INTERACTIONS: Essential Oils & the Sun

An interaction between essential oils and sun exposure is one many of us probably would never even took into consideration. Who would even think that an essential oil could be photoxic.

Just as with some prescription drugs, certain essential oils can cause, at times, severe reactions to the sun which include blistering of the skin, heightened sun burn and tanning of the skin, which can later lead to skin cancer. Researchers have found that only a few sunburns can greatly increase your chances of cancer and frequent areas to be effected include the nose, ears and cheeks of the face in addition to the shoulders. These same areas are ones we frequently apply massage oil and/or Aromatherapy facial treatments. To prevent such an interaction from happening, avoid the following essential oils:

• Ginger
• Lemon
• Bergamot
• Lime
• Lovage
• Mandarin
• Verbena
• Orange

Phototoxicity doesn't just occur in people with sensitive skin, fair skinned people and people with many freckles can have very adverse results. While some darker skin people may have a lessor reaction, the threat of skin cancer later on is very real and why, especially bergamot which has been long used for tanning including by Romany peoples, should be avoided. Being that clothing actually does not prevent UV rays from hitting the skin, wearning layers of clothing may not prevent you from being effected by the possible adverse reactions. Try using the above essential oils only for inhalation or in the evening. As always, doing a patch test will always help you to avoid bad reactions and to test specifically for this problem, try doing your patch test during the day instead of the traditional night application.

-MAM

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