Dangers of Essential Oils: Top 10 Essential Oil Mistakes to Avoid | Dr. Josh Axe

Hi, Dr. Josh Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of draxe.com. In this video, I'm going to be going in-depth in advanced training on essential oils and talking about the 10 biggest essential oil mistakes people are making on a regular basis. And I'll also talk about internal use, topical use, and aromatic use of essential oils.

And essential oils have been used for thousands of years and have been used as one of the most powerful forms of plant-based medicine. They're referenced more than 300 times in the Bible. They're used in Egyptian medicine, Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine. They should be used, but they should be used responsibly as well. So we'll talk about that.

Okay, number 1 mistake here people are making with essential oils is thinking they need to know everything about all essential oils before they use them. Here's the truth. Hey, just pick a handful of oils and make those your go-to oils. Here are 5 of the most popular essential oils that I think people can use on a regular basis safely and effectively. Number 1, frankincense oil.

I have a saying, when in doubt, frankincense. Frankincense contains the compound pinene which has benefits for modulating your immune system and mildly anti-inflammatory properties and really supportive for your overall health. So frankincense oil, when I'm traveling and using oils, Probably my biggest go-to oil. It's safe for multiple uses, but especially topically and aromatically.

Lavender oil is the number one used essential oil in North America today. Lavender oil is great for relaxation. Lemon oil, great for cleansing your lymphatic system and uplifting the spirit. Peppermint oil, great natural energizer and for digestion. And tea tree oil, a great natural household cleaner and air purifier. But these, again, you don't have to know everything about every oil.

Just use these 5 to-go-to oils or the 5 you want to learn about on a regular basis. Number 2, giving the wrong essential oil advice. I've actually seen people say, oh, essential oils are natural so you can use as much as you want internally. No, here's the truth. They need to be used safely and effectively. These are powerful forms of plant-based, but yet look here, medicine, okay?

They're a powerful form of plant-based medicine so they should be used responsibly. So I'll give you an example. Certain essential oils should never be used internally, oils specifically such as wormwood.

Oftentimes to a degree, using oils such as eucalyptus or birch or wintergreen, those oils should not be used internally, whereas certain oils such as turmeric CO2 extract, ginger oil, peppermint, and lemon can be in small doses on a regular basis. So it's important that you are not giving wrong advice on essential oils. There as well because it could affect someone's health.

Here's the key, being educated and also going through a training or certification to really understand how to use essential oils responsibly. Now, here's another mistake here, disregarding quality. This is really a big deal. Did you know that most essential oil companies, many of them are using synthetics, so they're not real true essential oils?

Many of them are actually sprayed with pesticides, the plants are, so they may contain pesticides in the essential oil. So in general, when you're buying essential oil, make sure they're not fake. Problems with fake oils, they contain hydrocarbons and other chemicals. And when you are buying essential oils, you want to look for several things.

One, that they are organic or organic in nature, that you just know they've never been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides. That's number one. Number 2, that there are no additives to it, no other filler oils there as well. Number 3, they followed the right farming principles, indigenous sourcing, and growing and harvesting at the right time.

These are the most important things to look at when you're buying essential oils, that they're natural, organic in nature or wild, that you're getting good quality oils, and also maybe that has a supplement fact on the side that's been tested and you know that it's safe for internal use. Number 4 mistake, using photosensitive oils in the sun.

Did you know that certain oils, if you put them on and then you are in direct sunlight, can cause a skin reaction? Now, here are some of the big ones. Pretty much it's citrus fruits along with cumin, and sometimes I've seen lemongrass on this list as well. But again, lime, orange, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, along with cumin and lemongrass.

So those are the oils you can be most sensitive to in the skin. You don't want to go directly. Now you can use them on your skin, but don't go put them on your skin and then go out in the sun. It'll give you a burn or a rash. So you don't want to use those oils directly in sunlight. Number 5, using all the oils the same way. Here's the truth. I mentioned this earlier.

Some oils can be safe in therapeutic doses internally if it's a really good quality like a turmeric CO2 that's organic. Certain oils like wintergreen should never be used internally. It's important to know that. You know, again, certain oils also need to be diluted.

When we're talking about topical use, oils like oregano and cinnamon, these are very hot and peppery oils to where you want to mix them with a carrier oil like coconut oil, MCT oil, jojoba oil, and then use it directly on the skin. But it's important to know the best way to use certain essential oils. All right, so mistake number 6 people are making in regards to essential oils.

Is using essential oils too long? Now, I will tell you, this is a rarity, less than 1% of people, actually less than 1 in a million people probably have this issue. But I want to say this, typically when using a diffuser, you don't want to diffuse it more than 8 hours, you know, too much into air. It really depends on the room size.

If it's a big room, you can actually have a diffuser going 24 hours. But if it's a moderate-sized room, you don't want to do it more than 8 hours. And I want to say this, for direct inhalation, if somebody is sick, let's say you've got a respiratory issue like a cold or flu.

You can sit in front of a diffuser or put essential oils in hot water with a towel over your head and deep breathe in for about 5 minutes, but you wouldn't want to do that for 20 or 30 minutes. You can have too much of a good thing. You can have too many essential oils your body is using.

And if you were, let's say, using 30 drops of certain essential oils internally daily, that actually starts to stress your liver and potentially your kidneys over time, but for most people, It's really not much of an issue. But again, direct inhalation, if you have it right here and you're deep breathing in, you typically don't want to do it more than 5 minutes.

Now, let's talk about mistake number 7, assuming all the essential oils that are safe for humans are also safe for pets. So here's what you need to know about some, specifically talking about dogs here and cats. These essential oils are not recommended for pets: birch, clove, oregano, tea tree, thyme, and wintergreen.

Some of the best essential oils for dogs are lavender, Frankincense and helichrysum. In fact, frankincense is probably the essential oil we use on our dogs. I have a dog named Flash and Oakley that we use most often at our household. Mistake number 8, using essential oils the same on kids and adults. It's important to remember this. Children are much smaller, so you should use smaller amounts.

And typically on kids, it's recommended you use a carrier oil like a little bit of coconut oil there as well. And certain oils that are really strongly antimicrobial like oregano, even to a degree lemongrass, they don't need to be used on children. Some need to be used differently and again, with more dilution there as well, again, more coconut oil.

And another example is like eucalyptus must be diluted for kids and you never want it near the face. I mean, the big thing with kids is they tend to grab things, pour things, drink things. That they shouldn't be. So where essential oils are much safer than household chemicals, at the same time, if they drink a bottle, that is going to cause major health concerns with that child there as well.

Some of my favorite essential oils for kids I want to mention, you know, I love roaming chamomile, one of my favorites. All right. So let's talk about— and frankincense, another one I use a lot of times with children. Using no-no oils during pregnancy. So here's the big thing you got to know.

Essential oils that really dramatically affect your hormones and estrogen levels, those are the oils you want to be most sensitive to using during pregnancy. Some of the oils that can really affect hormones during pregnancy include cinnamon and clove, birch, clary sage, fennel, wintergreen, and myrrh.

And I'll say this, you know, if somebody was diffusing a little bit of myrrh or cinnamon and clove, it's not going to affect that body in much of a negative manner. And in fact, I've had women who were struggling with fertility who started using essential oils like clary sage and it helped get them pregnant.

But here's the thing to remember about pregnancy, that when your hormones are where you want them to be during pregnancy, you don't want to do anything dramatic even though it— if it can typically be positive to change your hormones in any way. So it's generally suggested if you are pregnant, staying away from essential oils that can affect estrogen levels. Okay. In a powerful way.

And so that's why, again, I typically am using lemon and frankincense oil and oils that are just very gentle and don't have many hormonal effects on the body during pregnancy. And so you can see some of my favorite oils for pregnancy include ginger, lavender, lemon, orange, ylang-ylang, and just using these topically or diffusing them as well.

Now, mistake number 10, and this can help overcome a lot of these issues. Is being trained in essential oils. There's a lot of people giving medical advice or health coaching advice with no training and no certification. So remember this, getting certified can really increase your confidence. Becoming certified in essential oils can boost your confidence.

It can help build credibility and more confidence, and also can make you more of an authority, and you can be seen as an expert in your family, for yourself, and for those around you. So, you know, I'm a big believer in education, becoming educated on something so you can help better support people in transforming their health.

So again, a big mistake I see people making is wanting to give essential oil advice out but not being properly certified in doing so. I think it's an important thing to remember. And hey, if you love essential oils like I do, hey, make sure to subscribe here to this page. I've got a lot more info coming.

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