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To be or not to be? Essential Oils in skincare
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It all depends on the market you are trying to address and the essential oils you select. I generally recommend to clients to make a “fragrance-free” version of the product to cater to consumers who have skin sensitivities/allergies.
However, the first thing a consumer will usually do when they open a container of a new skin care product is smell it. Fragrance is simply an important component of the consumer experience, for most.
You can try hydrosols or essential oils, but I’ve found that hydrosols, with the exception of Rose, are too weak to impart an acceptable fragrance and they smell “hay-like”. Carrubba has a line of natural, water-soluble fragrances that I find to be a good option in lieu of essential oils. But, if you choose your essential oils properly (there are non-sensitizing EO’s on the market), you can generally create a nice fragrance profile w/o irritation or allergic reactions.
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Guys, I just want to emphasize, the research paper shared by Perry above says that all EOs are either citotoxic or phototoxic or both. And some of them reduce sensitivity to antibiotics. Which means they are not ok for leave on products. They might have some benefits but it doesn’t compensate for the side effects.
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@ngarayeva001 It’s great to take the safety of your products seriously, and while there is a hazard in cytotoxicity, there is not necessarily a risk.
as @perry said when he linked the article:
Of note…”Depending on type and concentration, they exhibit cytotoxic effects on living cells…”Think of it this way (overly simplified) Hazard x Exposure = Risk.
If you take 1 drop of essential oil directly onto the skin, you are likely to experience irritant contact dermatitis (in part due to cytotoxicity) but if that same drop is diluted in a cup of oil, that drop is perfectly safe to use because the exposure is much less.
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@ngarayeva001 by that logic, nobody should ever drive a motor vehicle or cross the road, because there is a possibility they’ll be involved in a road traffic accident
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@Bill_Toge I am not saying that EOs should not be used at all. I am adding them to shower gels and (Less concentration) to body product. But I don’t think that it is worth taking the risk and add them to face products. The safe concentration would be so low that they won’t have any benefits anyway. Again it’s just my opinion.
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Problem I have is safety. Is lavender e.o. even safe? I won’t use it any more because even though I love the complexity of the aroma, it wrecks shampoo and emulsions. Tea Tree is a useful e.o. for its antibacterial properties, and unlike lavender it does not destabilise shampoo.
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It’s a tome but reco https://www.routledge.com/Essential-Oils-Contact-Allergy-and-Chemical-Composition/Groot-Schmidt/p/book/9781482246407
No fairy dust comes without risk.
There is potential toxicity in dermal application. “Potential” esp. as composition varies profoundly between batches - as would any benefit or function their application would be intended to establish. Most reputable scientific journals reject articles touting EO benefits unless accompanied with complete chemical composition and justification that the report is offering novelty - not just the same EO ingredient efficacy from another plant source.
Folks using EO’s should similarly ask for chemical analysis - if for no other reason to exclude materials contaminated with pesticides. Lastly - some years ago UN complained that subsistence farmers in 3rd world have been lured into EO-relevant agriculture with prospect of higher value only to find a fickle market. Absent the replaced food production risks family starvation. You might know your ultimate source.
routledge.com
Essential Oils: Contact Allergy and Chemical Composition
Essential Oils: Contact Allergy and Chemical Composition provides a full review of contact allergy to essential oils along with detailed analyses of the chemical composition of essential oils known to cause contact allergy. In addition to literature data, this book … Continue reading
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To your original question re phototoxicity - please check Google Scholar and see:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0887233310001864
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319610318300164
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