Guidelines for Using Young Living Essential Oils Safely

February 26, 2009 by Curt Siters

Your Young Living therapeutic-grade essential oils are very powerful and safe when used as directed. Below are some guidelines that will help you have an enjoyable experience and help you to receive the most benefit from your essential oils.

• Always test for skin sensitivity and keep a bottle of V-6 vegetable mixing oil, massage oil base or any pure vegetable oil handy when using essential oils.

The 'fat' in vegetable oils dilute essential oils if they cause discomfort or skin irritation - never use water!

Essential oils in the eye also requires the addition of a gentle vegetable oil, such as V-6 or organic extra virgin olive oil. Water does not help.

• Read the complete label before using essential oils.
• It is ONLY your YL essential oils with the "Supplement Facts" box on the label which are GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe by the FDA) for cooking and ingested as a supplement (in a veggie capsule) or in a glass of milk or water.
• Keep bottles of essential oils tightly closed and store them in a cool location away from children.
• If a child swallows an essential oil, administer milk, honey or another safe, oil-soluble liquid such as goat or rice milk (it's the fat in the milk that dilutes the essential oil).
• Do not use essential oils rich in menthol (such as Peppermint) on the throat or neck area of children under 30 months (2 1/2 years) of age.
• The citrus-based oils of Bergamot, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange and Tangerine as well as oil blends with a heavy citrus concentration such as White Angelica, Citrus Fresh, and Purification should not be used on areas of the skin that will be exposed to the sun or UV rays within 72 hours. They may cause an increased reaction to the sun. They are however, fine to ingest in food or drink (ingesting a citrus oil will not cause photosensitivity).
• Keep essential oils away from the eyes and out of your ears.
• Do not handle contact lenses or rub your eyes with essential oils on your fingers. If the oils should get into your eyes, soothe with a drop of vegetable oil, not water.
• Oils with a high phenol content – Oregano, Helichrysum, Cinnamon, Thyme, Clove, Lemongrass, Bergamot, Thieves, and ImmuPower – may damage contact lenses and irritate eyes. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling contacts. Keep V-6 oil handy in case these essential oils irritate skin.
• Epileptics and those with high blood pressure should consult their health care professional before using some essential oils. Avoid Hyssop, Fennel and Idaho Tansy oils.
• Before taking GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe by the FDA) essential oils internally, always dilute with an oil soluble liquid like honey, olive oil or rice or goat's milk.
• Do not add undiluted essential oils directly to bath water. Use YL Bath Gel Base, Sea Salt or Epsom Salt as a dispersing agent for essential oils in the bath.
• Pregnant women should consult their health care professional before using essential oils containing constituents with hormone-like activity, such as Clary Sage, Sage, Idaho Tansy, Juniper and Fennel.

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Curt Siters is an Independent Associate for Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. He is also aYoung Living Essential Oils Independent distributor and publishes articles on YourWebReference and at TheVeryEssence. He also does web work such as website design, website maintenance and SEO for websites.

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