Are you one of those selected few who are just obsessed with essential oils? Trust us, we know what it is like. Essential oils are nature’s great extracts that are taken from plants and herbs. It greatly supports your health and looks after your well-being as a part of aromatherapy. The different essential oils that help you out in your therapeutic journey. These include peppermint, lavender, chamomile, and the list goes on. Basically, anything that soothes you.
So, you might be trying to figure out if you can use that on your babies for a soulful experience – find out here. But what you might not know is that these are not always a baby-safe option. Even though you might feel that you want your baby to experience the joys of aromatherapy, essential oils might not be your best option. Let us see why.
As per expert sources, if your baby is younger than 3 months, they shouldn’t be anywhere near essential oils, especially if they were born prematurely. Here are a few reasons why!
Skin Irritants
Babies have extremely soft skin at this age and it is very easy to cause harm to them without even meaning to. Essential oils are inherently too strong for their skins as they have various skin irritants in them. These include thyme, citronella, bay cinnamon, etc. So, instead of directly using these oils on your baby, you should consider diluting them with other oils. As per reports from the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, you should dilute it from 0.5 to 2.5 per cent, which is just enough to keep them safe.
Asthmatic Problems
You should not use aroma diffusers if your baby is prone to asthma. This may lead to serious breathing problems which will turn worse as they are just infants.
Eating Hazard
You should keep the essential oils as far away from your babies’ airways as possible. You can maybe apply some on their feet as long as it is assured that it doesn’t go anywhere near their mouths.
Pregnancy Issues
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is of great importance that you stay away from essential oils that have birk, camphor, aniseed, parsley seed, wormwood, tarragon, wintergreen, sage, and basil in it as suggested by the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA). This is because essential oils can cause contractions in your uterus and also hamper the early developmental process of your child.
Respiratory Problems
Finally, using raw essential oils on your baby might have adverse respiratory effects on them considering that they are still at a very delicate and fragile age. Diluting any kind of essential oils thereby becomes very necessary when there is an infant involved.
Conclusion
Aromatherapy can no doubt be a very beneficial experience for your child but you do have to take care of certain things before you expose them to this. That doesn’t mean you can’t use essential oils on them. You can use it in their bathwater but just put a few drops in it. You can even massage your baby by first rubbing it in your palms.
Furthermore, if you are searching for other ways of providing aromatherapy to your little one, you can always try scented candles – check them out on this website. Keep these tips in mind and bond with your baby in a soulful and relaxing experience.
