Rebecca Park Totilo

Safety First When You Use Essential Oils



Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010

by Rebecca Park Totilo
Rebecca at the Well & Heal With Essential Oils

Safety first, when it comes to using essential oils. These are very potent, votatile liquids. In general, you should never use essential oils directly on skin with diluted first (exceptions with Lavender Essential Oil or Tea Tree Essential Oil in some cases, but even these you may want to blend with a carrier oil as some find them irritating).

Always do a patch test before using essential oils. This means test an oil before using it to see if there is any irritation to the skin. To perform a patch test, place a drop of essential oil on the inside of your arm and wait to see if any irritation or rash develops (wait and watch several hours). If any irritation does occur, use a carrier oil on the skin to lessen the irritation or sting out.

It is a good idea to take a "Sabbath" from using essential oils to give your body a rest every seven days. In fact, some aromatherapy experts recommend alternating oils every two weeks, so that your body does not build up a sensitization to any particular oil. Fortunately, essential oils do not remain in the body as pharmactical drugs and will be excreted through your skin sweat glands, urine and breath over the course of 12-24 hours. If you experience nausea or get a headache from overexposure to a particular essential oil, discontinue use and get fresh air. If you happen to get essential oils near your eyes, be sure and flush with plenty of water. Seek medical attention if necessary.

Rebecca Park Totilo’s flair and passion for life bursts into living color when she writes. As an award-winning publisher author of over 34 books, she has been spoken to millions via television, radio and live appearances. Her credits include working as a contributor writer on two best-selling series ("Quiet Moments with God" and “Stories for the Teen’s Heart”) which sold over one million and five million copies respectively.  She is also a freelance writer for several national magazines including Christian Parenting Today, Discipleship Journal and Woman’s World. Rebecca's photography work has appeared in numerous national magazines such as Woman’s World, Sports Spectrum, Evangel, and Sharing the Victory.

Rebecca is a homeschool mom for 20 years and serves as president of Rebecca at the Well Foundation. Please visit her websites at: http://RebeccaAtTheWell.org and http://HealWithOil.com.
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