A quick look into chemistry of eo’s: Essential oil’ are made of many organic molecules made of hydrogen. They have chemical families such as monoterpenes, monoterpenols, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpenols, oxides, aldehydes, esters, ethers, ketones, and phenols. There can be one or more chemical families within each oil. Within each family, there are chemical constituents. What makes each essential oil unique is the constituents. When I am choosing a blend, I document the constituent percentages over, say, 5% of each oil for my records but it is the constituents in whole that make the fragrance and creates therapeutic action of each oil. Some constituents are b-myrcene, a-pinene, b-pinene, c
On diffusion and children, Robert Tisserand states, 2nd Ed. Essential Oil Safety, pg. 658 “A few drops of essential oil in a burner, vaporizer or in a steam inhalation is virtually risk-free. However, prolonged inhalation (more than about 30 minutes) of concentrated essential oils vapors (e.g. steam inhalation, or direct from a bottle) can lead to headaches, vertigo, nausea, and lethargy. In certain instances more serious symptoms might be experienced, such as incoherence and double vision. For children of 5 years old or less, direct inhalation should be avoided. Direct inhalation includes inhaling essential oils from the hands, a cotton ball, a nasal inhaler, a bowl of hot water or simil
What’s a Carrier and Why Do I Need one? Carrier oils are made from plants and can include nuts, seeds, or fruits. Some carrier oils include coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, argan oil and jojoba oil (although this is really a wax). They aren’t volatile like essential oils are. They tend to be heavier than essential oils and are very safe for the dermis (skin). Essential oils can irritate skin and cause serious reactions, sensitization and dermatitis. Carrier oils are used to dilute to prevent a reaction. This does not dilute the effect or power of the essential oils and in fact helps to bind the essential oils. This keeps essential oils from evaporating so quickly thus allowing
For topical use, Tisserand speaks of this on page 47 in the 2nd Edition of Essential Oil Safety, 2007. He lines out age specific topical use, keeping in mind the individual oil safety guidelines. The chart he provides is: I quote “Age-related recommended and maximum concentrations of essential oils for massage: Age Essential Oil Concentration Recomneded (%) Maximum (%) Premature infant 0 0 Uo to 3 Months 0.1 0.2 3-24 months 0.25 0.5 2-6 1.0
