Essential Oils Safety Guide

Know Your Contraindications

By Anne Williams

Originally published on www.ascpskincare.com, July 2007.

Avoid Completely

--Any essential oil for which you do not have information.

--Bitter almond, boldo leaf, buchu, yellow camphor, brown camphor, sassafras, calamus, horseradish, mugwort, mustard, pennyroyal, rue, savin, savory, tansy, thuja, wormseed, wormwood.

Avoid With Pregnancy

--Aniseed, basil, birch, wintergreen, cedarwood, clary sage, cypress, geranium, sweet fennel, jasmine, juniper berry, sweet marjoram, myrrh, peppermint, rosemary, common sage, thyme, hyssop.

Avoid with High Blood Pressure

--Pine, hyssop, rosemary, common sage, thyme

Avoid with Homeopathic Remedies

--Rosemary, eucalyptus, peppermint

Avoid with Epilepsy or History of Seizures

--Sweet fennel, bitter fennel, common sage, hyssop, basil

Avoid with History of Estrogen-Dependent Cancer

--Aniseed, basil, birch, wintergreen, cedarwood, clary sage, cypress, geranium, sweet fennel, jasmine, juniper berry, sweet marjoram, myrrh, peppermint, rosemary, common sage, thyme, hyssop.

Precautions, Skin Irritants

--Ajowan, cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaf, sweet fennel, cassia, clove leaf, clove bud, costus, oregano, basil, fir needle, lemongrass, lemon verbena, Melissa, peppermint, thyme.

Precautions, Phototoxic Essential Oils*

--Bergamot, lime, bitter orange, lemon, grapefruit, sweet orange, mandarin, ginger, angelica root.