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Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:49 am  |
Just wondering what the general understanding is...
I did some research on essential oils and most of the benefits com from smelling it (there are ERP studies, etc which show benefits)
However oils like lavender are cytotoxic (it kills skin cells) and increase your risk of sun burns. even at concentrations as low as 0.2%
also citrus oils increase the risk of sunburn as well.
It doesn't make sense to me that companeis would still choose to put these essential oils in their products when it is well researched that they are not good for your topically. My favorite Burt's Bees lip balm has orange oil in it...and I have noticed dark marks and pigmentation on my lips since using it for the past year...how unfortunate  |
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Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:54 am |
Cytotoxicity of lavender oil and its major components to human skin cells
Prashar A, Locke IC, Evans CS
Abstract: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) oil, chiefly composed of linalyl acetate (51%) and linalool (35%), is considered to be one of the mildest of known plant essential oils and has a history in wound healing. Concerns are building about the potential for irritant or allergenic skin reactions with the use of lavender oil. This study has demonstrated that lavender oil is cytotoxic to human skin cells in vitro (endothelial cells and fibroblasts) at a concentration of 0.25% (v/v) in all cell types tested (HMEC-1, HNDF and 153BR). The major components of the oil, linalyl acetate and linalool, were also assayed under similar conditions for their cytotoxicity. The activity of linalool reflected that of the whole oil, indicating that linalool may be the active component of lavender oil. Linalyl acetate cytotoxicity was higher than that of the oil itself, suggesting suppression of its activity by an unknown factor in the oil. Membrane damage is proposed as the possible mechanism of action.
Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of Lavandula stoechas aqueous extracts
Celik TA (Celik, Tulay Askin), Aslanturk OS (Aslanturk, Ozlem Sultan)
Abstract: Lavandula genus is an important member of Labiatae (Lamiaceae) family. People use commonly Lavandula stoechas as a medicinal plant for various diseases around the world and also in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of aqueous extracts (40, 80 and 120 g/L) from L. stoechas flowers on Allium cepa root tip meristem cells. For this purpose, A. cepa onion bulbs were treated with the above-mentioned L. stoechas flower extracts for 72 h. Spring water (pH 7.3) was used as a control. The result of this study sowed that aqueous extracts reduced mitotic index, but induced chromosome aberrations and mitotic aberrations in comparison with control, significantly (p < 0.05). Aqueous extracts induced breaks, stickiness, pole deviations and micronuclei. Furthermore, these effects were related to extract concentrations. These results showed that L. stoechas aqueous extracts have cytotoxic and genotoxic effects. |
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Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:12 am |
| that is a bit scary.mind you i have seen very little products without lavender oil. |
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Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:13 am |
| irka wrote: |
| that is a bit scary.mind you i have seen very little products without lavender oil. |
it's almost impossible to avoid nowadays without turning to cetaphil |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:27 am |
| That is disappointing, but it doesn't surprise me at all. One of the worst skin flares I have ever had was when I was using Dr. Hauschka products which have heaps of lavender and its components in them. My face was red, itchy, flaky and visibly damaged. Thank goodness it has gotten healthy again, but according to my skin...anything with essential oils is disastrous for me. |
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31, combination-dehydrated skin (I live in the desert), occasional breakouts. I just want beautiful, glowing skin! Is that too much to ask? |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:37 am |
| woow! but lavender and many other citrus oils are so commonly used nowadays... hard to avoid! |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:42 am |
| alilicious wrote: |
| That is disappointing, but it doesn't surprise me at all. One of the worst skin flares I have ever had was when I was using Dr. Hauschka products which have heaps of lavender and its components in them. My face was red, itchy, flaky and visibly damaged. Thank goodness it has gotten healthy again, but according to my skin...anything with essential oils is disastrous for me. |
I used Dr. Hauschka (the introductory kit for acne-prone skin I believe) for two months and broke out like you wouldn't believe. I used the lavender oil and the other stuff you put on after you cleanse. I expected this to be temporary but it wasn't. I had more splotchiness and undereye bags also. Weird. |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:58 am |
Yikes! I just posted asking about adding e/o's to my unscented skincare since I can't use synthetic fragrance! I always thought lavender was soothing and anti-bacterial. I had no idea it could be harmful.
This is why I SO need help. I feel so under-educated on skincare. Thanks for all of your great insight! |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:57 am |
| after giving this some thought I have to say that-the research could or could not prove that it is harmful.It would all depend on so many things-what measures did they take,how many control substances did they use,under what circumstances where the measurements taken.I personally never had any visual side-effects from using lavender.But I do think that it is a good idea to go easy on these oils until further info is published.Oh,well-just making finding a safe product harder |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:02 pm |
edenfield, can you please provide a link where you find this information? I'd have to evaluate this one study that claims lavender is harmful against all the other studies about this topic before I decide it's too "dangerous" to use.
Until these claims are substantiated, I still plan to use lavendar oil; it's done a lot of wonders for me. Just sayin'....
Athena |
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44 combo/oily skin with a tendency towards clogged pores. Thanks to EDS, tweaked my skincare routine and normalized skin
no more breakouts. PSF, silk powder, Janson Beckett, Cellbone, NIA24 are staples. |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:10 pm |
| athena123 wrote: |
edenfield, can you please provide a link where you find this information? I'd have to evaluate this one study that claims lavender is harmful against all the other studies about this topic before I decide it's too "dangerous" to use.
Until these claims are substantiated, I still plan to use lavendar oil; it's done a lot of wonders for me. Just sayin'....
Athena |
You'll need access to Pubmed or Web of Science, they're from peer-reviewed journals. |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:17 pm |
They're justification of using in vitro as opposed to in vitro (using animals)
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Whilst in vivo testing is often considered the norm for cytotoxicity testing, several in vitro alternatives have been developed and have found favour as viable alternatives to animal studies. Human skin cells are potentially more predictive of human skin responses than other in vitro systems; such cultures can be used to determine mechanisms of primary irritant dermatitis, reducing or eliminating the need for animal testing (Osborne & Perkins 1991). The present widespread use of essential oils in pharmacy and industry (antiseptics, soaps, deodorants, flavours and dentistry products) would seem to necessitate research on their cytotoxicity, but such studies are few and by no means comprehensive.
The most commonly used in vitro model of human skin is that of epidermal keratinocytes as these cells are believed to have an important role in the initiation of an inflammatory response. However, such models lack circulatory vascular elements as well as other cell types, such as fibroblasts, that also play an important role in such reactions. On this basis, fibroblasts and endothelial cells were selected here as target cells for assessing the cytotoxicity of lavender oil and its components.
Cytotoxic assays on cultured human skin cells have been reported to provide a useful prediction of skin damage when terpene cytotoxicity was compared with the injury evoked by its topical application to rats in vivo (Kitahara et al. 1993). Relatively good agreement has also been shown between in vitro cytotoxicity end-points [such as those obtained from the neutral red (NR) assay] and the human skin patch test score (Lee et al. 2000). |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:20 pm |
| Quote: |
Lavender oil
Across all cell types, mean cell viability of 80–100% was observed at 0.125% (v/v) lavender oil (Fig. 1), while 50% growth inhibition was calculated to be between approximately 0.17 and 0.19% (v/v) lavender oil (NR50 values are shown in Table 2). The cell viability decreased markedly when lavender oil concentration was increased from 0.125% (v/v) to 0.25% (v/v). The oil activity was constant across all the cell types (one-way anova, P = 0.2906). |
their conclusion
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To date, there are very few reports on the cytotoxicity of lavender oil or essential oils in general. Indeed, literature cited in terms of lavender oil cytotoxicity often has lavender oil placed in the category of ‘safe’ oils (Tisserand & Balacs 2000). To our knowledge however, there is no evidence in support of this view, and the data generated in our study indicate a dose-dependent cytotoxicity for lavender oil and its major components linalyl acetate and linalool. Lavender oil has a history of use in wound healing and is commonly applied to skin without dilution (personal communication, J. Whitehouse, University of Westminster, London) but, similarly, there is no scientific evidence suggesting that lavender accelerates wound healing or reduces scarring. With reports of contact dermatitis associated with lavender oil, concerns are building about the potential for either allergic or skin irritation reactions with its use. One 9-year study in Japan has already found that up to 13.9% of subjects had contact dermatitis on exposure to lavender oil. The time period of this study (1990–97) corresponded to a time when world-wide use of essential oils increased and it was suggested that contact dermatitis and other skin reactions may have become more prevalent as product use increased (Sugiura et al. 2000).
The in vitro testing of lavender oil in this study showed that a viability of 80–100% was observed at an oil concentration of 0.125% (v/v) across all cell types and thereafter an increase in the concentration affected cell viability. The pattern of cytotoxicity of linalool (35% of lavender oil) in this study was found to be equivalent to that of lavender oil, suggesting that the active component of the oil may be linalool. Linalyl acetate (51% of lavender oil) was found to be more cytotoxic to fibroblasts than the whole oil. Since linalool and lavender oil showed a good linear relation (P < 0.0001) for all the three human skin cell types tested, we suggest that linalyl acetate activity may be suppressed in the oil by some other component. Hence, we suggest that, though the proportion of linalyl acetate in the oil is more, linalool is the primary active component of lavender oil. This hypothesis is supported by in vivo studies of other effects of lavender oil and its components where linalool activity reflects that of lavender oil in terms of spasmolytic activity (Lis-Balchin & Hart 1999) and depressive/narcotic effects on the rat central nervous system (Atanassova-Shopova et al. 1973). Relating activity with structure, we suggest that the acetate group (linalyl acetate) is responsible for higher cytotoxicity than the alcohol (linalool).
Lavender oil and its components have been reported to possess other possible therapeutic values. Linalyl acetate and linalool have both been shown to reduce carrageenin-induced oedema in rats at doses ranging from 25 to 75 mg/kg (Peana et al. 2002), suggesting a major role for linalool and its ester in the anti-inflammatory effect of these oils (Peana et al. 2003). Linalool has been shown to have several different bioactive properties, such as anti-inflammatory activity, analgesic and spasmolytic effects (Lis-Balchin & Hart 1999). Further evidence that linalool-producing plant species are potentially analgesic and anti-inflammatory has recently been established based on experiments with two murine models of pain (Peana et al. 2003).
Studies investigating the frequencies of occurrence of the most common fragrance ingredients in cosmetics and other scented products have shown that linalool is the most frequently incorporated fragrance (De Groot & Frosch 1997; Rastogi et al. 2001). In one study (Rastogi et al. 1998), 97% of deodorants analysed were shown to contain linalool. Furthermore, linalool, together with d-limonene, is the most common fragrance in domestic and occupational products (Rastogi et al. 2001). In spite of this, reports of contact allergy to linalool are rare. It might be the case that linalool itself is non-allergenic and that allergens are formed on handling and storage. This hypothesis is supported by sensitization studies on the guinea-pig where linalool of high purity provoked no reaction, whilst oxidized linalool caused sensitization in animals (Skold et al. 2002). These workers concluded that auto-oxidation of linalool was essential for its sensitizing potential. With regard to structure–activity relationships, linalool (a component of several essential oils) would not be considered a contact allergen since the molecular structure of linalool does not contain any protein-reactive groups (Basketter et al. 2002; Skold et al. 2002). Contact allergy to lavender oil has been reported in Japan where the oil has the highest frequency of use among essential oils (Sugiura et al. 2000). These findings suggest that cell damage plays an important role in the mechanism of dermal inflammation for many irritants and also provides a tool in predicting skin responses to untested agents. The importance is evident in essential oil research as there are hundreds of untested oils and their chemical constituents that possess useful properties, but their cytotoxicity has to be determined prior to use.
Previous studies into the antimicrobial activity of essential oils and their components have ascribed their activity to their action on the cell membrane (Bard et al. 1988; Sikkema et al. 1995; Prashar et al. 2003). It has also been suggested that tissue damage by essential oils may be related to membrane lysis and surface activity (Manabe et al. 1987). Studies with eugenol, menthol and thymol on rat erythrocytes and hepatocytes along with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine-liposomes indicate that their penetration into tissue may be related to membrane and lipid affinity (Manabe et al. 1987). These studies, coupled with the fact that the NR assay indicates membrane integrity (Cornelis et al. 1992), would suggest that the mechanism of the cytotoxic action of lavender oil, linalyl acetate and linalool may also be one of membrane damage.
The reported antimicrobial activity of essential oils, together with their flavouring/aromatic properties, have made the use of these substances common in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries at low concentrations (Furia & Bellanca 1975). However, if the use of these compounds is extended to other applications that may require higher doses the increased exposure of humans to them is a matter of concern and therefore issues of safety and toxicity will need to be addressed. The cytotoxicity-related observations of this study suggest that lavender oil or its components should be used with care and in highly diluted forms especially when directly applied to the skin. It is concluded that essential oils are potent aromatic compounds and evaluation of their toxicity is important before their beneficial antimicrobial activity can be put to safe economic use. |
if you do a quick search for lavender oil under dermatology, not much comes up...there is research which points to lavender's relaxin effects (ERP) studies, but that does NOT involve topical application. regarding topical application lavender has been found to have antibacterial activity, but not to p. acnes and other bacteria found on the skin, this may also be due to its cytotoxic nature. |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:23 pm |
a quick look at some studies that do come up for lavender and skin
Stratum corneum absorption and retention of linalool and terpinen-4-ol applied as gel or oily solution in humans.
The antimutagenic activity of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) essential oil in the bacterial reverse mutation assay.
Evandri MG, Battinelli L, Daniele C, Mastrangelo S, Bolle P, Mazzanti G.
Department of Human Physiology and Pharmacology, University La Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy. mariagrazia.evandri@uniroma1.it
Essential oils from Melaleuca alternifolia (tea-tree oil) and Lavandula angustifolia (lavender oil) are commonly used to treat minor health problems. Tea-tree oil possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, and is increasingly used for skin problems. Lavender oil, traditionally used as an antiseptic agent, is now predominantly used as a relaxant, carminative, and sedative in aromatherapy. Despite their growing use no data are available on their mutagenic potential. In this study, after determining the chemical composition of tea-tree oil and lavender oil, by gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry, we investigated their mutagenic and antimutagenic activities by the bacterial reverse mutation assay in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains and in Escherichia coli WP2 uvrA strain, with and without an extrinsic metabolic activation system. Neither essential oil had mutagenic activity on the two tested Salmonella strains or on E. coli, with or without the metabolic activation system. Conversely, lavender oil exerted strong antimutagenic activity, reducing mutant colonies in the TA98 strain exposed to the direct mutagen 2-nitrofluorene. Antimutagenicity was concentration-dependent: the maximal concentration (0.80 mg/plate) reduced the number of histidine-independent revertant colonies by 66.4%. Lavender oil (0.80 mg/plate) also showed moderate antimutagenicity against the TA98 strain exposed to the direct mutagen 1-nitropyrene. Its antimutagenic property makes lavender oil a promising candidate for new applications in human healthcare.
this is the study that a lot of sites source (if at all) talking about the benefits of lavender oil...
Two US practitioners' experience of using essential oils for wound care.
Hartman D, Coetzee JC.
Tri-County Hospital, Wadena, Minnesota, USA. bdhartman@wcta.net
Though essential oils are a proven antiseptic, little work has investigated their use on chronic wounds. This article describes the progress and problems of a small study of five patients, who were treated with lavender and chamomile essential oils.
it had an n of 5 and no scientific process |
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Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:20 pm |
| I am allergic to mineral oil. |
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Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:45 pm |
see my post under "sensitive skin...is it okay to use scented products". I listed EO good for dry and sensitive skin. Like most things though long term use is not rec and you need to switch it around to continue the effectiveness.
I agree lavender is used waaaayyyy too much in skincare as well as citrus. Lavender is great for bites, burns, zits or minor injuries but not for long term use as its phototoxic. |
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Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:18 pm |
hhm kinda scary...
so what about if the citrus oil is at the very end of the ingredients list? Is that ok? Is it just essential oil only? What about juice or extract? For example, citrus juice or grapefruit extract?? Thanks!  |
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Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:12 pm |
| Stardustdy wrote: |
hhm kinda scary...
so what about if the citrus oil is at the very end of the ingredients list? Is that ok? Is it just essential oil only? What about juice or extract? For example, citrus juice or grapefruit extract?? Thanks! |
I'd steer away with it, these tests use percentages of 0.25% and 0.15% that's less than a quarter of a percent which would be around if not less than the same level as essential oils in most commercial products |
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Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:37 pm |
Longest read ever-lol))
| Quote: |
| Conversely, lavender oil exerted strong antimutagenic activity, reducing mutant colonies in the TA98 strain exposed to the direct mutagen 2-nitrofluorene. |
So from skimming over this I gather-a little bit good,a lot-very very bad.And since it is in soo many products we are probably getting a big dose of it in total...so  ...limit exposure but don't become paranoid over it-cause stress causes wrinkles  |
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Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:23 pm |
| irka wrote: |
Longest read ever-lol))
| Quote: |
| Conversely, lavender oil exerted strong antimutagenic activity, reducing mutant colonies in the TA98 strain exposed to the direct mutagen 2-nitrofluorene. |
So from skimming over this I gather-a little bit good,a lot-very very bad.And since it is in soo many products we are probably getting a big dose of it in total...so ...limit exposure but don't become paranoid over it-cause stress causes wrinkles |
Yes...however to me it seems like lavender essential oil would make a better natural home cleaner/disinfectant than skin ingredient. |
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Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:39 am |
| omg...in that case, everyone's beloved Decleor cleansing milk will be harmful to the skin then cuz it contains lavender oil and orange and kiwi essential waters. Also, Juice Beauty contains apple juice and citrus juice in it too. Does that mean these 2 products are bad for the skin?? |
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Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:53 am |
feel so miserable - if we take out all the products which have lavender or citrus oils in it, what's left to use?! and what should i do with the piles of skincare products at home??!!  |
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Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:39 am |
| sakura wrote: |
see my post under "sensitive skin...is it okay to use scented products". I listed EO good for dry and sensitive skin. Like most things though long term use is not rec and you need to switch it around to continue the effectiveness.
I agree lavender is used waaaayyyy too much in skincare as well as citrus. Lavender is great for bites, burns, zits or minor injuries but not for long term use as its phototoxic. |
Pardon my ignorance but what is "phototoxic?" |
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Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:22 am |
| Stardustdy wrote: |
| omg...in that case, everyone's beloved Decleor cleansing milk will be harmful to the skin then cuz it contains lavender oil and orange and kiwi essential waters. Also, Juice Beauty contains apple juice and citrus juice in it too. Does that mean these 2 products are bad for the skin?? |
That means almost every product on the whole wide world is bad for you. |
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Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:28 am |
| edenfield wrote: |
| irka wrote: |
Longest read ever-lol))
| Quote: |
| Conversely, lavender oil exerted strong antimutagenic activity, reducing mutant colonies in the TA98 strain exposed to the direct mutagen 2-nitrofluorene. |
So from skimming over this I gather-a little bit good,a lot-very very bad.And since it is in soo many products we are probably getting a big dose of it in total...so ...limit exposure but don't become paranoid over it-cause stress causes wrinkles |
Yes...however to me it seems like lavender essential oil would make a better natural home cleaner/disinfectant than skin ingredient. |
A couple of years ago there was a big controversy about coconut oil-someone did research on it and it showed that it raises cholesterol,is bad for your skin and will make you fat in the long run.After years of people staying away from this oil,the research was proven to be bs, and that it is actually a lot better for you than the popular soy products.P.S. soy has actually now been proven to be really bad for you(estrogenic effects that might cause hormonal issues and cancers).The point is-you just never know.Any conclusion might be the wrong one.And researches like that will be happening over and over again about other products.I am sure there is something bad to say about any product,oil,food in excess  |
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