So many times you see excited oil sales representatives stating "Try the chemical-free approach- try essential oils". This statement could not be further from the truth. Essential oils are chemicals- they are naturally occurring but chemicals none the less. They need to be treated and respected as such. I think everyone will agree that they are not as bad as ammonia, however they still have the ability to burn skin when not used properly, burn tissue when taken internally- they are very strong CHEMICALS. When I first started oils, I did not respect this. I put them on undiluted, I took them internally, all of the things I would never do now. I am happy to say I did not injure myself or anyone else badly, but it could have easily turned out different. I simply did not know how powerful these oils were.
There is so much bad information out there- but there are some great sources of information too. I follow Essential Oil Consumer Safety Advocates on Facebook- great information. I learn something new every week from this group. I also check everything on Aromaweb.
Our bodies are chemicals, water is a chemical. Not all are bad- even synthetics have a place and can save lives. Respect all chemicals and eliminate the more harmful ones as much as you can- be an informed consumer of everything. Don't follow someone's advice because they are a friend, take control of your own education and research it. Because they very well could be wrong and misinformed.