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Essential oils vs. Fragrance oils


lisabeth13

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Yeah I'm the one with the geriatric cat (she's 18 1/2 yrs old) who can't tolerate the vapors from FOs or EOs. So I have to isolate her in a seperate ventilated room during my candlemaking. I don't let her out again until I have ventilated the house. If I don't isolate her she goes on a vomiting streak and this is from being in another room at the opposite end of the house!  Nothing is more convincing of the toxicity of FO/EOs and how far reaching they can be than watching my cat suffer. Scared the tar out of me when I saw that and decided never again would I put her through that! She does fine being isolated from any toxic fumes/air. I also have to make sure I lay a towel down at the bottom of the door where there is a crack to make sure there is no tainted air that can get through to her.

 

As Moonstar mentioned cats are unable to assimulate or dispose of toxins in their bodies like we can. Toxins simply accumulate in their bodies never leaving. They just build until their liver or kidneys can't handle it anymore. You also have to keep in mind that cats are prone to kidney and liver diseases so this makes it a much more serious issue for them.

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2 hours ago, moonshine said:

Yes there are concerns as a maker 

I did this for so many years in my kitchen then in my basement with no windows open and my family and pets in the house and never thought anything of it because there was no information hitting me in the face saying I should be concerned 

 

most msds sheets say no respirator needed and nothing is widely talked about handling fragrance and even wax, the new quantum waxes are now saying in their sheets not to breathe the vapors from the wax 

 

I came across a thread in here a few years back that made the bells go off....I can't undo all those years of how I was making but going forward I did buy and now wear a respirator, I was finding my face got itchy and my eyes just hurt pouring and sometimes a headache and cough after

 

I had a exhaust system installed in my storage room where the furnace and water heater are and a system on the furnace that is supposed to zap all chemicals and dust- I forget what it's called but it's a blue light inside the ducts 

 

I only make in that room now and leave the exhaust running for hours after and it's helped tremendously, you can still smell a little in the main basement but not anything like it was before 

 

so do take precaution and I commend you for even thinking about it before getting started because like I said....the possible dangers are not talked about enough- suppliers do not label handle with caution, wear a respirator, etc etc 

 

YES!! Last year I ordered several FO's for the first time and I really didn't take any kind of precautions with them. I didn't know I needed to. I didn't wear gloves... no respirator... didn't open the windows. I had a horrible headache for hours and felt really dizzy. It was awful. I almost didn't want to use them ever again. I think that situation made me really want to look into them more. That said, I obviously didn't take the necessary precautions as I should have. I do wish they labeled the bottles with how to handle them properly. 

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8 minutes ago, Candybee said:

Yeah I'm the one with the geriatric cat (she's 18 1/2 yrs old) who can't tolerate the vapors from FOs or EOs. So I have to isolate her in a seperate ventilated room during my candlemaking. I don't let her out again until I have ventilated the house. If I don't isolate her she goes on a vomiting streak and this is from being in another room at the opposite end of the house!  Nothing is more convincing of the toxicity of FO/EOs and how far reaching they can be than watching my cat suffer. Scared the tar out of me when I saw that and decided never again would I put her through that! She does fine being isolated from any toxic fumes/air. I also have to make sure I lay a towel down at the bottom of the door where there is a crack to make sure there is no tainted air that can get through to her.

 

As Moonstar mentioned cats are unable to assimulate or dispose of toxins in their bodies like we can. Toxins simply accumulate in their bodies never leaving. They just build until their liver or kidneys can't handle it anymore. You also have to keep in mind that cats are prone to kidney and liver diseases so this makes it a much more serious issue for them.

WOW... 18 1/2 years!! That's amazing! That sounds like an awful/scary experience to go through. I would've been terrified. My cat doesn't seem to be bothered by the EO's in my diffuser but dust makes her sneeze a lot. If I run just lavender in my diffuser she will often go sit in the same room near the diffuser. When I made the candles with FO, she was in a separate room, and I only made the one batch with 1lb of wax. So I don't think I was using it long enough to really fill the house with the scent. She didn't seem bothered with it but I will definitely take more precautions going forward.

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13 minutes ago, lisabeth13 said:

WOW... 18 1/2 years!! That's amazing! That sounds like an awful/scary experience to go through. I would've been terrified. My cat doesn't seem to be bothered by the EO's in my diffuser but dust makes her sneeze a lot. If I run just lavender in my diffuser she will often go sit in the same room near the diffuser. When I made the candles with FO, she was in a separate room, and I only made the one batch with 1lb of wax. So I don't think I was using it long enough to really fill the house with the scent. She didn't seem bothered with it but I will definitely take more precautions going forward.

 

Haha! Yes she is amazing... in my mind anyway!

 

I think lavender is one of the good EOs for cats but don't quote me on that. Also, you will tell right away by a cat's reaction if they can tolerate it or not. 

 

I don't know how diluted a diffusion comes out of a mister. But I do know for example that when I make EO blends for my dog products I use 1% in my spritzes and .5% in my soaps. Even then I blend EOs so there is no one oil that is actually at that %. But I only use those EOs in those products I did the research on to make sure they were canine friendly.

 

I should do some more research on cats but believe me I have tried and get such varying information that I feel what I have read so far is unreliable. So I will keep looking...

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4 minutes ago, Candybee said:

 

Haha! Yes she is amazing... in my mind anyway!

 

I think lavender is one of the good EOs for cats but don't quote me on that. Also, you will tell right away by a cat's reaction if they can tolerate it or not. 

 

I don't know how diluted a diffusion comes out of a mister. But I do know for example that when I make EO blends for my dog products I use 1% in my spritzes and .5% in my soaps. Even then I blend EOs so there is no one oil that is actually at that %. But I only use those EOs in those products I did the research on to make sure they were canine friendly.

 

I should do some more research on cats but believe me I have tried and get such varying information that I feel what I have read so far is unreliable. So I will keep looking...

I think all cats are pretty amazing. I joke with my husband all the time that if he wasn't around, I'd just be a cat lady. haha! I hope I can have my sweet fur baby for at least that long! She's around 10 now. 

 

She seems to like the lavender but I don't put a lot in the diffuser so I'm sure it's pretty diluted. 

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Lavender I'm pretty sure is ok with cats but I wouldn't bathe them in it and don't quote me on that either - it's been years since I have studied them or use them 

Like Candy said cats are very sensitive to smell and you will know if it's bothered by them 

with horses in the past I found if they don't like it they move away and if they like it they actually breathe deep and stick around - but horses are more tolerable than cats and metabolize differently 

at horse shows years ago I carried a diluted bottle of geranium oil and it was amazing how some horses would just bend their head and smell and completely relax before going into their class but my daughters speed horse would have nothing to do with any of them....he just wanted to let it rip when he got in the ring 😂

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I personally have never bought into the ideology that "natural" is safer. For example, Hemlock, arsenic, poison ivy/oak, etc., technically all natural. "safe" though? not necessarily. 

FO's are specifically made and designed for what we use them for, EO's are not necessarily.

 

JMO though

 

 

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  • 4 months later...
On 12/6/2017 at 5:55 PM, Jcandleattic said:

I personally have never bought into the ideology that "natural" is safer. For example, Hemlock, arsenic, poison ivy/oak, etc., technically all natural. "safe" though? not necessarily. 

FO's are specifically made and designed for what we use them for, EO's are not necessarily.

 

JMO though

 

 

I'm with you on this.  I've never had a candle made with EOs that produced a room-filling scent but I do use them in B&B products, i.e, lotions, sugar scrubs, room sprays.

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12 hours ago, Pam W said:

I'm with you on this.  I've never had a candle made with EOs that produced a room-filling scent but I do use them in B&B products, i.e, lotions, sugar scrubs, room sprays.

Neither have I. In fact, I've never been able to get an EO to throw in wax, period. Although, I know others that have. 

I use some EO's in some of my soaps, but not many, and I have used them in my bath bombs, but I just generally don't use EO's. They are, IMO, just too picky to work with, and I'm not into fighting with my product to get it to do what I want. I did that with my teenagers I'm not doing it with my products! LMAO

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  • 1 month later...

Speaking of EO's, I've tried Lavender as well as a few citrus EO's in candles, but they end up smelling like fuel, so purchased them in the fo equivalent, and still the same odd smell.  Has anyone had any luck with Lavender fo or any citrus ones? In melts, they work well, just not in candles. 

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On 12/6/2017 at 9:58 AM, kandlekrazy said:

Just a few added tips for EO's.  If you're going to use them, the citrus will fade the fastest and the EO itself is only good for about a year, others 3-5 years, Patch pretty much forever, lol. 

I keep all my 4-16 oz bottles in a refrigerator.  As the bottle gets airspace (1/2 or more), transfer to a smaller bottle as air can destroy EO.  They are way too expensive to waste product so educate yourself.  As said already, buy from a reputable company (no MLM) and buy where you can get a wholesale account so you're paying 30-50% less than retail.  As I said before, use gloves & a respirator, I can never say that enough.  Even natural products can be harmful.  Many EO's are harmful to children (not just fur babies).

On another note, Lavender doesn't bother me and is the ONLY EO that I use undiluted on burns, scrapes etc.  EO does evaporate quickly so using a carrier oil actually keeps it on your skin for a longer period of time, which means it can work better than undiluted.

I love the medicinal properties of these products so I'm a daily user, even if it's just diffused.  Have coffee EO going right now.....yum!

Where do you get your coffee essential oil ? 

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7 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Where do you get your coffee essential oil ? 

I get almost all my essential oils from Plant Therapy, they have wholesale pricing available and are way more affordable than the MLM brand.

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On 6/9/2018 at 6:11 AM, kandlekrazy said:

I get almost all my essential oils from Plant Therapy, they have wholesale pricing available and are way more affordable than the MLM brand.

I've never tried them before. Thanks , I'll have to check them out 

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On 4/24/2018 at 6:59 AM, Jcandleattic said:

Neither have I. In fact, I've never been able to get an EO to throw in wax, period. Although, I know others that have. 

I use some EO's in some of my soaps, but not many, and I have used them in my bath bombs, but I just generally don't use EO's. They are, IMO, just too picky to work with, and I'm not into fighting with my product to get it to do what I want. I did that with my teenagers I'm not doing it with my products! LMAO

Absolutely love that statement (as a MOM)

 

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