Over the past few months I’ve been found a new and deep love of essential oils, and while I don’t know what prompted this interest, it’s been fascinating and my long-term goal is to become a certified aromatherapist. I’m sure many of you have seen a lot of links in which essential oils are mentioned whether it be for cleaning recipes or otherwise. Basically, essential oils (for those who don’t know) are highly concentrated essences of a plant. The essence of a plant is its smell, which comes from special little cells and glands within a plant and then is extracted to create the oil. Different plants have different healing properties and while some smell quite pleasant, others may be a tad stinky, depending on your preferences.
Because of this interest, I thought I’d share it, and a few of the common misconceptions out there at the same time.
Essential oils are wonderful and natural, so they are a nice alternative to modern medicine, but not all oils are safe for everyone. Precaution is most important around young children and even pets. It is not even recommended to use oils on children under 2, and if so, they should be extremely diluted. Oils such as peppermint and eucalyptus are not even recommended under the ages of 5 and 10 because they can cause breathing problems (see link below). Many MLM companies do not give these precautions and even encourage using essential oils neat (undiluted) or by ingesting them. Please do not ingest essential oils unless you have been advised by a certified aromatherapist or physician to do so. Some oils can cause liver damage and other problems over time if ingested regularly. In fact, essential oils are most beneficial when inhaled or diffused – you don’t even need to apply them to the skin for them to work!
The best oils must be the most expensive. Definitely not true, although many MLM companies might have you think so. Claims that their oils are pure and therapeutic/food-grade are unsubstantiated and there are some wonderful companies out there that sell quality oils at a fraction of the price.
I think everyone should do their own research when it comes to anything regarding your health and wellness, and that goes for remedies of any kind, whether it be holistic or over-the-counter. While essential oils are natural and can be used in a very safe manner, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and I felt like I should make a PSA for anyone who happens upon my blog. I plan on always using Essential Oils in a safe manner and plan to get properly educated so I can feel confident that I’m creating safe blends for others to use. I’ve had a lot of enjoyment creating blends for my own family over the past few months such as a sleep-aid for Josh (which must work because not even the babies fussing have woken him up lately), a tummy lotion for Enzo (over the age of 2, there are a lot of kid friendly essential oils), and even an eczema blend for Phoebe using hydrosols.
Another link about Kids and Essential Oil Safety
Excellent, I am so glad you are getting into this, maybe it’s from growing up in the 70’s but I totally agree with going holistic as much as you can, I never got into the oils though, good for you, continue to share. Love you 🙂