{"id":17354,"date":"2017-05-03T08:30:26","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T00:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/?p=17354"},"modified":"2017-05-02T17:21:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T09:21:36","slug":"essential-oils-skin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/2017\/05\/essential-oils-skin\/","title":{"rendered":"Can and should Essential Oils be used directly on the skin? I say NO"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy using essential oils. I know, it’s all very New Age woo-woo. I’m not really that invested in the New Age movement, but I like my essential oils. Always have for years and years. I like them primarily because they smell so good, and well, to a degree, I believe that some oils can work on my temperament better than others. Lavender for one, soothes me and helps me sleep. Peppermint rejuvenates me and makes me feel refreshed.<\/p>\n

But I think people have been lulled into a false sense of security when it comes to the use of essential oils, because of the fact that they’ve been around a long time and they are natural. This was brought home to me when I came across a piece of news on Twitter this week.<\/p>\n

\"essential<\/p>\n

No, it’s not just any piece of news on Twitter, it was reported in the Independent (UK)<\/a>, which I’d like to believe isn’t fake news \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, the lady in the piece of news, applied essential oils directly to her skin, before going for a hot yoga class and then using a tanning bed. She suffered second and third-degree burns on the parts where she applied the essential oils which was attributed to the exposure to UV light. As much as I sympathize with her predicament, I felt that it was also timely for us to remind ourselves, with essential oils enjoying a bit of a renaissance, that essential oils aren’t play things.<\/p>\n

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What are essential oils?<\/h2>\n

Essential oils are distilled or expressed from plants, fruits and flowers and represent a concentrate of the plant, fruit or flower in question. These oils contain certain chemical structures that not only usually smell good, they also contain certain properties that may be beneficial to us when ingested, inhaled or applied to skin. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The key thing to note is that essential oils are really very concentrated oils extracted from the plant, fruit or flowers and can have a higher concentration of ingredients or chemicals than naturally occurs in an individual fruit, plant or flower. The high quality ones anyway. It takes a large quantity of plant, fruit or flowers from which to extract essential oils, which is why a good one never comes cheap and which is also why they come in small little bottles. So, if you’ve been buying them for RM5 a bottle as I know can be found, just be warned that it might just be chemicals and artificial fragrance and not a true essential oil at all. I’ve been there! When you’ve smelled a true essential oil, you’ll know the difference.<\/p>\n

Essential Oils should not be used directly on skin<\/h2>\n

Because essential oils are such highly concentrated products, they should not be used directly on skin. The key reason is because it can irritate your skin and really, cause your skin to react. Yes, I know there will be those who say “But essential oils are natural and natural things are good for you!” Well, yes. So is poison ivy. I don’t see you rushing to apply that to your skin do you?<\/p>\n

So, before using essential oils, it is recommended to dilute it, usually in an oil for use on skin, or in water for use as a diffuser or in a bath.<\/p>\n

There are 3 recommended ways with which to use an essential oil (or more here<\/a>):-<\/p>\n