Most essential oil smells great
Essential Oils
Essential oils smell great, don’t they? However, they are gaining a bad reputation in facial skincare products because they are one of the leading causes of allergic contact dermatitis.
Using products with essential oils can lead to redness, irritation and peeling of the skin.
What exactly are essential oils?
They are liquid extracts from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots and certain fruits.
The extraction takes place through distillation (via steam and/or water) or mechanical methods, such as cold pressing. This makes essential oils highly concentrated chemical components which contain a plant’s essence or smell. It can take several kilograms of a plant to produce a single bottle of essential oil.
Essential oils are not the same as carrier oils because they are more concentrated.
Essential oils can be inhaled or diluted and applied to the skin. Essential oils are 80 times more potent than the dried form of the herb.
The volatile fragrant portion of plants is what makes essential oil for skin problematic.
When it comes to the face, opinion is divided on whether or not it should be used. Some experts say that in small concentrations they can benefit the skin. However, others say that essential oils should not be used on the face at all.
In addition there is some research that found that small amounts of essential oils (such as 0.1 percent) are non-irritating. However, it must be remembered that there could be a higher percentage in your product. Also, there could be several different types of essential oils being used in the product. This can be too much for the skin.
Another factor to take into account is that when people use more than one product with essential oils, this means more essential oils are being put on the skin, leading to a greater chance of skin irritation.
Side effects of essential oils
These include the person experiencing redness, chemical burns, headaches, swelling and blisters. In addition, essential oils can also worsen acne.
Essentials oils to keep away from you face
Some essential oils are considered worse than others. For instance, citrus oils, including lemon, orange and bergamot, are dangerous. They can react to UV light and can cause skin to burn and blister.
These oils are also known to cause skin irritation;
- Oregano oil
- Cinnamon bark oil
- Jasmine oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Ylang-ylang oil
- Chamomile oil
- Bergamot oil
While certain essential oils have been shown through research to help with certain problems such as acne, they can still cause skin irritation.
Fragrance
Fragrance is another common cause of contact dermatitis, affecting roughly 1% of the population.
If you have been using fragrance and essential oils for years and have not encountered any problems, this does not mean you can safely use them. Anyone can develop an allergy or sensitivity to any skincare product anytime, even if no problems were experienced in the past.
The main difference between fragrance and essential oils is that fragrance is manufactured in a laboratory while essential oils are made of natural ingredients. The scent of fragrance oils lasts longer than of essential oils.
There are two types of fragrance oils, synthetic and natural.
Synthetic fragrance oils they are artificially created from chemical compounds. They are often composed of petroleum by-products and are cheaper.
Natural Fragrance oils- they are also made in a lab but by isolating natural aromatic components from a complex scent. While they are derived from a natural source, they are still created by human science.
Takeaways
Allergic contact dermatitis is the most common allergic reaction to essential oils. It happens when you become sensitised to an allergen and have a reaction after a subsequent exposure. It’s a delayed hypersensitivity reaction, which means that you might not notice symptoms until 12 to 72 hours after exposure.
While there may or may not be benefits to using essential oils, whether or not you choose to use them in your skincare products is up to you. Just remember that bad things can end up happening to your skin at a later stage, especially your face.
Is the scent worth the risk? That’s up to you.
https://www.healthline.com/health/essential-oil-allergic-reaction#symptoms