There are several toxic essential oils and we don’t use them in Aromatherapy. Although essential oils can be used for great benefit of your body, you should keep in mind that these oils can be toxic for your body. Never assume that, because these oils are made /extracted from flower/plant and they are not dangerous. Many flowers or plants can become deadly too.
Secondly, if you use these essential oils improperly, they can be toxic too. So please always read the safety guide before you using these essential oils. These oils are concentrated and must always be diluted or they can have side effects. Some of them can cause severe skin irritation.
Sweet Birch oil is potentially hazardous. It has the same active ingredients like aspirin, methyl salicyalte, etc. If you are already administering aspirin then using this essential oil could overdose you.
Pennyroyal, Tansy and parsley are said to be abortifacients. Their abortifacient activity is more likely to be due to poisoning or irritation of the peristalsis reflex. This makes them unsuitable or even dangerous for use in aromatherapy. These oils have ability to harm the liver and cause death.
There are also some that should not be used on the body in massage therapy nor ingested because of their high oral and dermal toxicity.
The following information is adapted from The Essential Oil Safety Data Manual by Robert Tisserand.
Some of the oils in the following list have limited use externally; others are used for perfumery. We have included Latin names to avoid any confusion.
We recommend not using the following oils at all.
Always remember that some essential oils can be mildly to severally toxic if used without dilution. Seek expert advice before using essential oils!
More on Reference about Toxic Essential oils.
Back to profiles of Essential oils
Back to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Information
