Teach Soap

Hi folks, when I read that an essential oil should not be used when pregnant does that mean ( just in the bottle or does that mean in products as well like soaps?

It means that each pregnant woman should use her best judgement, and consult her doctor. Really there is not concrete right or wrong answer, and if you ask 7 doctors, you'll likely get 7 different answers.


Brandy

maybe I was unclear. are those warnings for people who use undeluted EOs that may come into contact with their skin or are they for people who use products with the EOs as an ingredient?

I would think the warnings are for anyone who comes in contact with the essential oil in any form.

does that then mean that you have to screen everyone who buys a product( you make) with essential oils in them? Soapbuddy could you help me out here ?

I don't screen anyone, but point them to my ingredient label. If they have any sensitivities, they usually know. Essential oils should never be used straight on the skin anyway. If in doubt, have them ask their doctor. Some essential oils should never be used on the skin; whether pregnant or not.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

thank you

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

One thing that I think deserves to be pointed out in the debate over essential oils vs. fragrance oils is that while fragrance oils are indeed "artificial", in that most of them are composed of manmade chemicals not directly derived from natural plant materials, esential oils are ALSO composed of chemicals, probably in many cases the SAME chemicals as their manmade analogues. A particular chemical, whether found in an essential oil or a fragrance oil, is exactly the same in every way no matter its source, and a naturally-derived chemical cannot be distinguished in any analysis from an artificially produced one. This is why, for example, natural wintergreen oil is hardly produced any longer --- since natural wintergreen oil is composed virtually 100% of one chemical, methyl salicylate, there is fundamentally no reason to use the natural oil when manmade methyl salicylate is much cheaper to produce, and identical in every way.

I have no skin in the debate over the two kinds of oils, and in oractice tend to instinctively want to lean toward using essential oils over fragrance oils, but I think some of the fears of "artificial" chemicals in fragrance oils is simply misplaced, and when the time comes that I obtain samples of particular fragrance oils, I will evaluate them purely on olfactory grounds and not on the fact that they are not "natural". Actually, concentrating essential oils from plants is not "natural" either, when you really stop and think about it.

thats a very good point.

I use mostly FO vs EO because I find it hard to judge the right amount of EO in a batch, is sometimes too strong and others to weak. Als, find that more people have skin issues with the EO oils.

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There are some good points made here. I've struggled with this issue a bit myself. There is a LOT of good, well founded research out there if you search for it. There really is no right or wrong answer. As stated, there are some EOs that should never be used. Just because it's an EO, and you can buy it at your local HF store doesn't mean it's good for you, or even safe to use.

I agree with what SoapySmith said about manmaid vs natural. That would be a matter of personal choice as to which you would rather use.

Since methyl salicylate was already used as an example, I'll use it too (I hope I cause no offence, non is intended)
methyl salicylate can be fatal, yet it's found in a lot of topicals, and a lot of people don't know the dangers. I don't use wintergreen for this very reason. That's my personal choice.

Rosemary has caused such a big hoopla about safe usage, but if you dig a little deeper, you may surprised with what you find.
I love using Rosemary EO in shampoo, although there is very little evidence that pregnant woman should not come in contact with it, I make sure my lables are marked very well.

I'm no expert, and I'm loving all the info I'm finding here.

It's just like almost anything, if you look hard enough, you can find something wrong with anything. Do your research (I'm sure everyone sick of hearing that, sorry) and have fun making your soaps!

I really have tried to stay out of this thread, as I really dont have time to write a book here, especially since I am writing one in reality. But I do have to interject. I believe that there is right and wrong, and I also believe that there is a whole lot of misinformation out there. The comments on wintergreen are severely exaggerated. Yes it can be dangerous if ingested, and yes it, just like everything else in this world, is dangerous if overused or misused. But what is too much, really?
LD is the Lethal Dose. LD50, or median lethal dose, is the amount of the substance required (usually per body weight) to kill 50% of the test population.
Given the numbers of fatalities in years past, with the amount ingested being known in a number of cases, we can estimate a human LD50 of 0.3. For a 60kg adult, this would translate to the ingestion of about 18 grams.
Now, let us say that we want to apply a 2.5% dilution of Wintergreen oil to our sore lower back. We then apply 1 mL of this preparation…
1mL x 2.5% = approximately 0.025 grams of methyl salicylate.
0.025 gms ÷ 18 gms (LD50 dose) = 0.00139 or 0.139%.
Hence, the applied dose is only 0.139% of the median lethal dose.
This is more than 700 times less.

Of course, if we increase the amount applied of the 2.5% formula, we increase the dosage received. Hence, if we applied 10mL of the formula all at once, the dose would now be 0.25 grams or 250 milligrams. Putting this into perspective, even if the methyl salicylate was totally absorbed, this dose would represent the same amount of salicylate compounds as found in one tablet of aspirin.

Should any product that uses this EO carry a warning? For sure! I am highly allergic to aspirin as many are, so I expect that any product made with it would carry that warning. But if it is properly labeled and properly utilized, there is no reason that this Eo or any other should not be used. IMHO

BTW, all the deaths that I found were severe, accidental ingestion/poisonings (as in small children), except for one of a teen athlete. But he was using at least 4 different products containing salicylate. There was also something else in the case that they felt was contributory, but it was not being disclosed at the time. The Mother felt that there were no warnings, yet the boxes of the products he used did contain them, they were just ignored. They also said that because he was actively exercising with all of these over the counter medications on him, the absorption rate was probably increased some, although he was way over limit with just a few of the products (one was an extra strength and the others weren't shown). None were Indie products or essential oil products. While this is terribly sad, you have to accept responsibility and consequences when you misuse products.

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Tammy

Excellent post LavenderLady! You make many very pertinent points.

Indeed, as the old saying goes, "the dose makes the poison". People have also been killed by drinking too much water --- so are we supposed to have a hysterical fear of water too?

From all the research and reading I have done into essential oils over the past half year or so, I have come to the conclusion that potentially hazardous EOs are much more the exception than the rule, and if one is fairly well informed, the risks from EOs are no greater, and probably much less, than the risks of driving on the road to go buy them.

As I stated, it's my personal choice not to use wintergreen. I learned about the adverse effects due to my son using WAY too much of a very popular topical. He became ill toward the end of his track season, and his coach had pointed out to me what it may be (when I found out about the kid who died). No my 16 yo kid did not fallow the label correctly, and no he was not taking or using anything else. He got the cream from a kid on his team. I chose to have him stop using it, he was feeling better with in the week. Could it have been something else, maybe. I made the best choice I could for my child. That choice has influenced my bath and body products.

I do not have a hysterical fear of anything except worms. I have a healthy respect of both the good and bad effects of the EOs I want to work with.

This is my point, some people can use things with no harm, and others have chosen not to. You have done your research, and educated yourself on what you would like to use. So have I, and I made the decision not to use it in my products, as I stated why. I know it can have fantastic healing qualities, but it's my choice based on my experience, and my research not to use it.

I personally LOVE to use Rosemary, and I know a lot of people have chosen to stay away from it due to the possibility of it being an abortificant. I label my products accordingly.

I'm sorry if my post seemed "misleading"
It was my point to use example of how we are all different on what we use, and our choices to use it or not to use it.