05 May Is it possible to be allergic to essential oils?

As with ANYTHING, there is always potential for the body to become intolerant of essential oils over time and YES it is possible to be allergic to essential oils even very pure and high quality ones!

Anyone who tells you that you can’t possibly be allergic to essential oils or that when skin irritation arises in response to the use of essential oils (for example redness, rashes or itching, etc.) that it means your body is “detoxing” or experiencing a cleansing reaction and that you should still continue to use the oils despite IS MISINFORMED.

While high quality essential oils do not contain synthetic ingredients or other contaminants and this reduces the chances of adverse reactions, they are still capable of inducing immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reactions in certain people and under certain conditions. In these instances, the person should discontinue using the essential oils immediately and increase water intake.

This is why I dilute my oils most of the time because I want to avoid inducing hypersensitivity reactions because in some cases, once stimulated, hypersensitivity can persist for life. So for that reason (among others), I dilute my oils as a rule of thumb especially with children.