. It happens all the time.
Where 'we' is referencing the authors, correct? Or does he/ or do they refer to the the industry as a whole? Not that it matters, I get the point.
But I would like to point out that EOs are sometime or even frequently used as pharmaceuticals. In our discussion, no they are not, but in some cases they are and in fact in some cosmetics they are, which makes those cosmetics drugs (i.e.; pharmaceuticals), per FDA standards in the US and I believe in some other countries as well.
Carla Burke
Well-Known Member
Dangit...Me too.
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