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I thought this might be beneficial to add: Basic Guidelines for Safe Use Always keep a bottle of a pure vegetable oil handy when using essential oils. Vegetable oils dilute essential oils if they cause discomfort or skin irritation. Keep bottles of essential oils tightly closed and store them in a cool location away from light. If stored properly, essential oils will maintain their potency for many years. Keep essential oils out of reach of children. Treat them as you would any product for therapeutic use. Essential oils rich in menthol (such as peppermint) should not be used on the throat or neck area of children under 30 months of age. Angelica, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, orange, tangerine, and other citrus oils are photosensitive and may cause a rash or dark pigmentation on skin exposed to direct sunlight or UV rays within 3-4 days after application. Keep essential oils well away from the eye area and never put them directly into ears. Do not handle contact lenses or rub eyes with essential oils on your fingers. Even in minute amounts, oils with high phenol content, such as oregano, cinnamon, thyme, clove, lemongrass, and bergamot, may damage contacts and will irritate eyes. Pregnant women should always consult a health care professional when starting any type of health program. Epileptics and those with high blood pressure should consult their health care professional before using essential oils. Use caution with hyssop, fennel, basil, wintergreen/birch, nutmeg, rosemary, peppermint, sage, tarragon, and tansy oils. People with high blood pressure should avoid using sage and rosemary. People with allergies should test a small amount of oil on an area of sensitive skin, such as the inside of the upper arm, for 30 minutes, before applying the oil on other areas. The bottom of the feet is one of the safest, most effective places to use essential oils. Before taking GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe), essential oils internally, test your reactions by diluting one drop of essential oil in one teaspoon of an oil-soluble liquid like agave, olive oil, or rice milk. Never consume more than a few drops of diluted essential oil per day without the advice of a physician. Do not add undiluted essential oils directly to bath water. Using Epsom salts or a bath gel base for all oils applied to your bath is an excellent way to disperse the oils into the bath water. When essential oils are put directly into bath water without a dispersing agent, they can cause serious discomfort on sensitive skin because the essential oils float, undiluted, on top of the water. Keep essential oils away from open flames, sparks, or electricity. Some essential oils, including orange, fir, pine, and peppermint are potentially flammable. (From the EO book) I'm F.I.N.E. Frustrated, Irritated, Nonfunctional & Everything hurts!! Sarcasm: Embrace it!  ______________________ "Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level" - Max L. Foreman ______________________ I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa ______________________ "There's always light at the end of every tunnel, just pray it's not a train! "  ______________________ Faith makes things possible, not easy!  |
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