Please forgive my ignorance, but I have another question. I have been looking at the EO's and trying to decide. However, I have looked at lavender, lemon, lemongrass, and pink grapefruit. Every one of these has a warning of some kind. Either not to be used by pregnant/nursing women, or causes skin irritation, or causes photosensitivity. If I use any of these, do I need to put warning labels on my soaps? lol This is getting very complicated indeed.
It can be really frustrating trying to sort out fact from CYA warnings with Essential Oils. I thoroughly trust Robert Tisserand and his studies:
www.roberttisserand.com
Aromaweb refers to Robert Tisserand a lot and I find their information helpful:
www.aromaweb.com
Let me try to sort a little out for you:
Any citrus oil (lemon, orange, grapefruit, bergamot, lime) usually carry a photo sensitivity warning. In soap, it is not likely to cause a problem unless you ave incredibly sensitive skin or some allergy or sensitivity to the actual fruit.
Lavender has been associated with estrogen interference and other estrogenic effects, nbut there is no scientific evidence to back this up. With the exception of overly sensitive people and allergies, Lavender is generally considered safe.
http://roberttisserand.com/2013/02/lavender-oil-is-not-estrogenic/
Lemongrass at high percentages can cause dermal irritation/sensitivity in some folks. Under 3% in soap should be fine for the majority of users.
As for pregnancy or nursing mothers...you do not want to use any oils that are PROVEN to interfere, mimic, increase or otherwise effect estrogen production. You also should avoid stimulating oils like mints and spices. Skin during pregnancy, as well as scent tolerance, can be hyper sensitive and that should be considered.
Diabetes and High Blood Pressure carry their own warnings, and some oils are advised not to be used with those conditions. Kurt Schnaubelt has a great book called Medical Aromatherapy that has lots of great information.
As for "warning labels"...well, that's another frustrating issue. You just can't "warn" everyone of every possible side effect or otherwise adverse reaction because there are just too many variables. Your best bet is to educate yourself on the safe usage of whichever oil you're using and use it at the advised percentage or dilution rate...AND PROPER INGREDIENT LABELING. If you use an oil that has valid evidence of a common side effect (like Clove oil and skin irritation), I would put a warning pertaining to that. For example, on my Four Thieves soap, my label reads "NOT FOR SENSITIVE SKIN" because of the mint and rosemary content. I use mint and rosemary at safe levels, but a lot of people get a little more than a slight cool tingle from mint oils...so it's really a CYA more than a warning.
In my opinion, as long as you have your soap labeled properly, it gives the consumer the information to educate themselves or seek advice pertaining to their personal condition. Just listing "Fragrance" does not enable them to research much of anything.