Basic Essential Oils Safety

Learning about Basic Essential Oils Safety

If safety oils are not used correctly, they could be harmful. Treat essential oils as you would medications and follow the guidelines listed below, then you may enjoy the benefits that aromatherapy can provide. Please note, however, that these guidelines are merely a condensed version of safety precautions for essential oils. Consult a qualified physician or trained aromatherapist for complete safety requirements when using essential oils.

Do not use essential oils on your skin without first diluting them. There may be very few exceptions to this situation when the essential oils are used by a trained aromatherapist. However, for the most part, dilute the oils with, for example, a carrier oil, before applying the essential oil(s) to your skin.

Although, it is best never to use any essential oil without first diluting it, many aromatherapists believe that lavender and tea tree oils may be used without being diluted. However, this use should rarely be done because people could still experience acute sensitivity or allergic reactions.

Do a patch test on your skin before using an essential oil for the first time. The best manner in which to conduct this test is to put a small portion of the diluted essential oil on the inside of your elbow, then apply a bandage. Wait 24 hours to see if there are any signs of a reaction on the skin. Of course, even if the oil does not irritate you, it could irritate someone else. So no one should skip this important step when using an essential oil for the first time.

There are some essential oils that should not be used during pregnancy; and some which should not be used if a person has asthma, epilepsy or certain health conditions.

When you use essential oils, you should only use a small amount; a little goes a long way. One drop of the essential oil will do just as good a job as two drops, and in fact, two could be too much.

Some essential oils will not work for aromatherapy use. These oils include wormwood, pennyroyal, camphor, horseradish, wintergreen, onion, rue, bitter almond and sassafras. If these oils are to be used at all, they should only be used by a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Do not use essential oils on children, unless approval has been given by a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. And, in no case, should the essential oils be used on children unless an adult is present. Treat the oils as if they were medications and keep them out of the reach of children. Many oils smell good, in fact, good enough to drink, and children may proceed to drink them. This could result in poisoning. In fact, essential oils should not be taken internally, even by adults, unless instructions have been given by a trained and qualified aromatherapy practitioner.

Another hazard of essential oils: They are extremely flammable. Keep them aware from fire hazards.

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