Effective Levels Of Essential Oils

[Guest guest]

Hi Susan,

 

My first post to the list since returning from North Cyprus .. just a

few hours ago .. and its after 0350 in the morning here now so I'm not

in top form .. but I'll try to answer your question. ;-)

 

> I have been reading Plant Aromatics to learn about safe levels of

> essential oils but now I'm wondering what are the effective levels?

 

Effective for what? If one is sniffing an oil there is no problem

anyway .. we can sniff neat or diluted .. matters not. We will gain

therapeutic value from the sniffing.

 

If one were ingesting an oil (not recommended but it does happen) then

in most cases a drop of two is sufficient.

 

> I'll use patchouli as an example. The percentage which can be used in

> a cream is 0.1%, in a perfume 2.0% and in a soap 0.3% and I'm not sure

> if there is a standard percentage in massage. I know why there are

> different percentages for the type of product being applied .. (Clipped)

 

What are you hoping that Patchouli will do .. besides smell nice? If

they can smell it they will gain .. simple as that.

 

I THINK that the reasons for the different percentages are generally

because the cremes will absorb a tiny bit .. but not deeply .. the

perfume will evaporate quite a bit and the soap will wash off pretty

fast .. odds of even a tiny bit of absorption are slim with soap.

 

The different percentages quoted (results of testing using humans) is

to allow COMMERCIAL companies to avoid risk and liability .. and the

main risks of commercial products are irritation and sensitization.

Truth is, they put their fingers on the scales a bit because they are

also concerned about another factor .. frequency of use. And its a

fact that if someone likes a product, a soap, a cream, an after shave

or whatever .. odds of them using it almost every day are pretty good.

 

When we sell a product .. we are a commercial company.

 

> but at what level does one derive it's benefits whether it be through

> inhalation or topical application?

 

Again .. one would need to know what benefits you want. As for

inhalation .. just a little bit will do you. There is no way one will

not gain therapeutic value from sniffing.

 

As for dermal application .. its TOUGH to gain any therapeutic value

in that regard because dermal absorption just doesn't happen much.

Most of the chemicals in an EO don't absorb well and we should be glad

of that .. if it were not the case, we would be spending a lot of time

in the emergency room. Those chemicals that do absorb well are

normally those that cause sensitization.

 

Somebody might get upset by my answer but I would rather face upset

folks than folks who know I would be lying if I told you otherwise.

;-) Most of the cremes and such folks make are nice smelling products

that might cure some outer skin problem or make the skin smoother,

etc. Any other gain from those products is the same gain one gets

from using EO in massage .. the violatile oils rise .. the olfactory

system takes in those molecules and wham .. change occurs due to

therapeutic properties of the oils.

 

Massage using baby oil will give about as much benefit to the receiver

of the massage than will massage using essential oils .. except .. for

the inhalation of those violate vapors. And the receiver of a massage

receives far less of those vapors than does the giver because they

will rise when they become vaporized.

 

As for dermal absorption of EO, there are exceptions .. like using

Wintergreen or Sweet Birch .. which are RARELY Natural .. they are

simply Methyl salicylate. They are great for stopping pain because

they do absorb deeply .. but they are also dangerous because they

store in the body .. the liver does not process them well.

 

> If too little of an oil is used are no benefits to be had just as if

> too much oil is used one risks irritation/sensitization?

 

No ma'am! Aromatherapy is really about aroma, not dermal application

of essential oils though we try to include that in the realm of AT.

Even if one cannot detect the odor of an EO they will still get

benefit from it via the olfactory system. Its not necessary to be

able to smell a chemical for the chemical to be effective.

 

> Are there publications relaying this info?

 

None that I am aware of .. though there are some different studies but

they are often difficult to follow because they are but pieces of a

puzzle. And I think the reason for this is because there are FEW

essential oils that we really know exactly why they work as they do.

We know that Oregano kicks Big Bad Bug Butts because of the Carvacrol

in the oil .. we think that the calming and healing effects of

Lavender are due to the Linalool and Linalool acetate .. and there are

others folks know a good bit about .. but for most of the EO .. we

don't really know exactly why they do what they do.

 

There are many studies showing the efficiency levels or percentages of

EO needed to kill big bad critters or stop/slow the growth of those

critters. If one wanted to stop the growth of a particular bug odds

are they can find a study on it but I know of none that are in an easy

to use reference book. I had dozens and dozens of such studies before

my PC crash .. and will be able to pull them out again (Good Lawd

Willing) when I get to the USA and find someone who knows how to deal

with my external back up system. ;-)

 

Those studies read like .. use of X amount of X oil killed 78% of X

critters within X seconds .. and so on. But use of X-2% (whatever)

only killed 56% of those critters in X seconds, etc.

 

Most of these studies are narrow in scope and deep in content and

" normally " show results of testing isolated chemicals .. generally

they are in vivo and in vitro studies using animals or live bacteria.

But one should not extrapolate the results of those studies and try

to apply them to human critters .. folks do this often to justify

their marketing .. but its not credible to do this.

 

> Thank you, Susan

 

Welcome for sure. The subject is broad in scope and my reply in no

way covers all of the information available on this subject .. and I

expect that I will be challenged on particular parts of this reply ..

if so, it will make it easier to answer then. When we give broad

answers to broad questions it merely raises more questions .. but when

folks start to nit pick certain parts of a reply it narrows down the

questions and pretty soon it all starts coming together easier. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

[Guest guest]

As for dermal application .. its TOUGH to gain any therapeutic value

in that regard because dermal absorption just doesn't happen much.

Most of the chemicals in an EO don't absorb well and we should be glad

of that .. if it were not the case, we would be spending a lot of time

in the emergency room. Those chemicals that do absorb well are

normally those that cause sensitization.

 

[Dave:] Gotta agree. There aren’t more than half a dozen EOs I use at more

than a trace in soap (OK, a big trace sometimes) – and come to think of it,

the “properties” they’re there for are all related to the surface only.

They’re there because they’re germicidal or antifungal, and then the only

other reason is that they smell good. The only exception I can think of

right off is rosemary oil, which is spozed to be good for the scalp, and

it’s used in a lot of shampoos. As far as any absorption and healing to the

skin a few cell layers down, the oils used are not really EOs. I’m thinking

of things like tamanu, neem, shea, and jojoba.

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

First, thank you both for your answers and Butch, your answer is quite

informative despite your lack of sleep! Anyway, my questions did

refer to skin issues people might want to heal with the use of

essential oils in a cream, lotion or soap. I suppose I was trying to

apply the same theory behind medicines to eo's, i.e., if someone

wanted to use eo's for burns or other skin issue what level is too low

to do any good. Since nit picking sometimes makes things easier to

answer I'll have to ask about therapeutic value Butch refered to:

 

(Butch wrote) If one is sniffing an oil there is no problem anyway ..

we can sniff neat or diluted .. matters not. We will gain therapeutic

value from the sniffing. Again .. one would need to know what

benefits you want. As for inhalation .. just a little bit will do

you. There is no way one will not gain therapeutic value from

sniffing. (clipped) Most of the cremes and such folks make are nice

smelling products that might cure some outer skin problem or make the

skin smoother, etc. Any other gain from those products is the same

gain one gets from using EO in massage .. the violatile oils rise ..

the olfactory system takes in those molecules and wham .. change

occurs due to therapeutic properties of the oils.

 

SO MANY things I've read about aromatherapy claim oils have SO MANY

healing properties physically, emotionally and mentally. I can

believe claims regarding emotional and mental changes when using eo's

which could then help physical issues like high blood pressure but

therapeutic like combating arthritis or kidney problems, etc.? Susan