Top 12 Essential Oils & Aromatherapy Safety Rules

Top 12 Aromatherapy Safety Rules

History and Safety testing have given us useful aromatherapy data. 

Rule #1: Never Consume
Essential oils. Even if you read a book by an aromatherapist from a country that uses essential oils internally, they should never be consumed. The practice of consuming essential oils is dangerous and was designed to be done under the care of an aromatherapist trained in that form of therapy. In addition, studies have shown that topical aromatherapy is more effective than internal aromatherapy methods.

(Yes, many of us have added Lemon Essential oil to our water, or Peppermint essential oil for tea, maybe even cooked with essential oils. Many of us have used essential oils in capsules & taken internally. Evidence Based theory resources can be trusted. I would not recommend trusting unreliable sources, graphic recipes on facebook or pinterest. Ameo oils are GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) for Ingestion, food quality essential oils. This does NOT mean that all the oils should be ingested, read labels, follow information from Ameo (not other companies).

Rule #2: Always dilute your essential oils before applying them to the skin.
There are very small handful of exceptions to this rule including Lavender and Tea Tree which can be occasionally applied neat, or directly, to the skin. In different aromatherapy books there may be recommendations of essential oils over 3% in massage oils but it simply isn’t necessary. Less is more in the world of essential oils. There is no need to overdose and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Essential oils are incredibly potent and need to be dispersed into a carrier before applying them to the skin. You wouldn’t wrap your body in 30lbs of plant material so don’t apply that much or more directly onto your skin. Typically, essential oils are diluted into products at 1-3% -- sometimes less and sometimes more, but that is the general rule of thumb. Some essential oils have an intense aroma and price tag combination that allows for their use as low as 0.1%. Take Jasmine, Blue Chamomile, and Neroli for example.

Raindrop therapy is a good example of how undiluted and too high of concentrations of essential oils can be dangerous. This method of applying essential oils is the practice of dripping pure undiluted essential oils directly onto the skin which has many adverse effects. People have had burns, skin irritation, and intense detoxification effects that could have been avoided if this dangerous practice was no longer taught. The human body does not need to detoxify at such a rapid rate, and the skin should not come in direct contact with undiluted essential oils. The practice of raindrop therapy has become such a big problem as a multi-level marketing ploy that NAHA has set up a reporting site to document burns and adverse reactions caused by the spread of this dangerous misinformation. Another MLM essential oil company uses the basic Raindrop Technique under another name AromaTouch, is equally unsafe).

(Consider learning the “M” Technique by Dr Jane Buckle PhD, RN. A gentle massage technique that is considered far safer. IF you have taken “official” certification CARE Institute for Raindrop Technique or Certification for AromaTouch, and wish to continue these Techniques, It’s strongly suggested you add a carrier oil on their back BEFORE the other oils are applied, and repeat the carrier oil periodically throughout the technique. So there is no redness-burning, irritation)

Rule #3: Keep all essential oils out of the reach of children
They are notorious for putting everything in their mouths. Compared to adults, essential oils should be used in half the dosage rate for children for topical application. They are not miniature adults, and their bodies were not designed to process the same ratio of essential oils on their skin. I have safely used aromatherapy on all 3 of my children since 1998, stated Kayla Fioravanti, RA. (Certified & Registered Aromatherapist).

I heard of a case of a woman who read that tangerine essential oil would help with hyperactivity in children. She decided to put undluted tangerine essential oil directly on the palms of her child’s hands. Thankfully, tangerine is safe enough essential oil and the child suffered no serious ill effect. But she had decided to try it on a day that the child had a big test to take at school, and the high concentration of tangerine oil knocked the child out for the entire day and he slept through his test, lunch, dinner… and into the next morning.

(ALWAYS follow the recipe & safety for children, and follow an Evidence Based protocols with err to caution, dilute on children, less is best.)

Rule #4: Stay with the tried and true “Clinical” Essential Oils.
Avoid ones that are not the common essential oils used historically in aromatherapy. Unless you understand the chemistry, it is best to stick with the commonly used essential oils. A trained aromatherapist (or Doctor) can read the chemical composition of an essential oil profile and make an educated decision about the safety of an essential oil. But without that training you would not know whether you should avoid or use essential oils based on their chemical composition of adhehydes, esthers, ketones, phenols, and monoterpene hydrocarbons.

(Consider to only use a highest quality “Clinical grade” essential oil, following instructions and recipes from Evidence Based theory. Rather than creating your own blends, use blends created by Ameo which are formulated to be accurate, balanced, effective, and safe.)

Rule #5: Know which essential oils to avoid or use with caution.
Avoid them even if you like the way they smell or the properties that you read about them. Essential oils to avoid altogether include: unrectified bitter almond, Basil, Birch, Boldo leaf, Blue cypress, bitter fennel, bog myrtle, buchu, unrectified cade, calamint, calamus (brown, blue or yellow), camphor, cassia, cinnamon bark, costus, davana, dog basil, elecampane, fig leaf, horseradish, jaborandi, lantana, melaleuca bracteata, mustard, mugwort, parsley seed, pennyroyal, rue, Dalmatian sage, santolina, sassafras, savin, tansy, tarragon, tea absolute, thuja, tonka bean, verbena, wintergreen, wormseed, and wormwood.

(Note: some of these oils are found in essential oil companies. Those from Ameo, are of the highest quality, accurate sub-species, and properly distilled to be “Clinical” grade. Use them appropriately and they should be safe.)

Essential oils that should be used with caution or at very low dosages include: yarrow, dill, tarragon, caraway, white camphor, hyssop, spearmint, rosemary, and tagette.

(Again, some of these oils are offered by Ameo as “clinical grade” pure, and safe when used appropriately and lightly)

Essential oils that should be heavily diluted due to potential skin irritation include: Cassia, cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaf, cumin, lemongrass, oregano, clove stem, clove bud, clove leaf, while thyme and red thyme.

(These oils are considered “hot” oils, usually found with a larger safety cap on the bottle. Use with caution and consider diluting always. Extreme caution to NOT get it near the face-especially eyes, as these oils will cause serious irritation)

Rule #6: Always wear protective gear while handling essential oils.
Remember that essential oils are very concentrated and should not be applied directly to the skin. If you wear gloves while handling essential oils you lessen the chance of spilling undiluted essential oils directly onto your hands. Even if it doesn’t hurt at the moment, it could hurt later. A good example is how Peppermint essential oils spilled directly onto your hands might not hurt at the moment, but later when you touch your eye, it will burn like crazy.

(Also the residual effect of the oils on your skin, could burn your private area-bathroom time, or a small child your helping with the bathroom, or a baby your changing a diaper).

Rule #7: Work in a well-ventilated area.
Remember that essential oils can enter the body through inhalation. Some essential oils can cause euphoria, sleepiness or can extremely stimulating. In a closed space with poor circulation the essential oils can become overwhelming.

(If you’re a massage therapist, often in a small confined room, consider using an Air Purifier, to reduce the concentration of essential oils permeating into the air. A small fan would be another good idea to circulate the air further & into the air purifying device.)

Rule #8: Use extra caution when using essential oils on children and the elderly.
The dosages should be at least half that of what you would use for a healthy adult. And essential oils are toxic to cats so never ever use essential oils on them.

(If you use on other pets-animals, use as baby dosage, and with a reputable reference guide specific to animals.)

Rule #9: Use common sense
Essential oils are safe when used in moderation. Many substances on earth are toxic when used in the extreme. Too much water can lead to water poisoning and carrots, tomatoes, saffron and mustard will all cause illness when consumed in excess.

(Moderation in all things. More is NOT better, this is a marketing tool used by some essential oil companies to promote more sales. Example: I took a class with Doctors including the CDC, and was reported there are emergency room cases using essential oils, and essential oils are not always safe especially with liver & kidneys, pregnancies, infants & smaller children, or elderly. Not always safe with some medications, consult your Physician if you wish to include essential oils as a regular routine. I personally tried a program called Petrochemical Weight Loss, where heavy amounts of essential oils were applied topically & ingested by capsule. Not only did I not lose any weight or inches, just the money invested in 33 bottles of oils at $620. I also had a lingering reaction, painful “pin like” points throughout the body, diarrhea, headaches, sweating, restless sleep. I was very disappointed.)

Rule #10: To safeguard your business, do not make healing claims about your products.
That would transform your cosmetic into a drug. The rules and regulations for drugs are completely different, and aromatherapy does not qualify for any monograph for approved over the counter drugs.
(Disclaimers are not legal protection)
 
Rule #11: Always use the botanical name for essential oils when ordering.
Never make an aromatherapy decision without reviewing the botanical name. The botanical name tells the genus and species of the plant and includes information about the variety, cultivar, chemotype, and hybrid when needed. Often these details are the difference between an essential oil being safe for use or not.
(Ameo oils are all “Clinical Grade” safe)

Rule #12: Check contraindications of an essential oil before using it.
You don’t want to be making a sleepy time bath with essential oils that are contraindicated for insomnia like Peppermint, Basil, Lemon Verbena, Cornmint, or Rosemary.

This information is from “The Art, Science & Business of Aromatherapy” Your Guide for Personal Aromatherapy & Enterpreneurship by Kayla Fioravanti, R.A.
One book to consider is "Surviving When Modern Medicine Fails" by Dr Scott Johnson, which is Evidence Based & 209 References to Research are listed.