safest of the safe EO's?

[Obsidian]

I'm hoping one of the EO guru's will be able to give me some advice. I use henna to color my hair and it stinks, many women use EO to cover the smell but I'm concerned about having a EO on my skin for 3-4 hours once a month.

Is there any EO that would be safe for this? I would use very little, 1% or less. Just enough to mellow out the wet hay smell. I've used peppermint and it worked well but I don't always want the cooling affect. Right now I'm using a peppermint/orange blend but I'm concerned the orange could cause irritation.

 

[galaxyMLP]

From everything that I've read (and tried) lavender is definitely a good one.

I made a 10% lavender in olive oil bedtime rub for me. I would put it on my hands (about 10 drops or so) and it helped me fall asleep. I used it a lot when I lived away from my BF/family and it helped calm me down enough to sleep. I really liked using it. I never had any negative reaction and technically it stayed on me all night till I washed my hands in the morning. Of course, I couldn't smell any when I woke up since it had been so long.

They *say* that you can put lavender on straight but I'd never do that.


Edit: Of course, you never know what can happen with allergies and such. I would steer clear of lemongrass for sure. It's a known sensitizer and I just developed a severe allergy to it. I switched my deodorant and it had some in there. I started peeling and my skin was burnt. I couldn't wear any deodorant for a week. When I went to make some of my popular lemongrass/lavender wax melts, my nose was on fire and I had to take an allergy pill to calm it down. It was really awful. That's how I knew it was the lemongrass in the deodorant. I've never had an allergy to a fragrance before that. It was the very last ingredient in the deodorant (toms apricot). I wanted to go to a more natural one than the ones I've used my whole life with no issue.

 

[Obsidian]

I was considering lavender, I should just go ahead and order some to try. As of yet, I don't have any allergies. I though about lemongrass but it gives me a headache when I soap with it so I really didn't want it sitting on my head.

I'd really like more herbal/floral scents. A lot of women use rosemary or a blend with it but I think I remember reading its not one of the safer oils.
Some also use powder herbs like ginger or cinnamon but I worry about irritation from those too. Maybe I'm just a wimp lol.

 

[Seawolfe]

I would think at a 1% useage rate, anything that is skin safe for a lotion would be skin safe for the henna? Anyhow, I hear rosemary is good for hair and skin, and I quite like rosemary and lavender together. What about geranium or geranium rose EO?

 

[kumudini]

I'm not a guru on anything but I do use drops of lavender, rosemary and sometimes peppermint essential oils in extra virgin CO for scalp massage, no ill effects till now.

 

[KristaMarie]

I use undiluted lavender all the time. It's great for burns and I'm less than graceful in the kitchen, so it's used frequently. I'd say it's one of the safest, but that's just from anecdotal evidence

 

[IrishLass]

I use undiluted lavender all the time. It's great for burns and I'm less than graceful in the kitchen, so it's used frequently. I'd say it's one of the safest, but that's just from anecdotal evidence

I use undiluted lavender for minor burns, too (whenever I'm out of fresh aloe). It's one of the very few that I ever use neat.


IrishLass

 

[Soapmaker145]

The safest EO is Helichrysum italicum which can be used at 10%. There are enough studies supporting its use for skin care. It doesn't really smell very nice and is beyond expensive for this purpose. Everything else that I've seen is recommended at no more than 1% total. Citrus EOs are very photosensitizing. They may not be worth using. I don't know if you can use grated citrus peel (instead of the EO) to cover up the scent without exposing you to as much EO. You could even use crushed/minced herbs like oregano or mint.

The other alternative is to skip the EO and use an FO with a high usage rate, something you like that you feel will complement the henna scent. FOs contain many components that are found in EO or derived from their natural constituents. FOs are a lot safer than EOs because their composition doesn't vary. Either way, you will need to do a test to make sure the EOs/FOs don't affect the color or cause reactions in the presence of henna/acidic medium. You also need to make sure that the scent isn't affected by low pH.

 

[dibbles]

I would also say lavender is probably the safest. If you want a more floral, try something other than the 40/42 - Bulgarian or French, I can't remember off the top of my head which. I think chamomile is also pretty safe if you like the smell. Otherwise, I also second geranium/rose geranium.

 

[madison]

I rub my head with undiluted lavender when I have headaches, it's one of my best medicines.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I wouldn't quote me on this, but I've heard that tea tree EO can be used neat as well, if you want something more herbaceous.

 

[cmzaha]

I wouldn't quote me on this, but I've heard that tea tree EO can be used neat as well, if you want something more herbaceous.

I had a really bad bite that would not heal for a couple of months, then I decided to use Tea Tree oil neat, and I finally got it to heal in a week or so. Yes, tea tree can be used

 

[KristaMarie]

I wouldn't quote me on this, but I've heard that tea tree EO can be used neat as well, if you want something more herbaceous.

Yup! I use tea tree neat, with no issues. I have normal skin that borders on sensitive, but I'd advise against it for full on sensitive skin