Photosensitizing Essential Oils – Protect Your Skin

By Lakita Dunkers, Clinical Aromatherapist

Do you ever apply essential oils to your skin? If so, there are important safety recommendations to consider, such as whether you are using an essential oil that is photosensitizing. What are photosensitizing essential oils? These are essential oils that contain coumarins and furocoumarins, and here’s how they affect your skin…

These particular chemical components, found most often in expressed citrus oils, cause the skin to become more sensitive to ultraviolet light. When applied topically, phototoxic or photosensitizing essential oils can cause skin irritation, painful and itching rashes, uneven pigmentation, or in severe cases burns/blisters upon exposure to sunlight or sunlamps. Unfortunately, some essential oil users have no idea of the danger and have suffered from serious skin damage when applying certain oils topically!

It’s important to be well-educated about any product you use. Our goal at e3 is to help you gain the benefits of essential oils while doing so safely! If you apply essential oils topically, perhaps blending them into a lotion or using a body spritzer please read on.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR USING PHOTOSENSITIZING ESSENTIAL OILS

Topical application of the following photosensitizing essential oils should be avoided for 12-18 hours before exposure to sun or tanning lamps.

It’s recommended that you use non-photosensitizing oils in all leave-on-body products. For example, you would want to choose Lime Distilled instead of Lime Cold Pressed. However, if you do choose to add photosensitizing oils to your leave-on-body products, use less than 1% dilution. Also, follow safety guidelines and avoid exposure to the sun or tanning lamps for 12-18 hours.

Here’s a list of common photosensitizing essential oils for easy reference:

Cold pressed citrus essential oils:

Lime Cold-Pressed Citrus aurantifolia

Bergamot Citrus bergamia

Grapefruit Citrus paradisi

Lemon Citrus limonum

Non-citrus essential oils:

Angelica Angelica archangelica*

Cumin Cuminum cyminum*

Opopanax Commiphora erythraea*

Rue Ruta graveolens*

Verbena Aloysia triphylla*

SAFE OPTIONS WHEN USING ESSENTIAL OILS IN BODY PRODUCTS

What if you really want a citrus scent for your body product? You have options!

For a safer alternative, you can choose from a list of distilled citrus essential oils, (the distillation process alters the chemical components) or expressed citrus essential oils that naturally contain a very small amount of the phototoxic and photosensitizing furocomarins, bergaptene or 5 methoxypsolaren (5 MOP).

Why are steam distilled essential oils not phototoxic? According to researchers, the compounds found in citrus oils are relatively large molecules that won’t vaporize, therefore the process of distillation doesn’t draw them out. So these photosynthesizing compounds tend to be present in cold-pressed, but not in distilled citrus oils.

According to Robert Tisserand, a leading expert in aromatherapy, here are a few essential oil choices to consider for use in the manufacturing of leave-on-body products:

• Bergamot (FCF) Citrus bergamia (Bergamot FCF has had the Bergaptene/Furanocoumarins removed)
• Blood Orange Citrus sinensis*
• Lemon Citrus limonum* Steam Distilled
• Lime Distilled Citrus aurantifolia* Steam Distilled
• Mandarin Green Citrus deliciosa
• Orange Sweet Citrus sinensis
  
• Petitgrain (Orange Leaf) Citrus aurantium
• Tangerine Citrus reticulata

In their book, Essential Oil Safety, Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young make the following suggestions regarding photosensitizing essential oil usage, “There is generally no phototoxic risk if the oils are used in a product that is either not applied to the body or is washed off the skin, such as shampoo, bath preparation or soap. However, essential oils can adhere to the skin if used in a sauna or steam inhalation. There is no risk if the skin to which the oils are applied is covered in such a way as to prevent UV rays from reaching them.”

Have a question? You can find a lot of information in our e3 Guide section or feel free to contact us. Our team of clinical aromatherapists is available to help you. If you’re interested in creating your own essential oil skincare blend, be sure and download e3’s free guide, The Art & Science of Blending Essential Oils.

*e3 carries a selection of essential oils we consider our non-standards. Please contact us for price and availability.

Reference

¹ Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 88.