Essential Oil Safety Guide
Basic essential oil safety tips:
- Never use straight essential oil drops. Essential oils must be diluted in a carrier oil (often called the base oil in recipes). I like sweet almond oil as a carrier but if you’ll need to use a different carrier oil if you’re allergic to nuts. Apricot oil is a nice choice. Look for a light carrier oil that won’t clog your pores. In a pinch you can use olive oil as a carrier oil, but don’t use cooking oils (you’re not a turkey that needs basting!).
- Before using essential oils in a homemade beauty product be sure to read Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics to learn about dab tests.
- Hopefully you won’t be drinking your homemade body wash or toner, but just to be on the safe side, you should know that The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) recommends that you never ingest essential oils when another application such as massage may be just as appropriate. There are some recipes with essential oils, say for a sore throat or mouth rinse that do involve swishing oils, and some health remedies involve essential oils in teas, foods, or other drinks. If you’re going to ingest an oil, weigh the risks, and make sure you know what you’re doing.
- Keep oils out of the reach of little ones. If your child (or even an adult) accidentally ingests an essential oil, treat it like any other medication or household product, and call poison control.
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