When I started crafting my natural skincare line, I made a promise to prioritize transparency, safety, and nourishment for everyone who uses my products. I wanted skincare that supported the body’s natural processes without overwhelming it with unnecessary risks.

Essential oils have become synonymous with “natural skincare,” and they’re often marketed as cure-alls for everything from acne to stress. But as I dug deeper into the research, I realized their high concentration and potential risks didn’t align with my philosophy of creating gentle, balanced products. That’s when I began making my tallow balms without essential oils. As my company has grown, I have decided to make my entire line of my natural skincare without essential oils.

This isn’t to say that essential oils are inherently bad. They can have therapeutic benefits when used responsibly in specific contexts. But their potency, especially when used frequently, raises concerns for me—not only as a formulator but as someone who wants to create products safe for everyone who applies them and for those who come into contact with their skin, including children and pets.

Instead of using essential oils, I choose to infuse botanicals—a slower, gentler way to capture the benefits of plants without risking the unintended consequences of overloading the body. This choice is backed by science and personal experience.

A More Balanced Approach to Essential Oils

Essential oils are distilled or cold-pressed extracts that represent a highly concentrated essence of a plant. For example, it takes about 30-40,000 roses to produce one ounce of rose essential oil. Such potency may amplify certain benefits, but it also removes the broader array of nutrients and compounds found in the raw plant.

Take frankincense oil, for instance. While it’s celebrated for its anti-inflammatory properties, the resin from which it’s derived contains polysaccharides and resin acids that are lost during distillation. By slow-infusing frankincense resin into a carrier oil, these beneficial compounds are retained, offering a gentler, more complete skincare solution.

A Field of Flowers in a Bottle

One of the first things I share when people ask why I don’t use essential oils is this: their production requires an immense amount of plant material. For example:

• 10,000 pounds of rose petals to make one pound of rose essential oil.
• 250 pounds of lavender flowers for one pound of lavender oil.
• 1,500 lemons to produce one pound of lemon oil (Malibu Apothecary).

This level of concentration means that just one drop of essential oil represents the essence of hundreds—or even thousands—of plants. While plants are amazing and can provide incredible benefits, our bodies simply aren’t designed to process such concentrated doses every single day. We just aren’t meant to process a field of flowers on our skin or in our lungs regularly. But this is essentially what essential oils are: a representation of the whole field. If that field had any contaminants or sprays (organically accepted or not), they also became concentrated in the final essential oil product.

Everything we put on our skin is absorbed into our body, where it must be filtered by organs like the liver and kidneys. With essential oils, their potency can easily overwhelm these systems over time, especially when applied frequently or layered across multiple products.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Respiratory Risks

Essential oils contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are responsible for their strong aromas. While VOCs occur naturally, their high concentrations in essential oils can irritate the respiratory system, particularly when diffused or used in enclosed spaces.

Studies have shown that inhaling VOCs from oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, and tea tree can lead to symptoms such as coughing, dizziness, and headaches (Cox et al., 2022). Prolonged exposure has even been linked to chronic respiratory irritation and cardiopulmonary health concerns (Gao et al., 2022).

VOCs can also react with other chemicals in the air, forming secondary pollutants that degrade indoor air quality further (Ahmed et al., 2023). For households with children, pets, or sensitive individuals, this is an important consideration.

Hormone Disruption

Certain essential oils, such as lavender and tea tree, have been studied extensively for their hormonal effects. Research shows that these oils contain compounds with estrogenic (mimicking estrogen) and anti-androgenic (blocking male hormones) properties, which can disrupt the body’s natural hormone balance.

One well-documented example is prepubertal gynecomastia (breast tissue development in boys), which has been linked to repeated exposure to products containing lavender and tea tree oils (Henley et al., 2020).

While lavender and tea tree oils are the most well-documented in this area, research into how other essential oils might impact hormones is still limited. I err on the side of caution when it comes to endocrine health, especially for children, pregnant women, and individuals managing hormonal imbalances.

Additionally, the toxic load from excessive essential oil use may indirectly affect hormonal health. For instance, the liver plays a critical role in converting thyroid hormones, and prolonged exposure to concentrated compounds in essential oils can strain this vital organ. Even if an essential oil isn’t directly estrogenic, the cumulative stress on the liver could interfere with hormone production or conversion (Sharma et al., 2015; VUMC).

This research serves as an important reminder that “natural” doesn’t always mean harmless.

Organ Toxicity

When it comes to essential oils, their concentrated nature is both their greatest strength and their greatest risk. Everything we put on our skin is absorbed into our body and processed by our organs, particularly the liver and kidneys. These vital organs work tirelessly to break down and filter out the compounds we’re exposed to, but prolonged or excessive use of certain essential oils can push these systems to their limits.

For example, oils like clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, nutmeg, and wintergreen contain compounds that are known to be potentially toxic at higher doses. Research has shown that eugenol (found in clove oil) and cinnamaldehyde (from cinnamon oil) can stress the liver, while methyl salicylate (from wintergreen oil) has been linked to salicylate poisoning, impacting the kidneys and causing systemic strain. Cineole in eucalyptus oil and myristicin in nutmeg oil have also been studied for their toxic effects on the liver and central nervous system when used inappropriately or excessively (VUMC; Sharma et al., 2015; Sharma et al., 2016; Orisakwe et al., 2021).

The route of exposure also plays a significant role. Ingesting oils like eucalyptus or wintergreen presents the highest risk, but even topical applications or inhalation over long periods can contribute to cumulative toxicity. Combining multiple essential oils in various products can further compound the strain on your body, especially for those with pre-existing liver or kidney conditions (BJHAEO Journal).

This isn’t an exhaustive list of potentially toxic oils, but it’s enough to remind me that their concentrated nature requires caution, proper dilution, and responsible use.

Skin Microbiome Disruption

Your skin is home to a delicate microbiome of beneficial bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms that keep it healthy and resilient. Essential oils, especially those with antimicrobial properties like tea tree and peppermint, can disrupt this balance by killing both harmful and beneficial microbes (Correia et al., 2018).

Over time, this disruption can weaken the skin barrier, leading to dryness, irritation, and increased susceptibility to infections. By contrast, infused botanicals work in harmony with the skin’s microbiome as a more gentle approach, nourishing and supporting its natural defenses without disrupting its balance.

Why I Choose Infused Botanicals

Instead of essential oils, I slow-infuse tree resins and botanicals in nutrient-rich bases like tallow and emu oil. This method allows me to harness the full benefits of plants without the risks associated with overly concentrated compounds. While it’s not as easy or quick to clean up, making my tallow balm without essential oils as well as my whole line of natural skincare without essential oils, is worth the cost and time. I want every product to be as gentle and effective as possible, especially for sensitive skin types and those battling difficult skin conditions.

The Benefits of Infused Botanicals:

1. Gentle Extraction: Infusions preserve the plant’s antioxidants, polysaccharides, and fatty acids that are often lost during essential oil distillation.
2. Microbiome-Friendly: Infused oils nourish the skin while supporting its natural microbial ecosystem.
3. Safer for Everyone: Whole-plant infusions are gentler on the body and less likely to cause irritation.
4. Sustainable: Infused botanicals require far less plant material, making them a more eco-conscious choice.

Empowering Informed Choices

Skincare should feel safe, nourishing, and transparent—not overwhelming or risky. While essential oils have their place, their potency means they require careful use and a thorough understanding of their effects. That’s why I’ve chosen to avoid them in my formulations and focus instead on creating products that are gentle, balanced, and supportive of your body’s natural rhythms.

If you’re ready to experience the difference of truly holistic skincare, I invite you to explore my natural skincare line, lovingly infused with botanicals for gentle, effective care.

References

• Malibu Apothecary. (n.d.). How many flowers does it take to make essential oils?
• Cox, J., et al. (2022). Indoor air pollution from essential oils.
• Henley, D. V., et al. (2020). Endocrine disruption in lavender and tea tree oils.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Toxicity of essential oils.
• Correia, P., et al. (2018). Essential oils and microbiome disruption.
• Sharma, A., et al. (2015). Hepatotoxicity of clove oil.
• Sharma, A., et al. (2016). Nutmeg oil toxicity.
• Orisakwe, O., et al. (2021). Cinnamon oil toxicity.
• Ahmed, S., et al. (2023). Secondary air pollutants from essential oil VOCs.
• Gao, X., et al. (2022). Cardiopulmonary effects of essential oil exposure.
• BJHAEO Journal. Routes and effects of essential oils.